City Manager Ron LeBlanc wants new laws in place before the summer tubing season that would ban alcohol and late nights and require life jackets on the Animas River. The proposed changes would affect all private and commercial users of the river, but their target is clear: tubers.

The foundation has been laid to provide drinking water to the dry western side of La Plata County, but the building blocks needed to complete the system are many, varied and expensive. A couple of dozen skeptical Dryside residents heard the assessment Tuesday evening from La Plata West Water Authority board members Roy Horvath, Tom Brossia, Mae Morley and Kirk Peine.

Good news could be flowing into the Animas River from Washington, D.C. Last week, U.S. Sen. Mark Udall introduced “Good Samaritan” legislation to aid in efforts to clean up abandoned mines. From its source tributaries in and around Silverton to its confluence with the San Juan River in New Mexico, the Animas River is tainted with heavy metal and acid load.

The battle of the invaders may be going on hold in the West. While tamarisk, the poster child for non-native plants, has squeezed out native species and exhausted scarce water resources throughout the West, there has been a new ally in the fight against the noxious weed’s spread – a small beetle from Central Asia.