The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
It’s officially over! The fight to save Red Lady is over…
By Mark Reaman
The paperwork officially putting a close to the Red Lady mining fight on Mt. Emmons was filed the morning of Thursday, August 29, ending a battle that has lasted almost five decades. The documents finalized a so-called Mineral Extinguishment agreement, conservation easements on Mt. Emmons, and a major land exchange agreement between the Mount Emmons Mining Company (MEMC), a subsidiary of global mining giant Freeport McMoRan, and the US Forest Service were all signed, sealed and delivered Thursday.
A deposit of high-quality molybdenum was discovered in Mt. Emmons, the iconic mountain that overlooks the town of Crested Butte, in 1977 and several mining companies had attempted to extract the ore for decades. But the local community actively fought the effort on a number of fronts, and today was the day they could claim victory.
Groups, organizations and government entities including the High Country Conservation Advocates, the town of Crested Butte, the Crested Butte Land Trust, the Red Lady Coalition, Gunnison County, the state of Colorado, US senator Michael Bennet and others, all played a role in the outcome. And so did the mining company that made the collaborative decision to work with the local community to basically walk away from its mining rights and focus on reclamation and maintaining water quality on the site that sits in the town’s watershed. The MEMC water treatment plant is on Red Lady and treats water from the old Keystone mine.
“This victory is an incredible testament to the staying power of the greater Gunnison Valley community. To say that not many mine fights end in a collaborative solution eliminating the potential to mine is an understatement,” said Julie Nania, Red Lady Program Director for HCCA.
“Almost 50 years of community engagement has paid off,” said Crested Butte mayor Ian Billick. “Generations of Red Ladies, HCCA, the CBLT, Gunnison County, the town of CB and community members all contributed to the effort. We collectively made this happen!”
Winter ski access up the traditional skin track, and ski descents in Red Lady Bowl and Glades will be legal for the first time in history.
A Crested Butte Townie Takeover was held Thursday afternoon to mark the event. The community will hold a Celebrate Red Lady party on October 4 in Crested Butte with a live band street dance on Elk Avenue.
The Crested Butte News will have more details and reaction in the next issue of the paper.
