It has been a long, slow evolution in the United States to achieve the environmental standards and protections that the American people have come to benefit from. We stand stunned at the short period of time that these achievements have unraveled. Clean air and water… are they not inalienable rights? Greed, an unquenchable thirst for power and wealth, now threatens to jettison the hard-earned protections of the past 75 years. Our system of checks and balances, which worked for 250 years, has been bought through crafty manipulation of justices and courts.

The American far-right has created a 900-page manifesto, Project 2025, to direct this administration. The administration disavowed this, but has been following its “180-Day Playbook” closely. “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.” (Luke 12:15)

The Crystal Valley Environmental Protection Association (CVEPA) is not a partisan organization, nor do we claim party affiliations. We are non-denominational. In a time when politicians remain silent, cower in fear and kowtow in order to secure personal gain and security, it is more important than ever to speak up. The current administration is not the party of our grandparents or even our parents. They have made it clear that environmental protections are in the way of the power grab and they have actively proceeded to dismantle the institutions that were created to uphold them. A sovereign democracy under siege by a dictatorial superpower is now being used as a pawn in an international chess game for natural resources. Now this administration leads the manipulation.

Extraction and development of our domestic resources is front and center. While this may not be inherently bad this cannot be done in the public’s best interest without scrutiny and transparency. Will our national lands be auctioned off next to the highest bidder?

CVEPA focuses on the Crystal River Watershed. How do the actions of this administration affect us locally? In just over one month we have seen land management agencies gutted. 

Our White River National Forest (WRNF) has just lost its forest supervisor. This forest is the most popular forest in the nation, by user visits. Scott Fitzwilliams, supervisor for 15 years, availed himself of the administration’s “deferred retirement program.” WRNF is viewed as “the largest economic engine of any forest in the country.” (Colorado Sun) At least 15 of 150 WRNF forestry technicians and rangers who perform risk management, resource protection, enforcement and a plethora of other functions are being terminated. This administration says their work is no longer “in the public interest” while Governor Polis calls this “reckless endangerment to Coloradans.”

These cuts come at a time when burgeoning visitation and recreational pressure are at an all-time high. Are our land management agencies flawless? Not by a long shot, but dissolution is far different than improvement. Anti-government groups failed to dismantle the U.S. Forest Service in 1910. “The Big Burn” fire destroyed a huge swath of Montana and Idaho showing the importance of this natural resource management service. 

We must be vigilant in monitoring water quality, quantity and allocation, methane pollution and harvesting, wildlife challenges from recreation, mineral extraction… the list is endless. Mankind undeniably continues to need natural resources. Finding balance in this quest is our challenge. 

When focusing on eviscerating federal agencies, remember: What is far worse than “too much government” is the private sector running unbridled.

This land is your land! Speak up and stand tall for the country you love. Last century we saw an entire modern, educated nation remain silent while a totalitarian dictator led them into some of the darkest days of modern man. Silence is complicity! Get involved and stay involved. Call your elected officials, write your senators and congressmen. The environment and the democratic process that protects it have never been more threatened by an administration than now!

To learn more about CVEPA and to support our mission, visit us on Facebook or at www.cvepa.org