By George Sibley
Two commemorations are worth noting this summer here in Central Colorado: the Wilderness Act is 50 years old, and this summer is also the 50th anniversary of the commencement of construction on the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project.
I mention them both here because it suits my unsubtle sense of irony. The Fry-Ark Project is about as contrary to the spirit of the Wilderness Act as one could imagine – a heavy-duty tampering with natural geography and hydrology in Central Colorado’s high country, that butts cheek to jowl against Wilderness Areas protected against any human tampering.