One reader feels strongly that the deal isn't a good one.
rmcleanair writes:
The Section 16 acquisition was an unbelievable political scam and it's a shame that so many good leaders went along for the ride. Sure, it's a square mile of land next to Rocky Flats, but as the Fish and Wildlife Service itself found, the area has been extensively impacted over the years. Check out the Service's own photo documentation of these encumbrances taken from its environmental assessment, http://climatewest.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/section-16-pictures-from-fws-ea.pdf. Among the blight: a trashed out open pit clay mine, scattered piles of junk, overgrazed grassland, transmission lines, old fences, a canal, roads, and a natural gas well. To boot, it's surrounded by active mining, roads, and increasingly, urban sprawl. This wasn't a conservation achievement, it was an attempt to turn a turd into something palatable. And in exchange for this turd, we get a new toll road, more sprawl, and more pollution.
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