Letter: Rincon Mine doesn’t meet criteria for an exception
I am writing to offer comment on the proposed Rincon Mine and the application for exception to the Dotsero Community Plan. This mine does almost nothing for the residents of Dotsero and offers little benefit for the surrounding community or the immensely larger community of recreational users and visitors to our valley who utilize the section of river and road between Cottonwood and Dotsero. Dotsero’s single best resource and offering is the Colorado River and surrounding natural beauty, and this mine would jeopardize that resource. As a longtime resident of the Eagle Valley, a Colorado River and River Road user, I humbly ask that the planning commission deny the application on the following grounds:
First, Rincon’s plan doesn’t meet the criteria for an exception. It will have negative impacts on every aspect of the river, surrounding lands, wildlife, recreational opportunities and amenities, infrastructure and overall congestion in the area that are not offset in any meaningful way by benefits to the community.
Second, the DCP states that Dotsero and the Colorado River Corridor through it is the crown jewel of Dotsero, and one of its primary goals is to preserve this treasure and the recreational opportunities it provides. The DCP, therefore, specifically aimed to prevent further heavy industrial mining that the exception would allow the Rincon Mine to perform. Granting an exception would completely go against the DCP’s intent.
Finally, the Rincon Mine isn’t a less traditional business venture, it doesn’t meet a demonstrated or viable need, and it does nothing to augment the character of the community. Rather, it would add to a stereotype of the downvalley community that needs to be dismantled, not reinforced.
Ed Lewandowski
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Eagle
