From a bird’s eye view, it’s easy to see how the landscape is divided between built and natural environments.
It was from this vantage point on an early morning flight over Colorado’s Roaring Fork Valley that ecologist Julia Kintsch showed a group of elected officials and journalists the places where a local organization hopes to bridge connections for the valley’s wildlife to move safely through the area.
“This whole valley was once winter range for animals,” said Kintsch, who has a contract with Roaring Fork Safe Passages. “Now, people also live here in towns and fields, and all the things we do here … you have all these things that are drawing animals into this area, and you have the highway here. So that’s why we see the conflict.”
Bruce Gordon, who piloted the ECO Flight trip over the valley on Wednesday, Sept. 4, has been flying in the region for over 40 years, the last 30 or so of which have included flights for the environmental education and advocacy flight organization.
“More and more people are starting to live there, and it’s becoming less safe for the animals to cross,” Gordon said. “We’re seeing more and more wildlife killed as we build out.”