Stop chemical warfare on parks
Dear Editor,
I attended the first hearing for the Organically Managed Parks (OMP) initiative at City Hall. After reading last week’s “In the Weeds” article in the Telegraph, I am moved to address some issues that were inadequately covered or inaccurate.
The ordinance is seven pages long and clearly states that a three-tiered approach will be used. First, is the nonchemical “organic” approach. Secondly, a minimum-risk pesticide may be used, and third, if a pest is determined uncontrollable, the same pesticides that the city is currently allowing, can be used. There is no ban on pesticides and fertilizers, which should be a relief for those with concerns of West Nile outbreaks.

There are some fears that without the use of chemicals, our grassy playing fields will wither into a “natural land” state, and that gopher holes will be unmanaged. In truth, the OMP works with local ecology to create even healthier lawns. Continued maintenance will allow any changes of today’s plant communities to be groomed for athletic satisfaction.

The safety of our health and the use of chemical pesticides are important here. This issue has been brought up with the City of Durango and discussed since 2008. Efforts have been made for collaboration with area officials, unfortunately, without any acknowledgement of risks to human wellbeing.

I want to remind everyone that chemical technology was created with the intention of warfare, during WWI in the 1920s. We need to end the war against nature and take responsibility for all of the ill-health effects that are being generated by unregulated pesticide usage.

The OMP ordinance holds the city accountable for these unregulated doses. There is no target on the head of anyone holding the position of the Organic Land Management Coordinator. In fact, city attorney Dave Smith clarified at the meeting that ultimately, it is the city’s responsibility for the ordinance’s enforcement.

Here’s the bottom line: the cost for Durango to  implement the OMP ordinance may go up in the first 4  two years of rebuilding damaged topsoil caused by synthetic chemical use. After two years, the cost for this natural program goes below 25 percent of the conventional treatment program over the long run. This is due largely to cost-savings on water because the soil is healthier and able to better retain moisture.

There are many cities in Colorado and hundreds of communities across the nation and the world that have adopted the OMP and open space lands approach. In the state of New Jersey alone, 36 cities have employed organic land management practices.

I believe that Durango has the dynamic energy needed to sustain organic land stewardship practices. We are resourceful enough to carry this project to satisfactory completion – for the health of all our relationships.
–  Tyler J. VanGemert,  Durango


A bone to pick with dog story
To the editor,
Let me start by saying that I am a dog lover.  I had to put down my 12-year-old dog a little over a year ago, and it was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. He was my best friend! That being said, there is a time and place for dogs even if they are our best friends.

I was in Chimayo and saw most of the events of the evening in question and spoke to another customer (whose name I didn’t get, unfortunately) right after, who saw and heard everything. As is usually the case, there is more to the story. Yes, there was thunder and lightning, and yes, Ms. Anderson’s girlfriend’s dog (a large, beautiful German shepherd) was scared and came to find her. However, before he found her, Mr. Shepherd ran through the dining room, back toward the kitchen, behind the bar and finally into the bar/dining area where he found his owner and friend at their table.

His owner grabbed him and stood between the foyer and bar area with Ms. Anderson, smiling and chatting like nothing was awry. Meanwhile, the owner was notified by another customer that “a big dog was running around loose inside the restaurant!” Accordingly, the owner made his way to the front, approached the couple with the dog and politely asked if they could take the dog outside. Their response was less than immediate and not very friendly, which in turn caused the owner to say “well how about taking him out right now?” Rather than take the dog outside right away, they continued to argue with him and eventually did take him out. The story continues from there, and we could continue to belabor the facts all day and get nowhere.

Here is the point (again from a dog lover who is about to get a puppy!) – There is a time and place for dogs. Sitting outside at Cyprus with a dog who is not panicked and on a leash is one thing. Having a panicked German shepherd (we have to remember that many people are afraid of dogs, especially big ones) running loose inside a restaurant followed up with a nonchalant response from an owner is a completely another thing. In my opinion and in the opinion of the other customer I talked with, the owner reacted exactly the way he should have and was in no way rude. Any one of those customers could have filed a complaint with OSHA based on what they saw happen. Should the owner wait for that before he reacts? He was simply trying to ensure the safety, comfort and food quality of and for the rest of his customers. Exactly what I would expect from any restaurant.

– Brad Tafoya, Durango


Weed out facts in park ordinance
To the editor,
Late into the City Council meeting on Aug. 7 regarding organically managed parks, every single councilor individually took the time to request that the organic advocates withdraw their proposal and come, “all of us together, in the spirit of Durango” to develop policy “the Durango Way.” The councilors prefer education and collaboration, rather than an all-or-nothing approach that cannot be undone once negative impacts hit.

Education on this topic is paramount. Refusal to withdraw the proposal would show the public that this group doesn’t value input from other interested parties. It would say it’s “their way or the highway.” It would say they don’t care to become more educated on all the issues. It would force the City to make serious increases in park expenditures and cause greater risk to the public in the form of dying trees, increased disease-carrying mosquitoes, declining unplayable turf, and an increase in noxious weeds, which are illegal in Colorado. The proposal implies that everyone from the Environmental Protection Agency to city officials to park employees to licensed professional applicators wants to poison you. This paranoid view drives this group to force this extreme ordinance on the whole community without listening to rigorous science, reason, government experts, professionals in the trenches, and user groups. Organic is not necessarily safer, it is woefully ineffective in certain situations, and no matter what they tell you, it is more expensive by far.

If you signed the petition, did you read all seven pages of it? Did you know it will endanger the millions of dollars worth of trees in this community and cause an increase in mosquitoes? Did you know that organic pesticides don’t kill weeds in turf without killing the turf? Did you know there is a provision for suing the City for alleged violations of the ordinance? Is this how community members should treat each other? Force an expensive, ineffective, detrimental policy on everyone and then plan to sue if alleged violations occur?
I urge the group to withdraw and collaborate on educating everyone (including me) so good choices can be made.
– Cece Sallee, Durango


‘Bridge to Nowhere’ leads to sprawl
To the editor,
One of the prettiest ranches in Colorado is at the entrance to our community. If preserved, it could one day become a treasured city park, like Horse Gulch and the Durango Mountain Park. It provides scenic beauty and a barrier between city sprawl and rural open space on the Florida Mesa. However, if HWY 550 is realigned across the Webb Ranch, to justify the ill-conceived “Bridge to Nowhere,” the barrier it provides will be destroyed. We will see sprawl and commercial development spread across the Florida Mesa. The character of our county will be forever changed.

A few years ago, a casino was planned on Southern Ute land at the top of Farmington Hill. It was nixed when the Hwy 550 project was delayed. Casinos are big money and big highways make them viable. Connecting HWY 550 to Grandview would make a casino and other projects possible. Wouldn’t we be heart sick if such a thing were to happen?

CDOT has released the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and $78 million plan for realigning Farmington Hill across the Webb Ranch. That’s $78 million in addition to $76 million spent on the “Bridge to Nowhere.” Three more bridges will be built. Traffic projections are exaggerated and costs understated. CDOT acknowledges the environmental damage will be significant and irreparable. But don’t be misled by the term final EIS. This project is not a “done deal” and public opinion matters.

This project is as worth fighting against as any that our community has ever faced. If you don’t want more concrete walls, bridges and ramps like Denver and Gallup, or urban sprawl like Pagosa and Farmington, then voice your opposition. This is not just about a family’s fight to save its ranch or wasteful expenditures of our tax dollars. It’s about preserving our rural landscape and open spaces.

I was told at a CDOT meeting that “The Bridge” was built because “After the final EIS was released, no one voiced opposition.” Nine of 10 people I talk to oppose this project. Most feel it’s hopeless to fight it. The Webb family doesn’t believe it’s hopeless. They have hired engineers and traffic experts to design a highway in the current alignment that is safe, effective and less expensive. They will fight on in their efforts to get CDOT to work with them. Our conservation-minded community should support this landowner who is trying to preserve, rather than develop, his property.

Spend five minutes emailing CDOT. State your opposition to this wasteful project. Ask them to work with the Webbs for a better solution. If you have written before, write again. Send comments for the public record before Aug. 27 to nancy.shanks@dot.state.co.us Copy the Federal Highways Commission Stephanie.gibson@fhwa.dot.gov and Gov. Hickenlooper via his web site: http://www.colorado.gov/governor/ There may are better ways to improve Farmington Hill, and CDOT should pursue them. If the bulldozers move in, our community will be changed forever.

– Antonia Clark, Durango



A reminder about biking etiquette
Dear Editor,
I grew up in Moab (mountain bike Mecca of the world). I lived in Portland, Ore., for eight years (considered to be one of the most bicycle friendly cities in the world), and I am proud to have lived here in Durango for the past five years (rich in it’s own bicycle history and culture). I even own and ride three bicycles of my own (mountain, road and a cruiser/chopper).

Long story short .. .I’m pretty pro-bicycle. What I cannot stand, what has pissed me off so bad that I am writing a “letter to the editor” for the first time in my life, is a phenomenon that seems to only exist in Durango. We’ve all seen ‘em, you might currently be one or two of ‘em: idiotic and dangerous road bikers who ride two abreast or double file!!!

Want to talk to your friend? Either ride single file and speak up a lil bit (use your “outside” voice) or get off your bike, and you and said friend can chat your asses off at a f*%#ing coffee shop!

Single file or die!
– Sincerely, Justin Lavender


A Good Year for Apricots

take all you want, tree owners say
we do, a pie’s worth, and sliced with yogurt and homemade granola
little summer suns’ golden glow
orange carpet piles up on ground under canopy
smashed ones slime sidewalks
bear scat peppered with pits in the alley by the backyard tree
more fruit than’s been seen here in thirty years
out of Armenia the sweet tree arose
fruit and life taken by Turks
who now grow the most
still straddle the east-west divide
with mature consideration of atonement
to save Syrian blood and freedom
better than an apricot in Damascus

– Steve Rauworth, Durango
 

In this week's issue...

January 25, 2024
Bagging it

State plastic bag ban is in full effect, but enforcement varies

January 26, 2024
Paper chase

The Sneer is back – and no we’re not talking about Billy Idol’s comeback tour.

January 11, 2024
High and dry

New state climate report projects continued warming, declining streamflows