"OVER THE RIVER" Project - by the artist Christo
Recently, the US Department of the Interior, specifically the Bureau of Land Management - granted permission, via a very lengthy permit process, for the artist Christo and his team to proceed with the "Over the River" project on the Arkansas River near Canon City, Colorado. This is to take place in one of the very sections of the river where we operate on a daily basis during our season and during the time frame for this incredible display by a world reknown artist. "Over the River" was conceived by Christo and the late Jean-Claude in 1992. This latest process involving the Federal Government has been the single biggest hurdle to clear for this project to move forward to reality.
There are still some permits to obtain from the Colorado counties involved; Fremont County and Chaffee County. Also required will be an agreement with the Colorado Department of Transportation. These final processes are now or soon will be underway. The tenative timeframe for beginning construction is 2012. This project will be displayed to the public for exactly two weeks when completed. Christo and his team are hopeful this will occur as soon as August of 2014.
At WAO, we will be offering the once in a lifetime opportunity to go rafting on some of our most popular trips in Bighorn Canyon, directly under the canopy, and within the section of river where the largest canopies will be constructed. Expected visitation to the Royal Gorge and Canon City, Colorado area during this event is estimated to be over 300,000 people. As you can guess, we will be extremely busy and many of the raft trip options we plan to offer, and time slots we will be allowed to run trips within the art project, will fill up quickly and far in advance once exact dates become available. With the amount of visitation in the area anticipated to be huge, it will, at some point, become difficult to secure a reservation to raft, a hotel or motel room or even a spot to go camping during the two week display period planned for this event. It is also anticipated that communities near Canon City, such as Colorado Springs, Pueblo and Salida, will be very busy as well.
However, there is still some uncertainty involved for us and for the Christo project. There is a committee being formed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife in an effort to create what will become known as the "Event Management Plan". We operate, and this art project will occur, in a Colorado State Park called the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area. These folks are our managing agency, as well as that of other rafting companies on the river and those involved in other commercial activities within the Park, such as fishing outfitters and photographers.
There are likely to be limitations set upon us as to how many boats we are allowed to put on the river during any given day of the event. There will also be time constraints as to who can be where, and when you can be there, within the Park. As these details begin to develop, we will post updates on this page, on our blog and on our Facebook page.
Anyone who may be interested in being among the first to begin planning a trip down the river with us during this project should contact Kathy@waorafting.com or give us a call at 800 530 8212. We have already begun a list of those who are planning now and want to be kept informed as this incredible project continues to move toward reality!
One very positive aspect of this project has occurred already. Anyone who has been on a raft trip in the past few years in Bighorn Canyon can't help but to have noticed all the railroad cars, complete with plenty of graffiti, which have been "stored" on the tracks. I counted them - roughly - one day when driving through and I came up with a couple hundred. They are all gone! Christo convinced the railroad to move them somewhere else as he needs to access the tracks on that side of the river to do a lot of the preliminary work for "Over the River". I can hardly even express how happy I am to see this eyesore gone.
NEWS -February 3rd 2012 - The hearings for the "Special Use Permit" in Fremont County, Colorado took place over the past couple of days. I attended the one in Canon City and spoke briefly on behalf of our outfitters association - AROA - we are obviously in support of the art project and the 2 week display event, although there are a couple of people within our membership who are either opposed or ambivalent about it. I would say a majority of the comments were positive, but there are concerns about the amount of traffic it will generate in the canyon and those of us in the rafting business around here will be impacted to a larger degree than most. Those who spoke in opposition were mostly those who live in the canyon where this is to take place, and I completely understand the concerns...it will be inconvenient, no doubt. Much of what was said, however, was a bit over the top; some of the comments were just plain ridiculous. There has been no indication when a decision will be made; I am guessing there will be nothing quick about it. I do believe that if Fremont County grants the permit, the event will happen. Chaffee County, our neighbors to the west, will also be impacted and are in the process of deciding on a permit as well, but from what I have heard "Over the River" is viewed mostly in a positive light there.
February 22nd - The most recent development with the proposed "Over the River" project is that the timeline for actual display has been pushed back...again. This is a bit disappointing, but if this is approved by Fremont County my guess is that this really will be the last delay. So, the project is now scheduled for the first two weeks in August of 2015. This change was prompted by several factors, most obvious that Fremont County is dragging their feet making a decision. From what I understand, since the public hearings, there has been no movement by either the County Commissioners or those charged with creating the Event Management Plan (EMP), which will spell out, in detail, traffic management, safety concerns and mitigation of those issues and how things will work on the river for all of us that will be operating rafting trips during the event. The committee involved with rafting and access in & out of the AHRA (State Park) access points is known as the Rationing and Agreement Advisory Committee (RAAC) on which I serve as the chairman. We will be working to develop a rationing plan and a private boater permit system for the time that the art is actually being displayed and I have even heard talk of rationing for a period of time before and after the event. This river, which is the most regulated river in North America other than the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, already has a Management Plan, Rationing Plan, Special Use Agreement (SUA)...which is our commercial boating "permit" and several associated riders. These lengthy and complex documents are the rules and regs by which we all operate and how private boating is managed among many other aspects of the operations of the State Park. I have been suggesting for some time now that the AHRA managers need to begin discussions regarding Over the River and the EMP, but so far no meetings have been held other than our monthly RAAC meeting where we have been mostly stonewalled by the agency guys. All sections of the Arkansas River already have an established carrying capacity, or limit as to how many boats are allowed each day and several sections, including the Royal Gorge and Bighorn Canyon where the event will take place, are already rationed on many days. It is a given that there will be limitations during Over the River. The RAAC will be directly involved in establishing these limits and distributing allocation to all the rafting companies as well as forming a plan for a private boater permiting system during the two week display period. One of the big issues with the delay of Over the River is public demand to see the EMP which at this time does not exist. I find it difficult to spend a lot of time and kill my few remaining brain cells developing a plan for any event that has yet to be approved. If Fremont County were to deny the permit after the EMP has been developed all that time and related brain cells will be wasted. I am not sure if we will see a sudden sense of urgency to get moving on the EMP or if the bureaucrats will slow the process down with the extra year to work on the EMP...who knows when it comes to the government agency folks.
Tony-WAO
More Christo information coming soon.
