I spent this Saturday on the Eagle River and would have rather been fishing but I opted to join a team of about 50 volunteers to help pick up garbage so residents and visitors the Valley can continue to fish and enjoy the Eagle for years to come. I joined about five guides from Alpine River Outfitters to do our part and honestly, seeing how careless we can be with the gifts of Mother Nature will never cease to amaze me.

There were tennis and golf balls galore, a lot of cigarette butts, tires, old railroad nails, and plenty of rusted car frames and axels. I picked up superman sheets and a full gallon of milk, someone found a full bottle of rum, plungers were fished out of the river, and we found a great pair of heart shaped white sunglasses. It’s interesting to consider how every piece of garbage found its way down to the Eagle, everything has a story, but before you throw your beer cans on the bank it’s important to consider the Eagle River, too, has a story and purpose all its own. 

The Eagle River is not the most known River in Colorado and is easily overlooked as it sits in the shadow of the legendary Frying Pan but never the less it is an extremely important part to the livelihood of those in the Vail Valley. The snow that blankets the Rocky Mountains in the winter does not only give us unforgettable powder days but also, a trout fishery that provides us with good fishing all year-round.

The Eagle River was named by the local Ute Indians who thought the river had as many tributaries as there are feathers in an eagle’s tail. The river was hit hard by the mining boom in Colorado and much of its history is marked by circumstances similar to the Gilman Site.

The Gilman Mine site is a little southwest of Minturn and is currently a ghost town and strictly off limits to the public. In 1886, during the Colorado Silver Boom, Gilman was the center of lead and zinc mining in Colorado and concentrated around the now-flooded Eagle Mine. The Eagle Mine was abandoned in 1984 by order of the EPA because of the high levels of toxic pollutants and contamination of ground water. During these days the mines poured orange sludge into to the river and by the 1970’s the abuse of the river virtually killed the ecosystem that once existed.

In the 1990’s the government understood it was a serious issue and took Jurassic measures to revive the river back to a healthy state. Currently, the river is well on it’s way to making a full recovery and the trout that attract fisherman from all over are a great indication of the restoration of the Eagle.

We have come a long way when it comes to thinking about our environment but from my experience on Saturday it’s clear we have still not done all we can.