Protections for Red Lady signed, sealed and delivered as community and mining company come together

Complex web of agreements in place

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, bringing an official victory to those who fought for decades to protect the mountain overlooking Crested Butte from industrial mining. As word of the legal filings essentially ending the almost 50-year fight spread through the community, there was not so much a sigh of relief as an outpouring of joy, both subtle and ecstatic. For some there was a feeling of a 47-year-weight coming off the shoulders, while for others the only thing to do was get on a bike and join the Townie Takeover celebration on Elk Avenue.

Through the collaboration of several groups and government entities, along with hundreds of individuals including the owners of the global mining corporation that holds the mining rights on Red Lady, Mount Emmons Mining Company (MEMC), a subsidiary of Freeport-McMoRan, there will be no mining of molybdenum on Red Lady. MEMC will operate the water treatment on the iconic mountain west of Crested Butte and hiking to the summit to ski Red Lady Bowl will now be legal.

The documents recorded on August 29 included a Mineral Extinguishment agreement signed by the MEMC, conservation easements on Mt. Emmons prohibiting mining and development to be overseen by the Crested Butte Land Trust (CBLT), along with a complex land exchange deal between the mining company and the U.S. Forest Service. The land exchange will let MEMC control the water treatment plant and mining waste on their now private property on Mt. Emmons without having to go through the long federal approval process tied to decisions on public lands. 

Entities including the High Country Conservation Advocates (HCCA), the town of Crested Butte, the Crested Butte Land Trust, the Red Lady Coalition, the Coal Creek Watershed Coalition, Gunnison County, the state of Colorado, U.S. Senator Michael Bennet and others, all played a role in the victorious outcome.

Stakeholder reactions

“Forty-seven years seemed to melt away with the news that we had finally, and thoroughly, Saved Red Lady!” said High Country Conservation Advocates board president and early Red Lady warrior Sue Navy. “While I have to acknowledge a feeling of immense personal accomplishment, I know how many people have worked toward this achievement over all these years. It was a huge, unparalleled community effort that finally allowed me to realize that I no longer have to work to ‘Save Red Lady,’ because WE DID IT!” 

“Our Red Lady success story is only made possible because of countless people, spending countless hours toward this resolution,” Navy continued. “Federal and state agencies, local governments, legal experts in the areas of mining and water, conservation-minded nonprofits, generous financial contributors too numerous to name. Perhaps the most unexpected, and extremely valuable partner has been the Mt. Emmons Mining Co. In recent years, collaboration has been the key to success. In an extremely unpredictable scenario, they came through.” 

Freeport-McMoRan manager of external communications Jim Telle agrees. “This completion of the historic land exchange and accompanying conservation easement and mineral extinguishment agreement permanently brings the end of mining at Mt. Emmons. MEMC benefits by having all of the lands impacted by historic mining on our MEMC property, enabling MEMC the ability to continue our conservation mandates while not impacting federal lands.”

Crested Butte mayor Ian Billick said the conclusion of the Red Lady fight makes clear where the community stands with its future, and he credits hard work and collaboration in reaching this point. “Getting this across the finish line took a strong collaborative effort that involved not just the community, including the Town, County, HCCA and CBLT, but also a serious commitment by Freeport-McMoRan as well as the federal government, including the USFS, Department of Interior, and Senator Bennet (among others),” he said. “With the work of all these parties, we were able to go from ‘Hell No’ to ‘Hell Yea!’ 

“The Town was an active participant, from helping shape strategy to reviewing the legal documents associated with the mineral withdrawal and land exchange, to ensure that the complex set of actions truly achieved what we have been working on for almost 50 years. Crested Butte has now formally and fully transitioned from mining to a tourism and amenities-centered economy.”

Gunnison County commissioner Jonathan Houck also emphasized the importance of not giving up. “Gunnison County is incredibly proud to be part of this monumental accomplishment. The county has played an ever-evolving role in working with all parties to bring resolution to the community’s desire to keep Mt. Emmons mine-free,” he said. “Like so many things in this community, grit and determination of dedicated individuals along with non-stop engagement and willingness to stay at the table is what made the difference. Over 47 years, the county has realized that a cooperative relationship between all stakeholders, including MEMC, would be essential to build trust that would lead to a durable and comprehensive solution. Along with the Town of Crested Butte, CBLT, HCCA, MEMC and the Forest Service we have had to build consensus and be willing to engage in new approaches to a lingering challenge. It feels good to reach this milestone.”

CBLT steps up to a lead role

The next chapter involves monitoring the conservation easements and that responsibility is held with the Crested Butte Land Trust. CBLT executive director Jake Jones said the deal is complicated and has many facets. “The Land Trust played a central role in crafting the conservation easement in partnership with the landowner and our partners at the Town of Crested Butte and Gunnison County,” he explained. “The easement and land exchange were done in parallel and are interdependent. One would not happen without the other. A primary purpose of the conservation easement was to guarantee that Mt. Emmons Mining Company gave up all rights to mine and develop the mountain after the land exchange was complete. An equally important outcome was to ensure the landowner could continue the remediation of past mining, and to operate now, and replace in the future, the Keystone Mine water treatment plant. Finally, the public is allowed to legally access the traditional winter skin track and descent routes on Mt. Emmons for the first time in history.”

Like all involved, Jones said the process was aided by trust and collaboration. “This process was as arduous as it was rewarding,” he said. “I think the land exchange and conservation easement is a beautiful example of diverse interests coming together to find common ground and solve a generational problem. CBLT was in a unique position to bridge different points of view amongst many partners. I personally enjoyed sitting around the negotiating table with the landowner, the Town, County and Forest Service. It wasn’t easy but we are all stronger partners now than when this process started.”   

Navy agreed with the importance of MEMC being a trusted partner. “Once MEMC came on the scene, the energy changed, and we all began working toward a common goal,” she reminisced. “Senator Michael Bennet, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and even President Biden played vital roles in the culmination of this David v. Goliath saga. It all came together on August 29, 2024—WOW!” 

Ashley Bembenek of the Coal Creek Watershed Coalition (CCWC) emphasized how the decision protects local water quality in the valley. “CCWC is thrilled to celebrate this monumental accomplishment with our community! Over the decades, many people worked tirelessly to prevent mining and protect the Town’s water supply,” she said. “I would like to thank the early leaders, in particular, for their incredible dedication and determination including CCWC’s first board president Steve Glazer. We look forward to continued partnership with the Town, County and other organizations to assure that local water quality is protected and improved as much as possible. For CCWC, this means continued sample collection, data analysis and engagement in the process to develop water quality standards and permit limitations.” 

HCCA’s advocacy director Jon Hare indicated the outcome seemed improbable at times, but the end result is wonderful for both water and land in the valley. “This is one of the greatest outcomes of the conservation legacy in our nation’s history. As a resident of this valley, I am so thankful and appreciative of the people who have invested themselves in keeping the Gunnison Country a place where people can live and visit to enjoy unspoiled public lands and small mountain communities with recreation and agriculture-based economies,” Hare said. “HCCA is dedicated to protecting the health, integrity and beauty of the public lands, waters and wildlife in Colorado’s Gunnison Country for the next 50 years.” 

A matter of building trust

Telle said the MEMC has been working toward this conclusion since 2016 and the establishment of “trust” between all the parties was the important factor. “The process that eventually led to the land exchange was launched in 2016, when MEMC reacquired the Keystone assets and began laying out our vision in meetings with city, county and state leaders. Then, in January 2021, the U.S. Forest Service and MEMC formally launched the land exchange process. Since then, MEMC has focused on conservation objectives while continuing to foster trust as a valued part of the Crested Butte community,” he explained. “MEMC is committed to the conservation objectives of the Coal Creek Watershed that include continued ongoing water treatment to ensure water quality in Coal Creek, and continued reclamation of historic mine features that conserve and protect the natural environment.”

When asked if officers in the mining company found it “weird” for Freeport to be giving up its mining rights, Telle said given the circumstances, it wasn’t. “Freeport-McMoRan (the parent company of MEMC) embraces and shares the conservation objectives of the community that has worked to preserve the Red Lady. 

“Freeport supported MEMC’s reacquisition of the assets of the Keystone mine in 2016 to ensure protection of the environment was maintained,” he said. “There were no plans to develop a mine. Our goal has been to implement measures that fulfill the environmental mandates, acquire the land and find a mutually satisfactory resolution of the mining claims. Our sustained engagement with the community led to this final achievement and its conservation benefit for all the parties.” 

Jones said for the outcome to have reached this final resolution, a lot of pieces had to fall into place. “Successful conservation projects start with a willing landowner. After decades of community resistance and a local economy that transitioned away from mining in the 1950s, it took the right landowner to initiate and follow through with the process to permanently eliminate the risk of a large mine in our watershed,” he said. “The stars really aligned with this project, and we are fortunate that Mt. Emmons Mining Company, and not another mine developer, acquired the land nearly 10 years ago.

“While Mt. Emmons is unique in scale, visibility and complexity, it is also very similar to the dozens of conservation easements across thousands of acres of private land in Gunnison County held by CBLT,” Jones continued. “Working agricultural land, and land protected for wildlife and recreation are all conserved using the very same tools as we utilized on Mt. Emmons. As the easement holder, CBLT will monitor the property every year to ensure the terms of the easement are being met and we will help educate the public about where and how to legally access the mountain. Our perpetual responsibilities start now. For me, I’m sure that first climb up the Red Lady skin track will feel a little different this winter.”  

Former Gunnison County attorney David Baumgarten was involved in the Red Lady issue for decades. Like Jones, he said collaboration was the glue that held the process together and that even with the main fight concluded, there is hard work ahead. “I am reminded of a folk saying I learned a long time ago: ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’ Our community — together — successfully and directly faced for almost five decades the challenges presented by the potential of mining of Mt Emmons,” he said. “Now we directly face the challenges presented by a future where that potential has been replaced with the challenges of clean up, monitoring and ensuring the quality and quantity of water on and through the site as it is remediated. I anticipate hard work and success. I am proud to have had the opportunity to participate.”

Navy said HCCA will continue to engage in a wide spectrum of public lands issues, but putting a bow on this issue is satisfying. “We are elated with the completion of this long-fought battle. Preventing mining on Red Lady has long been our goal, and to see it come to fruition is beyond gratifying,” concluded Navy. “We will all sleep easier knowing that the sun will forever set on a mine-free Red Lady!”

The community will celebrate Red Lady on October 4 in Crested Butte with a public street dance and live band on Elk Avenue.