I have spent almost my entire summer driving around and sightseeing in Colorado. I've spent lots of time in our national parks and believe with all my heart that we live in the most beautiful State in the U.S.
I was, of course, troubled to see whole forests that have been wiped out by the pine beetle disease and while looking at all that vast acreage, I was wondering why those whole areas couldn't be cleared, new planting be done and why we couldn't build wind generators in the cleared areas. I don't find them unsightly; and I actually think wind generators would be less unsightly then all the rust colored trees we currently see. I think it would be a great multi-use project and would in no way detract from the thousands (millions?) of acres of beautiful forest land we enjoy.
I hope the plan will include projects such as wind generating and/or other ideas that will benefit all Americans and encourage healthy use of our natural resources.
From Susan Baird, Natural Resources Planner:
Thank you for writing. We, too, are concerned about the spread of pine beetle and don’t know yet what that impact will be to the 14,000 acres of Denver Mountain Parks, primarily in Jefferson County. Fire, erosion, and impact on wildlife and water quality are some of the problems resulting from such widespread deforestation. We also are committed to making our park system more sustainable and are working with Denver’s overall Greenprint initiative. We’ll look into your suggestion (the feasibility and impacts of wind turbines in a mountainous area) in the event that we are faced with such decisions.
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It would be great if the city commissioned some sculptures out of the pine beetle trees. The wood is beautiful and very unique looking. The sculptures could be used to educate the public on the pine beetle issue and potential impacts. They could even be used for fundraising to help cut down the dead trees. (Think the cow sculptures that are auctioned off, but instead, auction the pine beetle wood sculptures.)
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