The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Business participants of the local 1% for Open Space program have a lot to celebrate over their accomplishments in 2010. Through 1% voluntary donations made by their customers on products and services, 120 acres are now permanently preserved, providing greater recreational opportunities, wildlife habitats, and open space vistas for Crested Butte visitors and residents.
In April, 1% for Open Space became the sole funding source with a $10,000 gift to purchase four lots in Schofield Park. This particular project, submitted by the Crested Butte Land Trust, adds to the over 200 acres protected in the Park since 1997. Part of the 1,800-acre High Elk Corridor preservation project that connects the Maroon Bells-Snowmass and Raggeds Wilderness Areas, Schofield Park serves as the southernmost terminus for the West Maroon Pass Trail. A gateway to one of the nation’s most spectacular wildflower areas, this sub-alpine meadow is visited by thousands of hikers and bikers each year. Schofield Park also borders sensitive outdoor research areas utilized by the world-renowned Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory as well as National Forest land. 1% for Open Space has helped preserve more than 77 acres in Schofield Park since 1999 through the Trust for Public Land, Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory and Crested Butte Land Trust.
The 1% for Open Space program became a partner in one of the largest conservation projects in Crested Butte history in July, agreeing to donate $110,000 to the Town of Crested Butte to help fund Phase II of the Kochevar Open Space project. This money will aid in the permanent protection of 110 acres of the larger 383-acre Kochevar property. Phase II is located above Nicholson Lake and lies adjacent to Meridian Lake, Forest Service property, and the existing Crested Butte Land Trust Kikel open space, of which 1% for Open Space also helped fund. Along with the 1,000 acres preserved by the Crested Butte Land Trust in the area, this parcel connects valuable pre-existing open space parcels; buffers the National Forest; preserves an important elk migration corridor; and provides an estimated 30 miles of potential future trail connections between Nicholson Lake and Meridian Lake and the Slate River and Washington Gulch Valleys for hiking, biking and skiing. Purchase of this parcel protects dynamic viewsheds from town as well as vital watershed into the Slate River Valley.
Finally, in October, 1% for Open Space donated $46,000 for a recreation easement in Baxter Gulch, officially ending the longest standing access issue in Crested Butte. The easement serves as the final puzzle piece to a 30-year quandary as to how to restore a legal trail to Whetstone Mountain from Crested Butte. Official acquisition of Baxter Gulch easements began in 2004, initiated by the Town Council of that time. Local attorney Jim Starr crafted the current project. The Town of Crested Butte holds the easement. The proposed four-mile Baxter Gulch Trail will leave from near the County Shops on Highway 135, where a campground is itemized in the Town of Crested Butte’s Park and Recreation 2010 Master Plan. From there it will climb up through Avalanche Acres, wrap around the toe of Gibson Ridge, cross the creek in Baxter Gulch, and ascend on the south side of the creek until it joins with Forest Service Trail #565. Connections can then be made with the unmaintained climber’s trail that summits the peak of Whetstone Mountain, the Carbon Creek Trail (and thus the Ohio Creek area), and the Para Mi Para Ti Trail which ultimately leads into the Green Lake trail system. The entirety of the Baxter Gulch Trail will be constructed as a non-motorized, multi-use single-track trail.
Helping to fund these and future projects are 1% for Open Space’s newest business participants. The Cut Above, Bliss Community Chiropractic, Sacred Journals by Jennifer Rose (found in 418 and Ice Mountain Jewelry), the Sunflower Deli, Crested Butte Mountain Guides and Mikey’s Pizza stand proud in their commitment to help preserve the beauty that draws residents and visitors alike to the area.
1% for Open Space is oldest, most established and most successful 1% for open space collection program in the country, having raised over $1.5 million to preserve more than 4,400 acres in Gunnison County. Operating independently since 2000 as a 501c3, the program collects a voluntary 1% donation from customers on top of products and services in participating businesses. Once collected, 1% for Open Space grants this money to requesting entities for the preservation of land solely in Gunnison County. The program has funded projects initiated by the Trust for Public Land, the Crested Butte Land Trust, the Gunnison Ranchland Conservation Legacy, the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory and the Town of Crested Butte.
Please visit www.1percentforopenspace.org for the complete business participant list.
