The Gross Dam "Existential Threat": Up to Boulder County Commissioners this Nov. 2nd, 2021

Honorable Commissioners of Boulder County,

As a resident of lakeshore Park Drive, Boulder, CO with my home practically on the shores of the Gross reservoir, and in the name of my family, neighbors, communities in adjacent areas of Gross, and on behalf of the Latino constituency I belong to, specifically fellow underserved Latinos of Denver greater Metro area who will be in great part subsidizing with their taxes and utility bills the construction of what in the face of climate change is a senseless dam expansion riddled with?chronic droughts and a dying Colorado River, I beg you, please, to reject today's settlement proposed by the county attorneys to allow the expansion off the Gross Dam.

Only you have the power now to advocate for the well being and integrity of the communities-human and ecological-that you represent. This expansion does not justify the destruction of entire ecosystems our health depends on nor the disruption and detrimental environmental health impacts on the residents of Boulder county. Why should my youngsters and my 84 year old father --who every morning sits on our yard to take in the astonishing beauty of the pristine natural?wonder that is the admirable product of boulder county's conservation assets #6 and 7--why should they and I and everyone else live through unprecedented air particle and sound pollution for the creation of a bigger hole to trap the rapidly disappearing water coming down from the continental divide? So much destruction, displacement, pollution for a container to hold the water from those few years a decade climate change's moods may dictate and for what, to satisfy the absurd demands of Denver's green turf?I ask, what is the public interest that can justify this attack on my human right to enjoy my property peacefully? A public authority?cannot take away my property, or place restrictions on its use, without very good reason and compensation. How has Denver water proved this aggression?on our quality of life and health is necessary for the public interest? What process has been put in place to check that a fair balance has been struck?between?the public interest in expanding this dam and our individual rights to our land, and the enjoyment of our land.

And yes, there are the multitude of fellow species giving life to the 14k plus acres east and west of Gross that need you to advocate on their behalf, residents of Winiger Ridge and the?Foothill Riparian areas along South Boulder Creek,?and?Hawkin Gulch, Walker Ranch, Upper Eldorado Canyon and its corridors, all highly biodiverse areas, which is another way of saying, our human lives depend on them. And what about our Boulder open space public lands cultural heroe, the Elk, and what of our majestic life force giver, the old-growth Ponderosa and Douglas Fir?

There is much on your plate. I know. And there are too many interests at play and way more lives at stake. These are momentous times that call for the forging of justice work precedents. If you say NO, if you stand by a values-led stance on this matter and override with your values positioning the legal technicalities that may very well win at the end, you still would have won by having led with the commitment to the wellbeing of the people and ecosystems you represent.?Rest assure that the precedent set by your resistance will inspire others to continue the hard work ahead as we fight for the viable planet we so much want and need for our children.

Respectfully,

Irene Vilar