Over the past several years, GARNA and some of its local volunteer members have been exploring how best to draw attention to the historic significance and facilitate preservation of two of the Upper Arkansas River’s major early transportation corridors: the Canon City to Leadville Stage Road and the Colorado Midland Railroad. In early 2010 this effort became more focused when GARNA was awarded a $40,000 planning grant from the Colorado State Trails Program to conduct a feasibility study.
Several general public open house meetings have been scheduled to explain the study and gather ideas and suggestions and reactions from the public:
- May 3 from 6-8 p.m. Lake County Courthouse Commissioners Room in Leadville
- May 4 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Sangre de Cristo Electric in Buena Vista
- May 5 from 5-7 p.m. at Salida Café community room in Salida
The key preliminary questions the open houses would like input on are
- How can these historic railroad routes and roads best be preserved and celebrated in today’s Upper Arkansas Valley?
- How do local citizens and visitors enjoy them today? How could they in the future?
- How can the route contribute to the Upper Arkansas Valley economy, culture and recreation experience?
- What are the common concerns of private land owners in the event that public access is proposed across or near their properties?
- How might access affect the objectives of public land managers like AHRA, the Forest Service, BLM, the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the State Land Board?
- Could a plan be developed that addresses the protection of our natural resources, the concerns of public and private land managers, and create awareness of the cultural, historical and recreational assets?
Ideas that have already surfaced-but need public exploration-are increased interpretation (signs/maps) at additional points along the route; a short book or brochure; registering portions of the routes on the State or National Registers of Historic Places; hiking, horseback and mountain biking access along appropriate sections; designation of certain public county roads for cycling and vehicle access along approximate historic routes, with markers; incorporating more exhibits and descriptions into local museums and Byway Welcome Centers.
For much more information about the history of the Leadville Stage Road and Midland Railroad and more information about the study, please visit www.garna.org/lsr-mrr-study.html.
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