Last year, I resolved to write a column in mid-December that reflects on the connectivity of land, water, and people as an annual holiday tradition. I believe that these three elements of our lives are truly embedded in our DNA and are worth reflecting on each year and counted as part of the blessings that we celebrate around the holidays. 

Of the three, people are certainly the most dynamic element to consider. Constantly growing, learning, and adapting, we are changing on a day-to-day basis. But we hardly notice, often saying to one another, “you haven’t changed a bit!” Oh, but we have! I, for one, welcome the change and strive to ensure my changes are for the better. I DO learn from our conversations and have been known to change my stance on matters because of quality discussions with people I respect. Yes, even on politically charged issues.  

We all learn from reading, and I’ve been told several times “I learn so much from your column.” Does learning from what we read contribute to our personal changes? I wholeheartedly believe it does! I can think of several recent books that have served as significant eye-openers for me. This is a great time to encourage folks to read more about our natural resources and how we can better steward the lands and waters that connect and provide for us. 

The land element is also constantly adapting, but on a significantly broader scale. The broadness is measured in both the scope of time and spatially. Again, the land, and more specifically the landscapes we interact with do, in fact, change even in the absence of human activity. Several years ago, I was driving north of Canon City when I suddenly realized that many of the smaller Pinyon and Juniper trees in my view were likely not there just 15 years before when I first moved to the area. The growth was so gradual and “natural” that I simply didn’t notice it. Slower growing vegetation such as that growing in the harsh alpine or desert environments will be less noticeable but certainly as persistent. To illustrate this you might want to dig up a photo of your favorite untouched landscape from twenty years ago and look at it now as a comparison. You’ll definitely see a noticeable change that speaks to the growth and adaptation of the landscape.  

I contemplated for far too long how I would even approach discussing the changes of the water element. Then it dawned on me that it was very easy. Water is the fastest changing of the three. In any form, water is changing every second. The larger bodies of water are easy to see the changes due to the weather elements alone. Wind, sun and temperature move water in all the various ways. Even the smaller water sources, down to the invisible relative humidity, simply never stay the same. The students of the San Luis Valley are well versed on “the water cycle.” They can probably speak to you with confidence about precipitation, evaporation, condensation, transpiration, percolation, runoff and infiltration. These are the methods water uses to move and constantly change. As our students learn about water movement, they learn to apply those principles to how we can manage our crops and provide food for the masses. And so, we complete the circle of the changing but constant connectedness of land, water and people. 

For 16 years the Land, Water, and People column has educated, informed, humored and occasionally frustrated the readers of the San Luis Valley. It has been a consistent avenue to connect all of us, if only in a minor way. As we count our blessings this time of year, we can be thankful for the land where we live, the water that supports us, and our wonderful neighbors and visitors that enrich our lives. 

The New Year will certainly arrive with new challenges and, hopefully, blessings for all. I’d be pleased to meet more of you during the year. Maybe we’ll have the opportunity to discover how these three vital elements connect us. For now, on behalf of all of us at the Rio Grande National Forest, I offer my best wishes to all of you for a safe, healthy and prosperous 2025. 

Gregg Goodland is the Public Affairs Officer for the Rio Grande National Forest. As an avid outdoor enthusiast, he encourages individual stewardship and responsible use of our public lands.