Congressional Staff Tour
On July 8, 1998, the Infrastructure Resources
Project hosted a field trip for the Congressional Staffers of the Colorado U.S. Senators
and Representatives. After a brief welcome at the Jefferson County fairgrounds, the
field trippers boarded a bus for the first stop at the Dakota hogback along Turkey Creek
(right), where they saw the source and reservoir rocks for the oil and gas of the
Wattenburg field north of Denver. The next stop was at the Lafarge Spec Agg quarry
where they observed the mining and processing of Precambrian crystalline rocks into
crushed stone aggregate, and then discussed the bedrock aquifers and water recharge along
the mountain front. After an excellent, if belated, lunch at Coors Park along Clear
Creek east of Golden, the field trippers observed active and reclaimed sand and gravel
operations along Clear Creek to its confluence with the South Platte River, and then
northward along the South Platte to the Howe Pit (right). During this leg of the
trip, the field trippers were also introduced to the importance of the shallow aquifers
(alluvium) along the major drainages and the characteristics of the riparian habitat
that occurs along these drainages. From the Howe pit, the field trippers traveled
north and west across the south end of the Wattenburg oil and gas field where they
observed the inevitable land use conflicts that have arisen between sustaining agriculture
production, developing energy resources, and land development for human habitation.
On the return trip to the fairgrounds, the field trippers were briefed on the baseline
data being developed for the project and the land use changes that are taking place in the
region because of an increasing population.
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