Posted by Community Contributor | Jan 21, 2021
Like many local residents, when Friends of Browns Canyon first learned that the Colorado Midland and Pacific Railway (CMP) had leased Union Pacific’s local rail line, we were excited at the prospect of trains returning to the valley. After all, CMP promised to “assess the interest” of local communities “for commuter passenger rail services.”
As we learned more about CMP, our excitement turned to dismay at the prospect of trains hauling heavy crude oil through the valley.
The oil trains first came to light last March, when Trains magazine published an article titled “Union Pacific’s Tennessee Pass could become shortcut for Utah crude oil” and identified Rio Grande Pacific as the suitor for the local rail line.
Daily file photo
A Dec. 31 deal between Union Pacific Railroad and the Colorado, Midland & Pacific Railway Company is already generating opposition.
The biggest player among the opponents is the Colorado Pacific Railway, a firm that hauls grain in eastern Colorado and western Kansas. The U.S. Surface Transportation Board in March of 2020 rejected Colorado Pacific’s offer to purchase the line. At the time, the bid was rejected as incomplete.
Colorado Pacific owner Stefan Soloviev, who also has large agricultural holdings in eastern Colorado under the company name KCVN, said in a phone conversation he wants the line to haul grain more easily from eastern Colorado to western markets.
Like many local residents, when Friends of Browns Canyon first learned that the Colorado Midland and Pacific Railway had leased Union Pacificâs local rail line, we were excited at the prospect of trains returning to the valley. After all, CMP promised to âassess the interestâ of local communities âfor commuter passenger rail services.â
As we learned more about CMP, our excitement turned to dismay at the prospect of trains hauling heavy crude oil rumbling through the valley.
The oil trains first came to light last march when Trains magazine published an article titled âUnion Pacificâs Tennessee Pass could become short cut for Utah crude oil.â The article revealed that Rio Grande Pacific was negotiating for the use of the local rail line.
Local, regional and state organizations are nearly finished with the first phase of a conservation plan along the Arkansas River meant to promote public access and preserve land in southern Lake County.
Through a decade of collaborative effort, Lake County Government, Lake County Open Space Initiative (LCOSI), Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) and the Central Colorado Conservancy (CCC) have worked to identify, purchase and protect acres of land along the Arkansas River in Lake County.
The project began in 2010 when LCOSI partnered with a consulting firm to identify land that could be acquired for conservation projects, Mike Conlin, facilitator with LCOSI, said.
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