Very soon, the federal Bureau of Land Management will issue an environmental assessment crucial to the fate of a proposed art project that would drape the Arkansas River canyon with miles of fabric.
We hope BLM officials, charged with weighing the pros and cons of Christo’s “Over the River,” heed the serious concerns voiced by the Colorado Wildlife Commission about the detrimental effects the project would have on wildlife.
The federal agency ought to recommend denying the project.
The key issue is whether the vast display would harm wildlife that live in and around the river.
In May, the state wildlife commission expressed its hope that the BLM would reject the public art display, which would involve 5.9 miles of fabric hanging over a 42-mile section of the river between Salida and Cañon City. Their concerns were varied, and included worries about bighorn sheep.
Some wildlife experts wondered if the animals would be scared away from the river, their source of drinking water, by flapping fabric hanging some 25 feet overhead. But their concerns were broader.
“It’s not just bighorn sheep but all the species that will be impacted,” wildlife commissioner Robert Streeter told The Post in May. “There are no redeeming values of this project from a fish and wildlife perspective.”
Beyond that, we share concerns voiced by others about how the regional fishing economy would fare, particularly since it would take three years to install, display and remove the project. There are further worries about traffic and exhaust fumes generated by the estimated 340,000 visitors drawn to the area.
The BLM has gone about this decision-making process in a prudent fashion, soliciting thousands of comments, holding hearings and seeking input from local, state and federal agencies.
The culmination of that work will be the final environmental impact statement, which will recommend a course of action, and it’s due to be released shortly. Sixty days after that, the agency will make its final decision.
We hope the BLM will give serious weight to the state commission’s wildlife concerns and send this fanciful art idea down the river.
