It has been over a year since the FAA implemented their new satellite tracking system to monitor the air traffic out of DIA and all the other Front Range airports. For those adversely impacted by this new system, the question becomes how to deal with these changes when there is a strong possibility that they will be long term and maybe lifetime. A silly approach would be to wear noise cancelling headphones when outside. An extreme solution would be to sell out and move someplace with less overhead air traffic. The other possibility is to live a full life regardless of the changes around you that you don’t like.

My wife’s uncle, Karl Knorr, was a third generation Coloradoan who spent his entire life as a mountain rancher along the Blue River in Grand County. His grandparents homesteaded along the Blue in the 1880s. Karl was born in 1913 and went to school in Breckenridge when the town was still a hub for mining. He graduated from high school in 1930 and went to work on his parents’ ranch which eventually totaled 10,000 acres. In the late 1930s, the government acquired part of the Knorr ranch through eminent domain to build the Green Mountain Reservoir. The Knorr ranch buildings had to be moved from along the river to higher ground on the west side of the ranch near the town of Heeney. Karl said of those times “We had to get out there and start over. It was like a gopher scrambling to high ground when you drowned him out.”

Karl lived next to the new reservoir the rest of his life. He went on to become a successful rancher and was active in the Civil Air Patrol, NRA, Blue River Board, Colorado River Board and Middle Park 4-H. He hunted in Alaska and Africa and enjoyed skiing until his early 80s. He set it up so that the Knorr ranch will be preserved and never developed into ski condos and golf courses. The reservoir is nearing 90 and continues to be a part of the Colorado River Basin water storage system.

Karl Knorr exemplified what it means to live alongside things that you cannot change and still have a robust and meaningful life experience. Those who choose to stay and live under this aviation freeway still have much to work for and protect. The sound of a jet engine can not damage a tree or a house, but a wildfire can destroy everything. There are some great local volunteer organizations like Axes and Snacks that are working to protect our residential forests from the devastation of a wildfire and promote forest health. Shaking a fist at the sky might be emotionally satisfying but working to protect our communities/forests and engaging in creative living will be more rewarding in the long run. Wildfire season is coming.

Wes Isenhart
Black Hawk