Mining Legacy Is Focus of Field Trip in Creede

A full-day guided field trip to explore mining history, geology and current environmental issues in Creede is being held by the Colorado Field Institute and the Willow Creek Reclamation Committee on Saturday, August 26 in Creede. The Underground Mining Museum in Creede and the Rio Grande County Museum and Cultural Center are co-sponsoring the event. 

Over 100 years ago, the promise of riches from silver mining lured many to test their luck in Colorado. A hard and dangerous life deep below the timberline yielded high-grade ore, accompanied by cave-ins and claim jumpers.  The tools, terminology, and culture of this fascinating period in Colorado’s history continue to generate a romantic aura.

But what about today?  Is the silver mining, which ended in Creede in the mid 1980s, simply a glorified piece of history?  Hardly. 

“Seduced by Silver: The Legacy of Mining in Creede” will provide a look at the impact mining of the past is having on Colorado’s future. Like many mountain towns in the Rockies, Creede was once a booming mining community. These mining activities left environmental problems that threatened to turn the area into a Superfund site. Not wanting a clean-up process imposed upon them, local residents organized and took on the rehabilitation efforts themselves and have organized the clean up of old mines, mills and dump sites.

This unique field trip begins at 8a.m. at the Underground Mining Museum, where authentic examples of silver ore and methods and tools used decades ago can be seen. Brief presentations will be made at the museum by trip leaders Bob Kirkham, who is an independent geologist from Alamosa, and Mike Blakeman, who has been the education specialist for the Rio Grande National Forest for the past 15 years, along with Phil Bethke, emeritus with the U.S. Geological Survey, and Zeke Ward, chairman of the Willow Creek Reclamation Committee. Guided tours to former mining sites in Creede follow.  There will be additional knowledgeable professionals at each site to guide participants and answer questions, including Les Dobson, U.S. Forest Service, Mike Wireman, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Jeff Graves, Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology. 

Participants will caravan to the mining sites. Those who carpool and travel together will receive a group discount. A lunch break will give participants an opportunity to sample restaurants in Creede before resuming site visits, which end at 4p.m. 

Pre-registration is required. Registration begins July 7. Cost for registrations received by July 31 are $30 per adult.  Families/groups traveling in the same car are discounted to $25 per adult. Students are $15. Fee includes entry to the museum and light continental breakfast.  Registration cost is higher after July 31. Deadline for all registrations is August 15.  To register or for more information, email coloradofieldinstitute@gmail.com or call 719-589-2050.

Local heritage area set for federal hearing
BY RUTH HEIDE
Velasquez to testify
ALAMOSA — The San Luis Valley may soon host the nation’s newest National Heritage Area.
The Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area encompassing Alamosa, Conejos and Costilla Counties goes before the U.S. Congress next Thursday, June 22.
A National Heritage Area recognizes an area for its contribution to the fabric of the nation according to Los Caminos Antiguos Scenic and Historic Byway Executive Director Ann Marie Velasquez who also serves as interim chairman for the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area. Efforts to designate the local heritage area began in 2002.
Once designated the heritage area will provide a variety of opportunities, Velasquez said. “This is not just tourism. It is a whole realm of things — economic development, education, conservation …”
A designated heritage area may request up to $1 million annually for 15 years for projects within the area. Velasquez said the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area will be set up as a nonprofit organization with a board which will review requests for funding. Requests could be made, for example, by visitors centers and museums.
Dollars may have to be matched by the requesting organizations, Velasquez said, although she is asking Congress to waive the local match for three years until the organization can devise a management plan.
“The whole intent of our organization is not to burden the counties with another nonprofit organization that’s coming to you with a hand out,” Velasquez told the Alamosa County Commissioners on Wednesday. This will give organizations another funding source, she said.
Velasquez said she will be the designated spokesperson to testify before the Congress next week.
Velasquez said a feasibility study was completed as required by Congress. Los Caminos paid a group from Boulder $5,000, and the group donated another $25,000 to help complete the study, Velasquez explained.
Velasquez said the study was then sent to the National Park Service for review and then went on to the Congress. U.S. Senator Ken Salazar and his brother U.S. Representative John Salazar on the same day last November introduced the senate and house legislation setting up the local heritage area. The bills have been read into the Congressional record, Velasquez said. The next step is testifying before Congress, and that is scheduled for June 22.
Velasquez invited the commissioners to attend the hearing and asked them to provide written testimony in support of the designation. She said as the spokesperson she will only have five minutes to address Congress, but a lengthy written record can be entered.
“It is pretty important that we have support from our local, regional governments and our citizens,” Velasquez said. She added this project had received lots of support from organizations and individuals. She said she had not run into any negative comments.
She asked the commissioners to encourage Senator Wayne Allard to sign this legislation as a co-sponsor. She said he has indicated through his aides he is not opposed to this designation, and his co-sponsorship would show strong support from the Colorado delegation.
Velasquez also asked the commissioners to help with traveling and accommodation expenses for those who will serve as official spokespersons before the Congress. She said those who are attending, like herself, are having to use their own money to pay for the plane tickets and accommodations. “This entity was created for the benefit of the county, not for our personal benefit,” Velasquez said.
Commission Chairman Darius Allen suggested Velasquez talk to the marketing district and/or chamber of commerce. He said the marketing district has $2,500 grants which might work for this purpose. He said the county would provide written support but did not indicate the county could provide financial support.
Velasquez said Costilla County is making a contribution toward the traveling expenses, and two or three of their commissioners plan to attend the hearing. She planned to meet with the Conejos County Commissioners on Thursday.
She said this whole process has been blazing a new trail since there is no road map for how to design a national heritage area, but everyone who has reviewed the Sangre de Cristo proposal has been impressed with it. She said her contacts in Washington D.C. told her if any heritage area deserved designation, this one did.