The proposed draping of the Arkansas River by the artists known as Christo and Jeanne-Claude already has destroyed the harmony of two towns and probably will wreck the traffic flow on a major U.S. highway.
But no animals likely will die in the experiment – certainly not any trout.
Whether this “Over the River” project tentatively scheduled for 2009 will disrupt fishing – or whether such a bizarre undertaking actually can be considered art – is quite another matter.
“People are in fear of a huge traffic jam,” Greg Felt, a partner in the ArkAnglers fly shops, said of the mob of curiosity- seekers expected to clog U.S. 50 between Salida and Cañon City.
Anglers and other citizens who shudder at the disruption this spectacle might bring have flooded the local Bureau of Land Management (BLM) office with a chorus of condemnation. Business people rubbing palms over the prospect of these tourist hordes are singing a different song.
Like most decisions these days, money seems to carry the sweetest tune.
“It’s pretty much going to be a done deal,” said Bill Edrington, owner of the Royal Gorge Anglers shop in Cañon City.
Edrington has kept close tabs on a process that ultimately will require an environmental impact statement from BLM, with companion comments from the Division of Wildlife, Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado State Patrol and State Parks.
As a lifelong observer of bureaucracy and human nature, Edrington knows a setup when he sees it.
“A majority of the community sees the dollar signs. This is just a gut feeling I get going to the meetings,” he said.
Most opponents, Edrington notes, file emotional appeals rooted in the basic absurdity of hanging 2 1/2 miles of fabric across eight separate spans of a dramatic canyon that, by general reckoning, doesn’t need embellishing.
The telling elements instead are how officials might alleviate a traffic jam that, among other things, will discourage most anglers from reaching their favorite spots.
Another concern is whether a herd of bighorn sheep will be spooked by all that fabric flapping in the breeze to the detriment of their feeding and watering patterns.
A more immediate worry is the way the debate has fractured what traditionally are close-knit communities.
“It’s put neighbor against neighbor. Lines have been drawn in the sand. Feelings have been hurt,” Felt said.
As for the presumed economic windfall, “All this is scheduled for summer, when all the tourists facilities already are packed,” he said.
For the benefit of latecomers, it must be mentioned that this project stands as a sort of rematch for New York-based Christo, who as a solo act is 0-for-Colorado. A curtain strung across Rifle Gap in 1972 amid similar controversy was ripped to shreds by a windstorm just 28 hours later – giving rise to the concept of nature as art critic.
Whatever the decision, the Arkansas River will keep flowing, normal traffic patterns someday will be restored and, as both Felt and Edrington concede, trout won’t be harmed.
Who knows? Maybe a discerning wind will perform an encore.
Charlie Meyers can be reached at 303-820-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com.
