Mission

Students from Basalt High School, Rifle High School, and Roaring Fork High School's Outdoor Leadership classes took a flight over the Crystal River and Thompson Divide. Students had the opportunity to learn about watersheds, a proposed Wild and Scenic Designation on the Crystal River, a proposed Mineral Withdrawal on the Thompson Divide, and see the beauty of their valley from the air.

Before the flights, they heard from local experts - Omar Sarabia from Defiende Nuestra Tierra at Wilderness Workshop, Jay Engstrom from Crystal Valley Environmental Protection Association, and Bill Argeros from the Crystal River Caucus. The flight route took students around the flanks of Mount Sopris, up the Crystal River to the famed red rock “fins” in the Thompson Divide, and over natural gas fields near Rifle before circling back to fly up the Roaring Fork River, over many familiar places like their schools and neighborhoods, and even over some of their favorite ski runs! Education is the cornerstone to public lands, ecosystems, and waterways that are managed sustainably.