The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Public hearing set for May 6
After a few tweaks to accommodate the annual elk migration through the proposed Phase Two of Wilder on the Taylor, the still-undeveloped subdivision east of Almont is close to getting the blessing of the Gunnison County Planning Commission for four more homesites on the 2,000-acre property spanning the Taylor River.
At a meeting on Friday, April 15, Colorado Division of Wildlife area wildlife manager J Wenum told the planning commissioners that the division’s concerns about the impacts development will have on elk have been addressed to the greatest extent possible.
Over the course of the county review of the project, the division has weighed in on several occasions to say that elk funnel into the area from the mountains around Crested Butte and Taylor Park on their southerly fall migration. Developing the proposed homesites, they said, would put people right in the way.
“This is the seasonal migration in fall and again in the spring,” Wenum said. “During the rest of the year, [the development is] not that much of an issue.”
Given the topography of the area around Wilder, there aren’t many places for migrating elk to cross the Taylor Canyon. If the route through the subdivision were to be abandoned, it could force even more elk to cross Highway 135 farther to the north and onto Red Mountain and Flat Top, where the range is already at capacity.
“Part of our concern is that if that route gets choked off completely, those animals, if it’s too crowded on the triangle, are going to try to go elsewhere,” Wenum said, “so it would compound an already difficult situation.”
One of the concerns the DOW had was that development could encroach on the woodland that the elk find shelter in. Without feeling safe in the traditional migration corridor, the elk could find another way to go. There was also concern with the road, which had been designed with several switchbacks to lessen the grade.
But initially, while the county has the right to say where the roads in the subdivision will go, there were questions from the project proponents about how far the county’s authority went beyond that and if county planners could keep development out of the wooded areas to protect wildlife.
Planning commissioner Ramon Reed suggested to Julie Ann Woods, president of the Elk Mountains Planning Group representing the developer, that the wildlife issue could be dealt with at the building permit stage on a case-by-case basis, or with a blanket restriction on building in certain areas. Already, with the help of Wenum, the development boundary had been adjusted to steer clear of the wooded areas of the property.
“The proponents have been amenable to the changes that were suggested. The arrangement as it’s set up now is agreeable to us,” Wenum said, adding, “Our view is that we try to avoid, minimize or mitigate impacts to wildlife and report those recommendations to the decision makers, you. Quite frankly I’m at a loss as to how we can mitigate impacts to the elk corridor, especially given the topography of that area. That’s where they go.”
The arrangement the two sides reached would carve out about 80 acres of the 187-acre Phase Two portion of the development as a no-build zone that would keep houses and people farther from the wildlife.
Planning commissioner Sam Lumb asked Wenum, “You’re saying this is what’s good for the elk?”
“We understand that there is some give and take in here and we’re trying to keep in mind and be reasonable that this is a seasonal migration and not a daily thing,” Wenum responded. “So yes, we’re comfortable with it.”
Woods reminded the commissioners that the developer has set aside 1,000 acres of Wilder on the Taylor for big horn sheep habitat the DOW had been concerned about and now the 80 acres in Phase Two. She also pointed out that the covenants for the homesites would try to protect wildlife from people and their pets.
The Planning Commission was satisfied with the efforts that had been made to protect the historical presence of wildlife on the property and scheduled a public hearing on the proposed development May 6 at 9 a.m.
