For years, locals have declared Colorado’s Alamosa
River “dead,” killed by pollution from the notorious Summitville
Mine. Now, a grassroots organization has teamed up with a national
group to resurrect the river. The Capulin, Colo.-based Restore Our
Alamosa River was selected from 130 applicants to join a national
umbrella group, Water Keepers Alliance, that provides legal
contacts and a slew of other resources to local environmental
groups. There are 26 Keeper programs throughout the country, but
each group operates independently.
“In order to
protect our environment, efforts have to come from local people who
look at and work on the river every day,” says ROAR member Cindy
Medina. She says her family has watched the decline of the Alamosa
River for generations. “I have a great-uncle who used to drink
right from the river; now people don’t even stick their finger in
it anymore.”
The state of Colorado and the
Environmental Protection Agency are cleaning up the mine, but
Medina says she’s frustrated by the slow progress and welcomes help
from the Keepers Alliance.
On May 5, Alliance
co-founder Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will speak at a ROAR fund-raiser
in Capulin. For more information about the event, call Medina at
719/274-4298. Contact the Water Keepers Alliance by writing to PACE
Environmental Clinic, 78 N. Broadway, White Plains, NY 10603,
calling 914/422-4410, or finding their Web site at
www.keeper.org.
* Rebecca
Clarren
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Help arrives for the ailing Alamosa.
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