County

County's federal buildings close down after tragedy

Sept 12, 2001

By Janelle Holden
journal staff writer

Several federal buildings closed in Montezuma County on Tuesday in the wake of apparent terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon offices in Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management closed all offices in southwestern Colorado.

The Durango San Juan Public Lands Center, Pagosa Ranger District, Columbine Ranger District, Dolores Public Lands Center, and Anasazi Heritage Center will be closed at least until 9 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 13.

For fire or other emergencies, the public is urged to call the Durango dispatch at 385-1324.

While offices are closed, the agencies promise to continue to operate from remote locations at full preparedness levels for fire response and other emergencies.

Updates on offices closings and reopenings will be posted on a phone message at 247-4874.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Service Center at 628 W. Fifth St. in Cortez also closed its doors on Tuesday. The building houses the Farm Service Agency, the Natural Resource Conservation Service, Soil Survey Office, and Rural Development Offices.

"We’ve been granted administrative leave if we want to go home," said Terry Schurr, the area director of the USDA service center, but by early afternoon enough federal workers had left that they shut the building down.

In addition, the Ute Mountain Ute Agency closed Tuesday morning, after a directive was issued from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Bureau of Reclamation’s offices were closed through Wednesday.

Those federal buildings that remain open include post offices in the county and Mesa Verde National Park.

"We don’t plan to close unless we hear otherwise," said park spokesperson Will Morris.

Because of the grounding of domestic flights, air mail is not leaving the area yet.

"I have no way of telling exactly what the impact will be here in Cortez, but certainly nationwide everyone can expect delays," said Pat Mitchell, the Cortez postmaster.

Meanwhile, across the West, other public-lands agencies closed and operators of hydroelectric dams closed visitor centers and limited access.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stepped up security at scores of dams, including 545 from St. Louis to Seattle in its Northwest Division, spokesman Paul Johnson said from Omaha, Neb.