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Conservation efforts celebrated
Sprucing up along San Juan Skyway
Herald Staff Writer
Photo by YODIT GIDEY/ Herald photos
Emma Youngquist, 12, fishes at Molas Lake Park before a ceremony Tuesday marking the completion of land- and water-preservation projects valued at $17.5 million.
Click image to enlarge
A crowd gathers at the park for the ceremony.
The 16 projects started in 2005 with a $5.7 million challenge grant from Great Outdoors Colorado. More than 30 partners, including cities, counties, private foundations, individuals and landowners who contributed part of the value of their conservation easements found $11.8 million to supplement the GOCO grant.
"We're very pleased we exceeded our own expectations," said Ken Francis of the Fort Lewis College Office of Community Services, who coordinated efforts. "We raised more money, got more work done and preserved more land than anticipated."
Elyse Ackerman, the Silverton town administrator, noted the restoration of Molas Lake Park, one of the 16 projects. Among the upgrades, she said, were the planting of native plant species around the denuded shoreline, the installation of vaulted toilets, the renovation of 46 campsites, the reconstruction of 1.8 miles of road and drainage, and the creation of an online reservation system.
The town of Silverton was granted 137 acres, which included Molas Lake, for park purposes in 1929 by President Herbert Hoover.
Ackerman said the $1 million invested in park restoration almost matches the town's annual budget.
"It's been a success," Ackerman said. "The park is always beautiful because of the setting, and the facilities now have been improved significantly to provide a good experience for visitors."
Nina Williams, executive director of the Montezuma Land Conservancy, which acquired conservation easements on 3,100 acres of 10 working ranches along the Mancos and Dolores rivers, spoke of the relationship between people and the landscape in Southwest Colorado.
"The San Juan Skyway and Southwest Colorado is defined by the relationship that people - ranchers, farmers, sightseers and hunters and fishermen - have with the land," Williams said. "The vision of the Skyway coalition has been to preserve the intrinsic quality of the region so people can continue to maintain that relationship and their way of life."
The San Juan Skyway is a 236-mile highway loop that takes the traveler from Durango and back via Silverton, Ouray, Ridgway, Telluride, Rico, Dolores, Cortez and Mancos.
The 16 projects celebrated Tuesday constituted the second phase of preserving the history and landscape of Southwest Colorado. The first phase was $15 million worth of land acquisition and preservation of historic structures around Red Mountain Pass north of here. The project was funded by GOCO, the Colorado State Historical Fund and the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
A third phase has been launched with a $4.4 million challenge grant from GOCO, which requires $6 million in local matching funds.
The project aims to acquire conservation easements on seven working ranches in La Plata, Ouray and Montezuma counties.
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