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“I’ve seen a couple of interesting photographs from back in the early 1900s that my family handed down about this place called Florissant, and I’ve never been there, and I’m just very curious about what is there and what it’s all about,” Michalak said.

In particular, Michalak said she was curious about the enormous petrified tree stumps she saw in her family photos. How were they formed, and when?

Wolin said it often seems odd to people when they see the stumps of huge redwood trees in Colorado; it’s a species that today is mostly isolated to California and Oregon.

But 34 million years ago, redwoods – some up to 14 feet across in Florissant – were common across much of the Northern Hemisphere, due to the generally warmer and more temperate climate found here at the time.

This time period, known as the late Eocene, also saw a much more volcanically active Colorado than modern times.

So just how did Florissant’s trees become petrified? Successive nearby eruptions buried the land containing the monument in layers of ash-laden mud, creating ideal conditions for what is now one of the richest and most diverse fossil deposits in the world. The mud buried the trees and over time petrified them up to a certain point on their trunks.

Over time, the mud and its chemical make-up basically turned the stumps into stone. Scientists at the monument say about 30 stumps have been discovered so far, and it’s possible more may lie beneath the surface.

Under the radar

When asked about being a ranger at one of the National Park Services’ quieter locations, Wolin was bullish in his pride.“I’ve been here for 20 years, if that says something. I love this place,” Wolin said. “There’s always something new.”

Indeed, Wolin said researchers using new technologies are still finding rich new fossil discoveries on the monument grounds.

He said the paved walking path around the visitors center and the main collection of petrified stumps does tend to feel crowded in summer months but even then, solace can be found on the monument’s trails farther afield.

Last year, Wolin said just 71,000 people visited Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. To compare, 2021 visitation to Rocky Mountain National Park was 4.4 million.

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument Lead Interpretive Ranger Jeff Wolin said he loves watching visitors see the monument's famous petrified tree stumps for the first time. "You can just see it on their face," he said.

For more from Colorado Public Radio, visit www.cpr.org ■

A petition is going around town that would require a public forum should the Durango Fire Protection District submit plans to con-

vert the old 9-R building into a new fire station./ File photo

Fire station, round two

Residents rally round petition to call for public forum

by Jonathan Romeo

Desperate for their voice to be heard on the proposed new fire station in downtown Durango, a group of residents have started a petition that would call for a public forum to air their concerns.

“As it stands, there has never been a public forum or the opportunity for the public to ask questions and receive answers,” Greg Hoch, who is part of Citizens Voice Durango, which is organizing the petition, said. Hoch also served as the City of Durango’s Planning Director for 35 years, retiring in 2016. “It’s rather simple what we want.”

For years, the Durango Fire Protection District has searched for a permanent location to serve the downtown area, with its current facilities near the Powerhouse Science Center out of date and in disrepair. To complicate matters even further, the land, located at 1235 Camino del Rio, is owned by the City of Durango.

Last summer, DFPD made a shocking move when it announced it was going to purchase the 9-R Administration Building on E. 12th Street, next to Buckley Park, for a new emergency services center. DFPD, for its part, has said those plans were kept under wraps because the purchasing process was competitive.

Regardless, since those plans surfaced, a contingent of residents has launched a concerted opposition group to the proposed project, arguing the already-congested area would increase response times to emergencies, adversely impact Buckley Park and create a host of issues for adjacent neighbors.

Also from the beginning, a number of residents have felt the public was not given a proper opportunity to weigh in on what impact a new, massive emergency center in the heart of downtown would have on the city. Previous informal meetings or City Council hearings, Hoch said, limited public comment, and residents felt like their concerns fell on deaf ears.

“We have been asking for a public forum ever since September, and we’ve been denied it,” Hoch said. “This petition does not stop the city from ultimately approving the fire station. It simply says city ordinance would require a public process to get there.”

Enter the petition

It’s government jargon, the kind of stuff that makes the Average Joe’s eyes bleed, but at its core, the petition makes a simple request: If DFPD applies for a permit or submits an application for construction on the 9-R site, the process would require a public forum, no matter what. (We won’t get into it here, but there are several ways in which DFPD’s application may not be subject to a full review that would require a public forum).

The petition needs 768 valid signatures by April 27 from registered voters who live within Durango city limits, a number based on a percentage of residents who voted in the last election. If the petition is validated, the requested tweak in the city’s ordinance could be passed by city councilors at their May 17 meeting. Or, city councilors could decide that day to put the matter up for a vote sometime between Aug. 2-9.

As of this week, Hoch said the petition had more than half of the required signatures. The problem, however, is many signatures are invalidated because people who sign put down the wrong address, write illegibly, don’t live within city limits or aren’t registered to vote. With one week left, Hoch realizes the clock is ticking, and organizers in the coming days are planning to hit the streets, go doorto-door and attend local events.

“If someone wants to sign, we will come to them,” he said.

Fire side chats

Since DFPD closed on the sale in December to 9-R for $5 million in cash and nearly $2 million of in-kind services, it’s unclear where the fire district is in its process of planning and submitting plans for remodeling or construction on the site. Fire Chief Hal Doughty and DFPD board president Kathy Morris did not respond to requests for comment on this story.

The Durango Telegraph covered this situation in-depth in its Oct. 28, 2021, issue, but for those of us whose minds have been irrevocably warped in recent years, here’s a quick reminder.