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-.~, t • III IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII y~-~~ Lana Jo Chapin 11165 C.R. 250 Durango, Colorado 247-1541 La Plata County Commissioners Dear Commissioners, It :seems incredible to me that you are continuing to "approve" more gravel pits and aggregate operations even when so many facts have been called to the public's attention regarding the irreparable damage being wreaked on the Animas River Valley! I have read that you have no criteria to deny approval to these oper- ations. Then, conversely, you must also have no criteria to grant them. Let's then, use good, solid, and far-sighted judgement as our criteria in this cruc:ial decision making. Have any of you actually SEEN the damage being done? Do you have a~ idea of t:he MAGNITUDE of the MISTAKE that you are perpetuating? We are literall}+ watching the demise of the Animas River and Valley as we know it. A few businessmen are profiting from the personal financial loss of private landpowners along the river. We are all losing much of what we moved to La Plata County for and what thousands of tourists come here for--the beauty and peace and quiet of pastoral Animas Valley, complete with abundant wild- life. During the 1985 spring run-off, I lost over 100 feet deep along the length oi`. my property which borders the Animas River. This tremendous loss happened in a shockingly un-natural short time as I watched my lovely beach wash into a downstream gravel collection pit. Later, after the aggregate companies had harvested our acreage out of their pits, we had to watch and listen to them as they crushed it and trucked it away for their own profit. Would any of you tolerate this blatant mis-use of minirg permits if you had suffered this kind of loss due to others actions? I doubt it--yet you continue to "approve" more destruction! Prior to the 1985 run-off, a downstream aggregate company (Animas Agg.) was active in the river, preparing for their annual rock harvest. When my neighbor:; and I appealed to the County Commissioners (after being directed there by the Corp. of Engineers as a starting place) for help, Animas Aggre- gates wars also at the meeting and quickly offerred to help "repair" the damage they had caused which left us extremely vulnerable to further erosion. In a cooperative effort which included the Corp. of Engineers, Colorado Fish 5 Game, U.S. Division of wildlife, U.S. Soil Conservation and adjacent neighbors, a** two-phases plan to prohibit further damage and restore soil to the site was drafted rind approved. A mining permit for the work to be done was procured in the nesme of all the adjacent landowners. Work was done by Burnett Construc- tion and Animas Aggregates, on their time. Phase one was begun and has left an area ghat looks like a gruel pit. So, you see, we lost again! The elk can no longer amble along the riverbank. The huge old ponderosas are gone so we now have a clear view and sound of the destruction company across the river as they continue to suck my neighbors and my own land off teh banks and into collection pits for a profitable harvest. If i could even het to the riverbanl~:, without breaking my legs or neck, I would find no sunny beach as when I purchased my homeplace and would be looking down 10'-20' at a river that's entire elevation has been drastically lowered. ** add: Animas water Company, and Ute Engineering,