Sheep Mountain
Paradox Valley
Just west of Telluride, lies the Paradox Valley, a broad agricultural valley bordered by farms, ranches, red rock canyons, and rivers. Abandoned mines, ghost towns evacuated due to radioactive poisoning, elevated cancer rates, and radioactive tailings for which there is no long term solution dot the landscape, bearing witness to the failed legacy of uranium mining. Ironically, it is here that America’s first uranium mill and new mines in twenty-five years are proposed. The impacts of these developments would be felt not just in the Paradox Valley, but throughout the Western Slope where radioactive dust will fall, threatening the air, water, and agricultural land which are the life blood of the region. As part of a workshop with Garth Lenz at the Telluride Photo Festival, four passionate and committed photographers spent an intense three days in the region to bring their message of respect, concern, and stewardship for the people and land threatened by this proposal.
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