Durango Herald: It has been pointed out several times that the Aug. 5 Gold King Mine spill into the Animas River was, in one sense, a good thing. It re-awoke the public to Colorado's checkered mining heritage, and the damage done to our rivers for more than a century. But Colorado's mining legacy is more than old mines polluting mountain streams. It also gave us the fundamental laws and traditions that govern our rivers and the water they hold.
In 1859, David Wall dug a small ditch from Clear Creek to irrigate...