Well folks, it finally happened – Gary Wockner and his merry band of eco-litigious warriors have dropped their challenge to the Thornton pipeline after nearly two decades of public hissy fits and courtroom entanglements. The Colorado Sun reports that Environmental advocate-for-hire Gary Wockner has waved his white flag on the project bringing water from Larimer and Weld counties down to sprawling suburbia. He still says it’s not right- – surprise! – but even he couldn’t keep dragging this dog through court forever.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Environmental group Save the Poudre finally gave up its legal battle against the Thornton pipeline project after years of exhausting litigation.
- The project moves municipal water from northern Colorado to thirsty Denver suburbs via a giant underground pipeline.
- Gary Wockner claimed the move is legal but morally wrong. Earth-shattering news: emotions don’t overrule contracts in this country.
- The courts previously sided with Thornton multiple times. Private landowners sold water legally. End of story.
- As always, this points to a deeper issue: private landowners are making hard choices based on market incentives created by government mandates – the same ones supposedly saving the planet.
My Bottom Line
Here’s the uncomfortable truth wearing ranch boots and a beat-up “Don’t Tread On Me” hat: two things can be true at once. I absolutely hate watching water leave Weld County for some suburban patch of turf where people name their dogs after wine varietals – but I also believe in property rights more than I believe in emotional outbursts staged under the guise of environmental virtue signaling.
This whole drama around the Thornton pipeline is a textbook example of what happens when you mix private landowners facing hard realities with government-induced markets that tip scales in favor of fake green fairy tales. Recipe? Farmer gets tired, kids tap out of farming for tech jobs in Boulder – and along comes piping hot cash from solar developers and municipalities wagging fat incentive checks like pork chops in front of a starving dog. What do you think grandpa’s gonna do? He cashes out before age finishes him first.
And before anyone gets weepy-eyed about “poor Fort Collins losing its soul,” remember: if you want different outcomes, push for different laws. Don’t whine when people play by rules you helped write or ignored while sipping your oat milk latte on College Ave.
So yeah – I respect that farmer’s choice even if I cry inside watching our landscape morph from hard-working ag backbone into solar panel graveyards and thirsty pipelines heading south. This ain’t utopia; it’s reality with receipts. Weld County stands at a crossroads – between honoring property rights and preserving rural heritage – or regulating ourselves straight into tyranny disguised as ecological stewardship.
We better figure out what hill we’re willing to die on because this isn’t going away – it’s just getting started.
