Contact: Mary Houser, Communications Director, 202-543-6200
Darrell Arnold, Citizens for Sensible Growth, Colorado Highway 12,
(719) 742-5250
Steve Castle, Austin Bluffs Conservation,
Austin Bluffs, Colorado Springs, (719) 593-9226
Mark Pearson, San Juan Citizens Alliance, East Fork Valley, (970) 259-6181
Celie Matteson, Red Mountain Task Project, Red Mountain Mining District,
(970) 240-8010
The State of Colorado is named one of
Scenic America’s 2000 “Last Chance Landscapes”
New Report Lists Nation’s Landscapes Most Threatened by Billboards,
New
Roads, Other Symptoms of Sprawl; Finds Citizens Are Saving Scenic Beauty
(WASHINGTON, DC, November 20, 2000) - Today Scenic America, a national conservation organization, released a report naming the State of Colorado one of its ten Last Chance Landscapes. These endangered landscapes are places of beauty or distinctive community character with both a pending threat and a potential solution.
“Thanksgiving draws us to the people and places we love, to traditions we keep year after year. More Americans travel on the Thanksgiving weekend than at any other time of the year. So this is a good time to reflect on both the promise and the reality of “America the Beautiful,” said Meg Maguire, president of Scenic America.
Maguire said that unplanned growth is overrunning rural landscapes and draining America’s cities and towns. New and poorly designed roads and strip malls are paving over farmland and historic sites; billboards litter the nation’s roadsides; and wireless communication towers puncture communities and scenic vistas.
Millions of words have been written about the beauty and rugged grandeur
of Colorado. It’s one of the reasons so many people have moved to this
western state in recent years. Colorado has five of the ten fastest
growing counties in the country, and population growth in the state is
expected to continue at a staggering rate for the next 20 years. Because
of its beauty and open spaces, Colorado faces growth and development pressures
that threaten to destroy its distinctive character and visual environment.
But Coloradans love their state, and are taking steps to preserve its natural
beauty and distinctive character.
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When Scenic America announced its Last Chance Landscapes 2000 program, the Denver Post printed an editorial suggesting that Coloradans nominate their special endangered places. We received eight nominations, the most from any state, including:
Colorado Highway 12 (Highway of Legends) Colorado Highway 12, which runs for 65 miles between its source, at the junction with Colorado Highway 160, and the town of Trinidad, is also known as the Highway of Legends. This Colorado State Scenic Byway runs through high plains, pinon-juniper hills, spruce and aspen forests, and the lovely Cuchara and Purgatoire River valleys, all against the backdrop of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the newly designated Spanish Peaks Wilderness Area.
Because small, family ranches provide much of Highway 12’s rapidly disappearing open space, and because developers are paying top dollar to purchase and subdivide these beautiful ranchlands, citizens are concerned that this scenic corridor will be destroyed. A developer has already purchased one large ranch (2,400 acres) along the 20-mile Cuchara Valley corridor, intending to subdivide it into as many as 800 parcels. While the request for rezoning was denied because the plan did not meet the goals, objectives, and policies of the county¹s Land Use Plan, the developer is reluctant to accept limitations. The developer has threatened to bring a takings lawsuit against Huerfano County.
Austin Bluffs, Colorado Springs The 50-acre Austin Bluffs open space is located in the center of Colorado Springs on the east side of Union Boulevard. Thirty years ago, Austin Bluffs was considered the extreme northeast side of Colorado Springs; today it is the geographic and population center of the city. Austin Bluffs is the last unprotected large open space in the center of the city. Hundreds of residents use the area for recreation and over 50,000 motorists enjoy its beauty every day. People visit the bluffs for their magnificent views of both the surrounding area and of Pike’s Peak in the distance. To the south side of the Bluffs, a housing development has recently filled in the remaining open space between the site and the downtown. Development has already consumed the land to the north and east and is encroaching from the west. The remaining open space in Austin Bluffs is made up of seven parcels with six different owners. Some of the parcels are being considered for development.
East Fork Valley The East Fork Valley is the last large, undeveloped
mountain valley in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains in the heart of a critical
wildlife corridor for many species including elk and lynx. At the
center of the valley is a 2,700-acre cattle ranch, the only private property
in the 15-mile-long area managed under the San Juan National Forest.
Real estate developers purchased an interest in the ranch and are promoting
a luxury resort called “Piano Creek Ranch.” The developers propose
building a golf course, a private ski area, and dozens of large homes and
condominiums.
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Red Mountain Mining District The Red Mountain District on the San Juan Skyway, is one of the more famous mining areas in Colorado, and is the site of several abandoned mining towns including Congress, Red Mountain Town, and Ironton. Many mining structures such as boarding houses, head frames, and covered portals still stand and much equipment remains. Ouray County, San Juan County, and the Colorado State Historical Society have designated the District an historical landmark. The owner of a 1,600-acre parcel in the middle of a range sometimes called the “American Alps” is logging the site heavily and is planning to sell land for residential and resort development. He has also threatened to tear down 100-year-old mining structures, including the famous “Yankee Girl” mine mentioned in Willa Cather’s My Antonia.
“Americans want to save natural beauty, protect open space, and
live in well-designed communities,” continued Maguire, referring to over
35 state and hundreds of local growth-related ballot initiatives on the
November 7, 2000 ballot. “People everywhere need to look around,
identify what they love, and demand better scenic conservation and land
use practices as their communities grow.”
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Scenic America is a national, nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC whose mission is to preserve natural beauty and distinctive community character. Since 1978, Scenic America has helped citizens and public officials in thousands of communities nationwide protect their scenic heritage. Scenic America advocates for federal, state, and local laws and policies that support scenic conservation and community livability.
The organization supports strong sign control, progressive transportation
policy, responsible land-use planning, and other measures to preserve and
enhance the scenic character of America’s communities and countryside.
Scenic America is dedicated to the principle that “change is inevitable;
ugliness is not.” For more information on Scenic America, including
memberships and our other publications, please visit our website at www.scenic.org.
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