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https://reasonstobecheerful.world/ouray-colorado-ice-park-silver-mine-water-rights/>
"Ouray, Colorado, is only a few blocks wide. It’s hemmed in by soaring cliffs,
and it fills the length of a narrow valley tucked deep within the San Juan
Mountains. The houses are wrapped in colorful siding — and draped in snow for
half the year. Mountains crowd the skyline; hot springs bubble up from the
ground. As of 2021, the town population was 923. Visitors call it “The
Switzerland of America.”
Ouray wouldn’t exist without mining: the town was founded in 1876 amid a silver
boom. But today, it’s also a major hub for a very different activity: ice
climbing. The Ouray Ice Park, a free city park and local nonprofit, manages
hundreds of routes of vertical ice that attract climbers from all over the
world.
In recent years, however, the park has suffered from critical water shortages.
Between persistent drought and global warming, the park hasn’t been able to
provide enough ice for climbers, threatening both this free recreational
resource and the single most important driver of Ouray’s winter economy.
In much of the American West, recreation and extraction are often at odds. But
last year in Ouray, a group of ice climbers and silver miners shook hands on a
deal that could set a unique example for finding community-based solutions to
the West’s water crisis. As part of the deal, the mine freely gave away
millions of gallons of water to the City of Ouray, expressly to be used in
building recreational ice flows. It might just be enough to insure the town’s
economic future."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
