Taking a Cause to Facebook

So tonight I have become a community activist.  Using a Facebook cause page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-Chatfield/211376865577886) I am trying to spread the word about a plan to flood Chatfield Reservoir destroying wildlife habitats and recreational areas in the process.  Cottonwood-studded shorelines where folks go to bird watch would be replaced with mud flats.  Gone would be the swim beach where I lifeguarded in college.  Gone would be the gravel ponds where I currently stand-up paddleboard.  The great recreational facility that I basically live across the street from would be replaced with a med bog used to store water to address urban sprawl.  On a number of levels this just doesn’t sit well so I decided to get active.

I first became alerted to this plan when I read the article in the Denver Post (http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_18118214).  I then talked to friends I train for triathlons out at Chatfield to find out they were unaware.  I talked with neighbors to find out did they know about this although this might happen right across the street and they too were unaware.  So I decided to use the social network and my blog to start spreading the word.  I also signed up for the project’s mailing list so that I could share this word, because I think it would be easiest for all involved if no one really knew about this.  So we will see what happen and what comes in my experiment of social activism.  Perhaps it will help all of us to stay out of the mud.

Author stand-up paddle boarding at the Chatfield Gravel Pond