What if we stop caring about Coal Creek?

Coal Creek in fall. Image by Courtney Whedon Sumner

Yes, we all care now.

No, that hasn’t always been the case.

What happens if future generations of our neighbors don’t value the creek like we do today?

This thought came up as I sat with some of the Open Space leaders in Superior to talk stream management planning for Coal Creek. It was a good reminder that the way we value natural spaces might not be same as tomorrow’s. When conservation is hard won and easily lost, will the gains we make today be durable?

Ask anyone who lives in any of the Coal Creek towns and you’re likely to hear strong support for open and natural spaces. Those places form the borders between towns, serve as a link to our agricultural past, and become the settings of our everyday lives. How do we impress the import of these spaces upon the future generations?

One way is the stream management plan (click here to provide your input). Right now, Friends of Coal Creek is conducting a public engagement campaign to establish, record and collate the values of Coal Creek’s many users — recreational, municipal, agricultural and more. We want to ensure voices — your voices — count toward the future, and what we find here will influence the management plan we create for Coal Creek.

If you’ve walked the creek and found peace there, or wondered why some sections dry in the summer, or noticed that stormwater free falls from every major road directly into the creek, or used the creek to water your crops or golf links, then we want your input.

Before we can worry whether future generations will care about Coal Creek, we have to articulate how we feel about it. Consider it a love letter in a time capsule that our neighbors in 20 years can open and read besides a creek that we hope knows no time.