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Today is the 100th birthday of Colorado's much beloved Rocky Mountain National Park. Sadly, RMNP and the rest of our national park system is now under attack in an under reported battle taking place in southwestern Colorado. The story:
Hovenweep is a National Monument which lies upon the Great Sage Plain in SW Colorado/SE Utah and is administered by the National Park Service. On October 15, 1966 the National Monument was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The name “Hovenweep” comes from the Ute language and means “deserted valley.” It is also one of the most beautiful and fascinating places in the Four Corners region. Hovenweep National Monument is known for the six village groups of the “Ancients” or Anasazi people. The Hovenweep inhabitants constructed advanced pueblo style residential complexes, up to 3 story towers, dams, and reservoirs. They also built large stone towers, living quarters and other shelters to safeguard springs and seeps. The stone course pueblos and towers of the Hovenweep people exhibit expert masonry skills and engineering. The construction and attention to detail will leave you marveling at the skill and motivation of the builders. These stone pueblos were understandably referred to as castles by nineteenth-century explorers. Prominent structures are Hovenweep Castle, Hovenweep House, Square Tower, Rim Rock House, Twin Towers, Stronghold House and Unit-type house.
Hovenweep is situated on a fragile high desert habitat and is home to 150 diverse animal species ranging from cougars to turquoise colored collared lizards, as well as native plants and flowers that can be found growing no where else. While Hovenweep lacks the name recognition of near-by Mesa Verde, it had gained more and more visitors every year who came out to exclaim over the ruins, watch the Great Horned Owls, and spend the day exploring an incredible place under a clear blue turquoise southwestern sky.
I use the past tense deliberately here because the National Park Service has knuckled under to political and governmental forces from on high, no doubt influenced by the vast amounts of money that a major petroleum company can splash around. For all intents and purposes the Park Service has handed over the management of Hovenweep (not to mention that of near-by Canyons of the Ancients NM on the Colorado side) to energy giant Kinder Morgan. KM exists for one reason alone – to make obscene profits for its CEO and President and its shareholders. Now I’m not posting this to discuss the validity of the capitalist economic model, but rather to question why a private capitalist entity should be given free rein to destroy lands that belong – in theory, anyhow – to the American people which include the people of Colorado and folks like you and me.
Hovenweep has the misfortune of sitting on top of the McElmo Dome which includes one of the largest CO2 supplies in the country. KM is digging numerous well sites in order to frack the CO2 from the ground and building hundreds of miles of pipelines, pumping stations and high voltage electric lines in order to pipe the CO2 to its rapidly depleting Texas oil fields where CO2 is used to force the last drop of otherwise unrecoverable petroleum from depleted oil wells. Now this enterprise is dubious for any number of reasons and it is destroying the National Monument at Hovenweep even as you read these words.
The landscape at Hovenweep is now crisscrossed with wide gravel roads the size of two lanes on the Interstate. Huge brightly lit pumping stations the size of a city block have been constructed next to groups of ruins or alongside once strictly protected natural habitat and hiking trails. Where once you could walk along a trail bordered with juniper and pinion, you now might as well climb into a tank and drive it across the landscape. The destruction wrought by Kinder Morgan is equivalent. And no one is going to come out to especially view what now looks more like an industrial park than a National Monument.
One of the really bad things about this situation is that it has now set a precedent for the way in which the National Park Service manages (or mismanages) our beloved National Parks like Rocky Mountain National or Mesa Verde or Yellowstone. If shale oil or some other carbon based energy source is found in the earth deep below RMNP, what will stop Kinder Morgan or some other big energy outfit to do to RMNP what it has done to Hovenweep? Colorado is well known for its beautiful mountains and forests – most of them located on public lands. People move to Denver and Colorado Springs in order to be close to Colorado’s priceless natural wonders and thousands of tourists visit every year to take in the beauty of the state and add a considerable boost to Colorado’s economy while they’re at it.
Whether the people of Colorado realize it or not, we are at a cross roads. Will we sell the heart and soul of our state for a temporary financial fix from big energy companies, or will we preserve our priceless natural heritrage which make Colorado Colorado? Will we still have RMNP 50 years from now or will we just have scalped mountains that will make our state look like the strip mined mountains of Appalachia? The time to act is running out. Colorado’s future depends upon what we decide to do or allow to be done today.
Last edited by Colorado Rambler; 01-26-2015 at 11:59 AM..
It's a good thing Bob Beauprez was not elected. One of his top priorities was "developing the land" which is code speak for selling it to oil companies.
"...every citizen of the republic ought to consider himself an unofficial policeman, and keep unsalaried watch and ward over the laws and their execution."
— Mark Twain
Years ago I had the distinct pleasure of discovering Hovenweep NM and some of the mysteries within. The main entrance and monument headquarters is well off the beaten track in far southeastern Utah. Not a great deal there by way of modern development other than the small headquarters building devoted to administration and tourists, a few simple camping spots arranged around a central small building of showers and toilets—and one of the principal Anasazi ruins in this enchanting region.
Most of the Anasazi ruins are widely scattered to the east in Colorado, that border but a short walk from the monument headquarters in Utah. As near as I can figure that area, comprising most of this greater national monument, is termed Canyon of the Ancients.
It is (or at least was) a spectral place. Haunting. Long forgotten once the Anasazi disappeared. That likely due a changing climate at the time which resulted in prolonged drought. But their industry of the time is still evident in the surviving stone ruins dotting this landscape of rock, juniper and sage. The craftsmanship of these stone buildings—as also with those at Chaco Canyon NHP and Mesa Verde NP—is exquisite. A marvel of intricate patience seldom reflected in modern construction. But as surely when they inhabited, as now, an integral aspect to all and the life lived there was of place and the landscape they inhabited. Of vast untrammeled space, and mesmerizing quiet.
In having lately heard some disquieting things about Hovenweep, and of an area ever since in my heart since first visiting (and hoping to do again, no less as before), I wrote to the superintendent there, a Mr. Cliff Spencer. I asked if fracking or indeed any oil related industrial activity was being conducted within this national monument. The relevant portion of his response to that follows here:
"Thank you for taking the time to write. I want to assure you that no fracking operations are being conducted at Hovenweep. As you may recall, Hovenweep National Monument consists of the Square Tower Group of ruins (where nearly all of the Monument infrastructure is located and where nearly all our visitation occurs) and five smaller outlying units. In none of these places does Kinder Morgan operate.
Kinder Morgan is currently operating at least two CO2 wells about 5 miles northeast of Square Tower Group and is exploring for other possible locations in the vicinity. We are aware of possible threats to visitors' experiences and Monument values and continue to be involved in all nearby land uses that might impact the Monument.
I appreciate your interest in preserving the values for which Hovenweep was designated a National Monument. My staff and I share that interest as we work to protect Hovenweep from any threat that might diminish its significance. Thank you for caring enough to share your concern."
From what I have since discovered it seems that Superintendent Spencer's answer was at best disingenuous. That indeed widespread oil operations are being conducted within this national monument. Even as I cannot imagine this in believing that our national monuments are specifically protected places little different from our treasured national parks.
Apparently Kinder Morgan has been instructed to not directly tamper with any of the stone ruins in this national monument. But anyone having visited this otherwise lonesome area will innately understand why so much land was set aside as national monument in the first place. That the greater ambience and experience of all visiting this place is not dictated solely by stone and that the Anasazi left, but no less of their setting and the land. The two are entwined.
With it seems the land, and indeed therefore all of this national monument now under direct assault, that sanctioned by our state and federal governments. For private profit.
This national monument no less special than anything else the Anasazi left us—and we ourselves—deserves better.
The NPS has left the areas being discussed very undeveloped. As a result they are among the least visited NPS sites in the nation. So the general public's response is -- gee, never even heard of the place. So few will stand up and speak out.
The NPS has left the areas being discussed very undeveloped. As a result they are among the least visited NPS sites in the nation. So the general public's response is -- gee, never even heard of the place. So few will stand up and speak out.
I guess you reap what you don't sow.
That's sad because a big part of what makes some places so special is that they aren't used.
That's sad because a big part of what makes some places so special is that they aren't used.
Theodore Roosevelt said it best. He was referring to Grand Canyon National Park, but it applies equally to many National Monuments, National Parks, and other areas of the public lands in the West:
Quote:
In the Grand Canyon, Arizona has a natural wonder which is in kind absolutely unparalleled throughout the rest of the world. I want to ask you to keep this great wonder of nature as it now is. I hope you will not have a building of any kind, not a summer cottage, a hotel or anything else, to mar the wonderful grandeur, the sublimity, the great loneliness and beauty of the canyon. Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it.
He also said the following. He was wrong in the last sentence. In a century-plus, we've learned nothing, it would seem.
Quote:
It is also vandalism wantonly to destroy or to permit the destruction of what is beautiful in nature, whether it be a cliff, a forest, or a species of mammal or bird. Here in the United States we turn our rivers and streams into sewers and dumping-grounds, we pollute the air, we destroy forests, and exterminate fishes, birds and mammals -- not to speak of vulgarizing charming landscapes with hideous advertisements. But at last it looks as if our people were awakening.
"...every citizen of the republic ought to consider himself an unofficial policeman, and keep unsalaried watch and ward over the laws and their execution."
— Mark Twain
~snip~
From what I have since discovered it seems that Superintendent Spencer's answer was at best disingenuous. That indeed widespread oil operations are being conducted within this national monument. Even as I cannot imagine this in believing that our national monuments are specifically protected places little different from our treasured national parks.
Apparently Kinder Morgan has been instructed to not directly tamper with any of the stone ruins in this national monument. But anyone having visited this otherwise lonesome area will innately understand why so much land was set aside as national monument in the first place. That the greater ambience and experience of all visiting this place is not dictated solely by stone and that the Anasazi left, but no less of their setting and the land. The two are entwined.
With it seems the land, and indeed therefore all of this national monument now under direct assault, that sanctioned by our state and federal governments. For private profit.
This national monument no less special than anything else the Anasazi left us—and we ourselves—deserves better.
~snip~
Superintendent Spencer is indeed being disingenuous. Yesterday after I had made my OP here, I clicked on the official NPS Hovenweep website in order to double check a few of my facts. To my amazement I read the following warning emblazoned on the top of the home page (underlining my own):
Quote:
There are park alerts in effect.
• GPS USERS
Using GPS to find your way to Hovenweep is not recommended. Since Hovenweep has 6 different units with numerous paved and dirt roads intesecting each other, GPS will send visitors to unknown locations other than to the park. Using a map is recommended.
*speechless*
I first visited Hovenweep in 1973 and have been back for return visits many times since. There were never "numerous paved and dirt roads" up until a year or so ago. The Park Service is admitting to its own guilt with that "warning." I have been following KM's atrocities as written up in the local press for quite some time now. A couple of months back, I decided to visit Hovenweep and see for myself what has been going on. I followed the standard route to Hovenweep by driving north on Highway 491 and taking the left hand turn toward the west at the small town of Pleasantview where an official NPS sign stands by the side of the highway reading simply "Hovenweep" with an arrow directing the driver to turn off 491 to County Road BB which leads into the National Monument. I used to be able to drive that route in my sleep - but no more. I was horrified at all the new roads, construction sites and pumping stations which dotted the landscape. I lingured for quite a while, stunned by the atrocities around every curve and stopping to document them with my camera. Almost before I knew it, the sun had set and it was turning dark. I turned my truck around to head back in the dark and promptly became lost. I had the latest edition of my Colorado Gazetteer with me and discovered it to be worthless - it didn't show half the new roads which now run in every direction through both Hovenweep and Canyons of the Ancients National Monuments. I had to stop and set my old orienteering GPS on the roof of my truck in order to get some satellite coordinates. They came back showing that I was indeed near the Round Tower group on Hovenweep National Monument - no question. Once I had my coordinates and placed my position on the Gazetteer, I was finally able to drive out despite the unfamiliar new roads and the darkness. They can't publish maps fast enough to keep up with the pace of road construction out there. If a person who knows the region as intimately as I do can get lost with only the help of the latest available Gazetteer, I shudder to think of the complete bewilderment of the unwary tourist trying to find their way on all those unmarked roads. A map AND a GPS is now obligatory for anyone trying to find their way out there. It is criminal for the Park Service to suggest otherwise.
Quote:
Originally Posted by phetaroi
You know the old saying -- use it, or lose it.
The NPS has left the areas being discussed very undeveloped. As a result they are among the least visited NPS sites in the nation. So the general public's response is -- gee, never even heard of the place. So few will stand up and speak out.
I guess you reap what you don't sow.
The entire point of the National Park system is to preserve the land in as pristine condition as possible. You don't "develop" Yellowstone or Rocky Mountain National or Hovenweep. Here's some before pictures of "undeveloped" Hovenweep:
The Holley Ruins Unit
Hovenweep Castle
The Milky Way at Square Tower Group
Collared Lizard basking on stones at Hovenweep
Hovenweep is a sacred site to both the Hopi and Zuni people. Here are two Hopi's at work preserving it just as it is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jazzlover
Theodore Roosevelt said it best. He was referring to Grand Canyon National Park, but it applies equally to many National Monuments, National Parks, and other areas of the public lands in the West:
In the Grand Canyon, Arizona has a natural wonder which is in kind absolutely unparalleled throughout the rest of the world. I want to ask you to keep this great wonder of nature as it now is. I hope you will not have a building of any kind, not a summer cottage, a hotel or anything else, to mar the wonderful grandeur, the sublimity, the great loneliness and beauty of the canyon. Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it.
He also said the following. He was wrong in the last sentence. In a century-plus, we've learned nothing, it would seem.
It is also vandalism wantonly to destroy or to permit the destruction of what is beautiful in nature, whether it be a cliff, a forest, or a species of mammal or bird. Here in the United States we turn our rivers and streams into sewers and dumping-grounds, we pollute the air, we destroy forests, and exterminate fishes, birds and mammals -- not to speak of vulgarizing charming landscapes with hideous advertisements. But at last it looks as if our people were awakening.
Great quotes, jazz. Thank you! Indeed we have learned nothing. Here are some "after" images:
One of the many Kinder Morgan Construction sites that now dot both Hovenweep and Canyons of the Ancients
Last summer, I made numerous visits to Hovenweep, it's awesome. Several times I was the only one in the campground. There must have been heavier traffic at some point and time. I found numerous old primitive dirt roads. Never graded either, just faint two wheel tracks. Anywho, no kidding about getting lost. I had the not so brilliant idea of driving into Cortez for dinner, man it's dark out there. Until the moon lit up Sleeping Ute and I got my bearings, it was just me and a herd of dazed Elk. I still don't know where in the hell I was exactly. OP, sorry about Kinder Morgan. I'll have to check them out, will be back in two weeks. Thought I'd try exploring while the creepy crawlies are hibernating.
Last summer, I made numerous visits to Hovenweep, it's awesome. Several times I was the only one in the campground. There must have been heavier traffic at some point and time. I found numerous old primitive dirt roads. Never graded either, just faint two wheel tracks. Anywho, no kidding about getting lost. I had the not so brilliant idea of driving into Cortez for dinner, man it's dark out there. Until the moon lit up Sleeping Ute and I got my bearings, it was just me and a herd of dazed Elk. I still don't know where in the hell I was exactly. OP, sorry about Kinder Morgan. I'll have to check them out, will be back in two weeks. Thought I'd try exploring while the creepy crawlies are hibernating.
Hovenweep is very beautiful, isn't it? Interesting that you would be the only one in the campground during the summer tourist season. This makes me wonder if people like myself who visited Hovenweep pre-Kinder Morgan are so disgusted that they don't come back anymore. Those faint two wheel tracks you mentioned can be made by a single person in a 4wd or ATV who decides to do a little illegal "off roading." The land out here is so fragile that those tracks can remain for decades. I have seen clear cut areas that were logged in the forests of the San Juan mountains back in the early 1900's and have yet to recover to this very day.
I don't know which direction you will be coming from, but I advise you to NOT use County Road BB between Pleasant View and Yellow Jacket - Park Service sign be as damned as the lands it points you toward. As I mentioned, Kinder Morgans activities are being conducted at a rapid pace, and the new gravel roads are unmarked/unsigned. Caveat emptor
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Hovenweep
