I'm not a Durango local. My husband and I are here for two months, working remotely, renting a VRBO and enjoying this amazing town.
With so much emphasis on wilderness and open, green spaces, it was disturbing to read about the lack of mitigation efforts to avoid cutting down so many mature trees, including a cottonwood tree, to extend the Animas River Trail.
Now, I'm a biker and love the path, but how do you rationalize creating a new green space by cutting down a bunch of trees? In these times, when the significant benefits of mature trees are so well-documented, how do you not move in a direction that provides environmental positives for the community? Removing large, mature trees and replacing them with small, new trees is a net loss to the ecosystem.
I would expect this from an urban or big city area that values cement over soil and trees. Even Pittsburgh is super aware of the benefits of green spaces and mature trees. I'm just disappointed that a town like Durango, known for its nature – what drew us here, does not have regulations in place to prevent this from happening.
I hope that future projects pull in biologists who can identify the environmental benefits of keeping trees and the community for their input so that both can win. The new green space on 32nd Street – how truly green will it be?
Dee Schlotter
Pittsburg
