The People of Colorado Voices
Hank Hotze: Montrose
Protecting Wilderness and Wild Rivers
Hank is a flyfishing and rafting guide from Montrose and a life-long resident of Colorado, minus
10 years in New York City. He recently sold Gunnison River Expeditions, a company he started and ran for
25 years. Hank is also a rancher. He speaks to the quality of the fishery in the Gunnison River where it
flows through Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park as well as to the recreational values of the
protected wilderness lands (Gunnison Gorge Wilderness/National Conservation Area) that extend 12 miles
below the canyon. In parts of the interview not chosen for production, Hank describes the multiple
recreational uses of land in the county and the adjacent Curecanti National Recreational Area (Blue
Mesa Reservoir, ORV routes, picnicking, etc.). He describes how "normal people" can enjoy the wilderness
area viewshed from the canyon rim, while "world-class athletes" like himself climb the canyon walls and
navigate the class VI whitewater below; he also talks about how the more user-friendly miles of river
below the canyon complement the canyon's extremely rugged character.
Joe Greiner: Buena Vista
Bringing together Conservation, Business and Recreation
Joe Greiner owns and operates
Wilderness Aware, one of the premier whitewater rafting companies in the Arkansas Valley. Joe and his
wife Sue bought the company over 20 years ago and are based in Buena Vista. Joe has seen rafting and
camping enhance his children’s lives. He has also seen his clients grow from their experience of
rafting a beautiful, pristine section of river like Browns Canyon. Joe speaks to the economic values
of wilderness – he would like to see the proposed Browns Canyon Wilderenss officially designated as
wilderness so that he can promote the fact to his clients and attract more business. He also feels
that the preservation of the wild viewshed in Browns Canyon is essential to his business, as most
of his trips are run through that section of the Arkansas River. Rafting and kayaking on the Arkansas
River, one of the most commercially rafted rivers in the world, brings an enormous amount of economic
benefit to local businesses and Chaffee County.
Kendra Sandoval: Denver
Connecting Our Children to the Land
Kendra Sandoval is the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado’s Researcher/Events Coordinator.
Kendra researches current movements in the field of sustainability and oversees event coordination.
A native Denverite, she has served diverse communities of people in realms of teaching, social
justice, and environmental activism for over fifteen years.
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