After a several-week delay, the Roman Catholic bishop
of Pueblo, Colo., has spoken, and not to the liking of backers of
the Animas-La Plata water project. In early November, a nine-person
citizens’ group, the Human Development Commission of the Pueblo
Diocese, blasted the project proposed for southern Colorado as
wasteful and destructive (HCN,
11/27/95).
Outraged proponents – attorney Sam
Maynes of Durango, lobbyist Ray Kogovsek of Denver and the elected
leaders of the Ute Mountain Utes and Southern Utes – pressured
Catholic Bishop Arthur Tafoya to repudiate the statement. Maynes
branded the citizens’ group a willing tool of the Sierra Club,
according to the Grand Junction Daily
Sentinel.
Bishop Tafoya first delayed. Then,
after meeting with opponents and proponents, he said he saw no
reason to “distance myself from the Human Development Commission,”
and added, “In this time of scarcity, taxpayer dollars should be
spent wisely and for the greatest common good.” Maynes and
Kogovsek, by putting Tafoya publicly on the spot, forced him to add
his imprimatur to attacks on the project.- Ed
Marston
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Thou shalt not build a dam.
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