BLM Holds Public Meetings for the “Over The River” Proposal from Christo  and Jeanne-Claude

The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Royal Gorge Field Office is beginning the public comment period for the proposal by Christo and Jeanne-Claude to do an art project on the Arkansas River. 

The purpose of the meetings is to obtain the public’s comments about the proposal.  All the meetings will be in an “open house” format.  There will be no formal presentation, so the public can arrive at any time between 6 and 8:00 pm and meet with BLM and other agency personnel, as well as Christo and Jeanne-Claude.  A number of stations will be available to address specific issues, such as impacts to wildlife, transportation concerns, “Over The River” project details, and emergency response.

In their project, Christo and Jeanne-Claude propose to hang about 7miles of fabric panels over eight segments of the Arkansas River between Canon City and Salida for 14 days.  The translucent fabric panels would be attached to cables stretched across the river; cover the water surface but not the side slopes and hang from 10 to 24 feet above the water. It would also be porous enough to let rainwater through and strong enough to withstand high winds.

The BLM’s role in the evaluation process is to prepare an environmental assessment (EA) of the proposal.  Due to the unique nature of the proposal, an outside contractor is preparing the EA for BLM.  The purpose of the EA is to evaluate all the possible impacts of the proposed project, determine possible mitigation for the impacts, and make a decision on whether the proposal can continue to move through the permitting process.  Permits would be required from the Colorado Department of Transportation/ State Patrol, Fremont/Chaffee County Commissioners, and the Colorado State Parks Board.  The BLM is also working with the Fremont and Chaffee County Sheriffs, emergency response personnel and the Colorado Division of Wildlife on this issue.

As this proposal has been around for a number of years, many issues have already been identified.  Some of these include: impacts on wildlife; socio-economic impacts; highway congestion and safety; conflicts with other users of the project area; and the response time for emergency vehicles.

The BLM will host the meetings from 6 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.:  January 17 – Canon City, in the City Hall Conference Room, 128 Main Street;    January 18 – Cotopaxi, in the High School Cafeteria; and January 19 – Salida, at the Senior Citizens Center, 305 F Street.

Additional information on these meetings can be obtained from BLM at 719-269-8500.

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