For those of you who don't know, I live in one of the most beautiful places in Colorado; the North Fork Valley.
It is a place of farms, ranches, and small towns rooted in Colorado history. All year round there are things to do here outdoors, from cross country skiing, snowmobiling, and hunting in the fall and winter, to camping, hiking, and fishing in the spring and summer.
There are wineries and breweries that are finally becoming well known outside our valley, to local theaters providing entertainment year round, to arts centers where you can not only look at and buy local art, you can take classes in everything from pottery to watercolors to stained glass.
But, this could all be history if the government and big oil/gas have it's way.
Like many other places in the US today, our small valley is fighting for it's livelihood because of fracking, a chemical and water intensive process to rid underlayers of rock of their natural gas reserves.
The BLM here wants to lease 30,000 acres of land for 22 fracking sites starting just outside of town and running through most of the areas where the entire valley gets water. Soon, our valley will look like this:
As the blogger Karoo Anti Hydraulic Fracturing says, this is what Shell says a fracturing site looks like:
And this is what it actually looks like:
Disgusting.
Our water will be undrinkable, which means people, animals, and plants will no longer be able to live here, and the environment will be demolished, leaving our wildlife with no habitat.
If you drink water and breathe air, please help us by going and signing the petition for a moratorium on fracking in the North Fork Valley. And just for good measure, there are other places that are fighting for their communities where you can get involved. You never know if it's happening right next to you until it's almost too late!
Citizens for a Health Community
Remember, it's just a ride.
