DENVER - The Over the River project has been in the works for nearly two decades, as Christo and his wife, Jeanne-Claude, who passed away last November, searched for just the right spot to produce their new visual art exhibit.
"We traveled more than 14,000 miles, looked at more than 89 rivers in the Rocky Mountains before choosing a stretch between Salida and Canon City to set up our temporary Over the River project," said the artist known as Christo. "Our visual art projects live on long after they are taken down and that will be the case right here in the Arkansas River Valley."
The project is now in the public comment stage, thanks to a law put into effect by former President Nixon back in 1972, which requires such forms of public art to undergo an Environmental Impact Statement. In Colorado Springs and Pueblo, Christo presented the vision to crowds so they could get a better understanding of the project.
"We just know this will be a win-win for the Valley," said art lover, Jay Boulton. "This project will last, with set up and tear down, almost a year down here, it will create more than 600 jobs, and generate more than $121 million for the local and state economy. How can we say no to this? We can't."
The exhibit will span 42 miles of the Arkansas River with fabric panels between .5 to 2.5 miles long stretched across 8 or 9 sections of the river. The project will be in the works for about 28-months.
Dozens of groups, city governments, and organizations have endorsed the project but there are others who are calling the project Rags Across the Arkansas River. They are worried about emergency response, traffic, and environmental damage.
Christo says his people will mitigate all concerns and when the project leaves, no one will ever know it was there. Still, there are concerns mentioned in the EIS draft and that is what is being considered now.
The Colorado River Runners groups have all given thumbs up to the project. The state's top two companies, River Runners and Echo Canyon both realize how many people the project will bring to the river.
"We can only hope to be ready for crowds that will surely come to view this project," said Andy Neinas, of Echo Canyon.
Scott Peterson, who is with River Runners also says, "We think this will showcase this part of the state in the most positive way. We only have two big ticket industries in the area, prisons and tourism, this will be a big boost to the economy for sure."
The public can now register any comments they might have with the government, and you can read the EIS draft by going to the Bureau of Land Management. Written comments can be made online by going to http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/rgfo/planning/otr/comment_form.html
"We traveled more than 14,000 miles, looked at more than 89 rivers in the Rocky Mountains before choosing a stretch between Salida and Canon City to set up our temporary Over the River project," said the artist known as Christo. "Our visual art projects live on long after they are taken down and that will be the case right here in the Arkansas River Valley."
The project is now in the public comment stage, thanks to a law put into effect by former President Nixon back in 1972, which requires such forms of public art to undergo an Environmental Impact Statement. In Colorado Springs and Pueblo, Christo presented the vision to crowds so they could get a better understanding of the project.
"We just know this will be a win-win for the Valley," said art lover, Jay Boulton. "This project will last, with set up and tear down, almost a year down here, it will create more than 600 jobs, and generate more than $121 million for the local and state economy. How can we say no to this? We can't."
The exhibit will span 42 miles of the Arkansas River with fabric panels between .5 to 2.5 miles long stretched across 8 or 9 sections of the river. The project will be in the works for about 28-months.
Dozens of groups, city governments, and organizations have endorsed the project but there are others who are calling the project Rags Across the Arkansas River. They are worried about emergency response, traffic, and environmental damage.
Christo says his people will mitigate all concerns and when the project leaves, no one will ever know it was there. Still, there are concerns mentioned in the EIS draft and that is what is being considered now.
The Colorado River Runners groups have all given thumbs up to the project. The state's top two companies, River Runners and Echo Canyon both realize how many people the project will bring to the river.
"We can only hope to be ready for crowds that will surely come to view this project," said Andy Neinas, of Echo Canyon.
Scott Peterson, who is with River Runners also says, "We think this will showcase this part of the state in the most positive way. We only have two big ticket industries in the area, prisons and tourism, this will be a big boost to the economy for sure."
The public can now register any comments they might have with the government, and you can read the EIS draft by going to the Bureau of Land Management. Written comments can be made online by going to http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/rgfo/planning/otr/comment_form.html
