Anderson: No good in Uinta Railway
Letter to the editor
From a local CMC class, in opposition to the Uinta Railway:
We reached out to local stakeholders who would be impacted in the case of an oil spill and possible fires that would arise due to an oil spill.
A fishing guide who has been observing the fish population and water quality claims that “a derailment anywhere adjacent to the river would have a huge impact on the native and non-native species all throughout the Colorado.”
The sediment load and water temperature in the Colorado River are already at unhealthy levels, so the ecosystem could not handle the added stress of an oil spill. He asserts that “after a derailment, it would be a long time until you could fish the Colorado.”
A local rafting guide told us that “if the Colorado River were to be shut down due to an oil spill, the effects on my livelihood as a raft guide would be significant. The Colorado River is a major attraction for tourists who come to the Roaring Fork Valley to enjoy rafting, fishing, and other outdoor activities.”
We also had the opportunity to speak to an Eagle County firefighter who fought to protect our community from the devastating Grizzly Creek Fire.
He expressed his concern, stating, “I can personally attest to the impact to the community when events like wildfires and transportation accidents happen. The materials that would be transported by this proposed project warrant a high index of concern, particularly when considering the fragile and difficult to access river corridors it would traverse.”
He concluded his interview with one of my classmates by declaring that “it also does not make sense to incentivize this project with taxpayer-subsidized bonds. I think this project does not fit with local, regional, or national interests.”
Mitchell Anderson
Glenwood Springs