Mission

Advocate for protection of the Crystal River and provide aerial education to stakeholders living in Marble who need continued water security.

We flew over the Crystal River, a waterway EcoFlight is dedicated to protecting. The Crystal flows from Carbondale toward Marble and the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness. The Crystal is one of the last undammed and undiverted rivers in Colorado and a major tributary of the Roaring Fork River, which provides between 6-12% of the Colorado River's annual flow. The river is home to wildlife like deer, elk, bears, bighorn sheep, bald eagles, and cutthroat trout. Beyond ecosystem values, the Crystal boasts amazing recreational opportunities like kayaking and fishing. The river also provides drinking water for 7,000 people and is crucial to the region's rich ranching and agricultural heritage.

A group of local citizens and organizations has come together to advocate for protection of the Crystal River. They have a goal of procuring a legislative protection over the upper parts of the Crystal. This will ensure the river remains unobstructed by new dams or out-of-basin diversions, retaining its free-flowing nature.

Having flown beautiful and wild rivers all over the Western U.S. and the world, EcoFlight founder Bruce Gordon still says that the Crystal is one of the most spectacular watersheds he has flown. In an era of over-allocated rivers, political division, drought-stressed ecosystems, and high tensions around water in the West, it is essential that we identify and protect those places that are too special to develop and find common ground to advance durable protections. The Crystal River Wild and Scenic and Other Alternatives Feasibility Collaborative Steering Committee, and now its three subcommittees, are leading this charge on the Crystal.

Photos.