AVA must be protected
Dear Editor:
The North Fork Valley constitutes one of only 189 American Viticultural Areas (AVA) in the United States. Napa, in California, is another.
It is bad management to lease lands with the intent to industrialize an AVA. This is a rare and unique designation that promises multi-generational, sustainable economic development. To industrialize the region by leasing parcels in close association with the vineyards, and, by extension, the organic and artisanal food producers that always develop hand in hand with an AVA, is without question to destroy what would otherwise become an economic asset and point of pride for the State of Colorado.
Lease these parcels and the BLM proves it is incapable of planning past five years. That's when the wells run dry, the agricultural opportunities are ruined, tourism becomes a thing of the past, and the tax base has moved to a state with the gumption and foresight to plan for the next generation.
Eugenia Bone
Crawford