Report from Save the Colorado:
The Town Council of Ridgway, Colorado, passed our “Rights of Nature for the Uncompahgre River Watershed” resolution! Ridgway Mayor John Clark reached out to us after he learned about the similar resolution that passed in the Town of Nederland two months ago. Ridgway now makes the second town in the Colorado River basin to pass “Rights of Nature” for their local watershed. The resolution states:
“The Uncompahgre River, its tributaries, and the Uncompahgre River Watershed, along with the living and other things existing naturally within them, exist and function as an integrated and interdependent system of natural communities and are therefore understood, respected, and recognized in this Resolution as a living entity, possessing fundamental and inalienable rights.”
The resolution, posted here, gives responsibilities to the Town to support the rights of the river, including to “Develop, implement, and enforce laws, policies, programs, best practices, and other measures necessary to effectuate the rights enumerated in this Resolution so that Nature and current and future generations of humans may thrive together in harmony within the Town.”
Our colleague, Grant Wilson, who works for our partner organization, Earth Law Center, gave a presentation to the Ridgway Town Council last night to help move the resolution forward.
See more of Save the Colorado’s report HERE, including how they are also working with Crested Butte, Colorado on a similar resolution.
Photo credit: “Fresh snow on the Uncompahgre River” by Christopher Rosenberger is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0