Former commissioner named community liaison
Asks municipalities and others to sign onto new initiative
Development plans not revealed.
By Katherine Nettles
The Biden-Harris administration officially signed protections for the Thompson Divide area on Wednesday, April 3, ensuring a 20-year safeguard from new oil and gas leasing and new mining for almost 222,000 acres across the Western Slope. This includes Mt. Emmons directly to the west of the town of Crested Butte, known locally as Red Lady.
After more than a year of public and federal engagement since the Biden administration’s proposed withdrawal in October 2022, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland signed Public Land Order 7939 on Wednesday, withdrawing approximately 221,898 acres of US Forest Service (USFS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land from disposition under the public land laws and operation of federal mining, mineral and geothermal leasing laws for a 20-year period.
The public land order withdraws 197,745 acres of the White River and Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison national forests, as well as 15,465 acres of BLM-managed public lands and 8,689 acres of reserved federal mineral interest under non-federal land.
“This is a huge day for Crested Butte and surrounding areas!” wrote Crested Butte mayor Ian Billick in an email to the Crested Butte News on Wednesday morning. “With the announcement of the administrative withdrawal of mining on the Red Lady/Mt. Emmons by the Biden Administration, we have taken another major step towards permanent protection. The foundation for this achievement was set long ago; it’s humbling to be part of 50 years of committed work by our community to make this happen.”
Billick acknowledged the dedication of local conservation organization High Country Conservation Advocates (HCCA), whose mission has long been to protect Red Lady permanently. “Catalyzed by High Country Conservation Advocates, protecting the Red Lady has been a community effort spanning 50 years, involving generations of community members, activists and politicians. This is a major success that we collectively made happen! It’s time to celebrate!”
Billick also recognized the work of U.S. senator Michael Bennet in getting the action all the way to the White House. “Senator Bennet and his team have been relentless in pursuing Crested Butte’s top long-term goal, protection of the Red Lady. This 20-year mineral withdrawal is a major achievement on the path to permanent protection,” Billick wrote.
Gunnison County commissioner chair Jonathan Houck expressed his excitement as well. “I am so happy and proud for all the communities connected to the Thompson Divide and Mt. Emmons. So many folks have carried the torch and never gave up on protecting Mt. Emmons. The Red Lady has been protected because of the relentless advocacy and grit of generations of folks in Crested Butte and across Gunnison County,” he said. “I committed my efforts to the fight 12 years ago when elected county commissioner and Senator Bennet’s leadership gave us a chance to include this withdrawal with actions on the Thompson Divide as part of the CORE (Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy) Act, much of which is in Gunnison County. Today we celebrate the breathing room the 20 years gives us and tomorrow we continue the work to make the actions permanent.”
Bennet first introduced the Thompson Divide Withdrawal and Protection Act in 2013, and the bill was eventually incorporated into the CORE Act. Mt. Emmons was later included as Bennet heard from the local community and Mt. Emmons Mining Company (MEMC), working to “resolve one of the longest standing mining disputes in the nation,” according to a joint press release from Bennet and U.S. senator John Hickenlooper.
“Coloradans fought for decades to protect the Thompson Divide and Mt. Emmons,” said Bennet. “This announcement is a testament to the persistence of Colorado’s farmers, ranchers, hunters, anglers, recreationists, wildlife enthusiasts and conservation groups, who were unrelenting in their work to protect the landscape we all love. Now, we need to pass the CORE Act to make this withdrawal permanent and protect this land for the next generation and generations to come.”
Hickenlooper added, “Coloradans know what’s best to protect our cherished landscapes, and this announcement ensures that protection.”
Longtime HCCA board member and current president Sue Navy was excited on Wednesday as well. “This was worth waiting for, and working for, for so long,” she said. “We’re so close to accomplishing what we set out to do nearly 50 years ago! Woo Hoo!”
Steps toward permanence
A land exchange is also in the works between the USFS and MEMC with a stated objective from MEMC to effectively end the possibility of mining on Red Lady in perpetuity, while allowing the mining corporation more efficient management for on-site water treatment operations for historic acid mine drainage. That land exchange process is under federal review and expected to become final sometime this year. Only Congress can legislate a permanent withdrawal, such as in the CORE Act.
Meanwhile, the Thompson Divide withdrawal is authorized by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, which authorizes Secretary of the Interior to withdraw lands aggregating 5,000 acres or more for a maximum of 20 years, subject to renewal.
Much of the Thompson Divide area has not been available to oil and gas leasing for several years, and there is no current or planned oil exploration or production in the area. The action will not affect water rights, activities on private lands or valid existing rights, including the underground Wolf Creek Gas Storage Area field that provides energy to the Roaring Fork Valley. Existing and unaffected leases in the Thompson Divide area constitute less than 1% of the 3,000-plus active federal leases in the state of Colorado, according to political/environmental nonprofit organization Mountain Pact.
By Seth Mensing, University Media & Communications Manager, WCU
Like a lot of kids who grew up in the Gunnison Valley, Brianna Rickert (M.A. Education, ‘25) was on skis as soon as she could walk. But before long, she was leaving the other kids behind and skiing to the tops of podiums at Nordic races around the state. Now, in addition to being a senior in Western Colorado University’s accelerated Elementary Education degree program, she’s a world-class Mountain Sports athlete dreaming of Olympic gold.
To get there, she made her way up through the ranks of the Nordic circuit, starting when she was eight years old and continuing through high school and into college. But she wasn’t even out of elementary school when her father first took her to the town hill, fashioned a suitable uphill setup from a pair of ski blades with telemark bindings, and carried her downhill skis to the top of the hill while his daughter skinned along behind. That was the start of a lifelong love affair with Skimo.
Between Nordic competitions, her father would take her into the mountains for tours and race training until one day, after transferring to Western as a second-year student, the call of the mountains became too much to ignore. After years of Nordic ski competitions, she was ready for a change.
“I had some great friends on the Skimo team, so it was an easy transition,” Rickert said. “The decision to switch from Nordic to Skimo was the hardest, but once I finished my first race that year, I knew I had made the right decision, and this was going to be something I was going to be able to get serious about and see how far I could go.”
Just four years after her first collegiate Skimo competition, Rickert has already made a name for herself. After reaching the podium in six races last year and getting an endorsement from the U.S. Ski Team’s coaches and the Olympic committee, she was chosen to be one of six athletes to compete in Val Martello, Italy, for the Ski Mountaineering World Cup in 2024.
But even a talented athlete can’t do it alone. With the support of her team and a coach whose training and techniques she responds well to, Rickert pushes her body and mind beyond her comfort zone and leaves with a sense of accomplishment after every practice and race. Even in such extreme conditions, she admits that skiing is still a lot of fun.
“She’s not just a speed demon in the hills. She’s one of the core members of our team,” Western’s Skimo coach Jacob Dewey said. “With a blend of phenomenal skill and an unwavering down-to-earth demeanor, she radiates positivity and brings an infectious energy that uplifts us all.”
Unfortunately, after overcoming a number of injuries and medical setbacks over the last five years, her World Cup dreams were put on hold when the U.S. Olympic Committee made the decision to forgo this year’s trip to Italy for financial reasons. But that hasn’t slowed Rickert down. She’s still looking to the mountains and finding inspiration to keep going.
With Skimo appearing in the Olympic Games for the first time in 2026, Rickert recognizes that the format of those races, sprints, won’t align with her strengths as an athlete, but she’s still going to try.
“As far as the ‘26 Olympics, I am planning on getting as much sprinting practice and racing as possible,” she said. “I am already looking ahead to the ‘30 and ‘34 Olympic years and starting to think about the best plan to make the Olympic team those years a little bit more possible. It’s going to be a lot of work, but I’m ready to put in everything I have and see how far I can get!”
By Dawne Belloise
Erica Rasmussen’s running journey started about a year ago and though at times it was a difficult path to endure, it led her to the finish line at one of the most challenging, prestigious and largest marathon races in the world, the New York City Marathon on November 5 this year.
Through her involvement with Oola, a company described as helping people transform their lives for the better by combining a powerful customized e-learning platform, accountability app and community, Erica says, “I’ve been able to prioritize my goals and hold myself accountable for achieving them.” From the time she quit the cross-country team in middle school, Erica thought she’d never run again, “And last year in taking ownership of my health, I set out on a quest to complete running races in all 50 states.”
All throughout last year she started incrementally running from mailbox to mailbox while visiting family in Minnesota, eventually working up to two miles. When she returned to Crested Butte, she realized she could do more miles and set out to complete her first marathon in April this year, the Boise River half marathon in Idaho. “In training for my first half marathon, I initially said no to NYC because I didn’t think I’d be ready for it. I didn’t think I could ever run that far in my life,” she had concluded. But she got a spot in the NYC Marathon through a charity from Aspen, raising money for the Chris Klug Foundation which supports organ donation awareness. “Essentially, the NYC Marathon is a huge fundraiser,” Erica tells.
It was a whirlwind event for Erica, leaving Crested Butte on Thursday, November 2 and returning the day after the race. One advantage she had was having trained at her home elevation of 8,885 feet. “They told me the elevation for the marathon was going to be a challenge,” she grins, “It’s a known thing for the runners. You have five boroughs in NYC and five bridges. The first mile of the race is uphill from Staten Island over to Brooklyn across the Verrazano Narrows bridge. But I did the Gunnison Sage Burner in October and that has triple the vertical increase as the NYC Marathon. The reality is, running a marathon is no easy feat but heading into it with altitude training gave me an advantage.”
Time-wise, Erica did really well. “The first half was my personal best. I hit 13.1 miles, which is half a marathon, and I was at 2 hours and 30 minutes. I came out really strong. My first 5k was super fast and honestly, I felt like the first 10 miles flew by. The energy of Brooklyn was unreal, you had people singing and dancing and they had the most hilarious signs in the world.” She recalls a few of her favorites as she cruised by them: “Slow down I’m trying to count everyone,” “Run like a monster is chasing you,” “If you think this is hard, try dating in NYC,” and, “Due to inflation the race is now longer.” One that really resonated with her was, “Toenails are for losers,” and she notes that by the end of the race, “I could feel every toenail I was about to lose.” Erica recalls that in some places, the street was so crowded with spectator overflow that you could barely run through. “There were just so many people cheering everyone on.”
The second half of the race was far more challenging for Erica. “I had leg pains that I had never felt in my life, and I got a little nervous about not being able to finish between mile 15 and 16,” but she was determined and powered through that pain. “The energy of the crowd helped and when I hit mile 26, I knew I would finish that last half mile. I was really grateful to cross that finish line healthy and immediately started crying happy tears.”
Erica had the honor of marching in the opening ceremony representing the U.S. “We had 148 countries. The U.S. had 100 delegates out of the 51,933 racers.” She had submitted a required essay on how freedom related to one’s running journey. “I explained that I’m on a mission to finish a running race in all 50 states and I wanted to tackle the world’s largest marathon as my New York race. Plus, I’m down about 100 pounds from my highest weight after having kids. Taking ownership of my health has given me the freedom to tackle my goals in a way I never imagined.” Erica made many connections during her walk in the opening ceremony. “I met runners from all over the world. I made friends from so many different countries and got invited to run everywhere from Capetown, South Africa, to Stockholm, Sweden, and I’d be running with those new friends in those races. My goal is already changing to try to complete running a race on all seven continents in my lifetime,” and at 36 years of age, she feels she has time. “I’m still going to work on completing races in all 50 states by age 50 but the NYC Marathon opened up doors for me to be inspired to run all over the globe.”
Erica’s two children, Mary Sue, age 5, and Tommy, age 6, also run and will join her in a race on New Year’s Eve in Panama City, Florida. “Last year my son and I came in last place and had the best time ever. It’s not about finishing within a certain time, it’s about being out there and having fun with my kids.” This year, Mary Sue will join them in the Florida race. “Some people take a really serious competitive approach to running races, but I just like to keep it fun. That mindset is so critical. How I ran the NYC Marathon and how my mind and body were working together helped me ensure that I had a good time. I didn’t want to look back on this journey and wish I was being kinder to myself. I’m already doing something I never imagined possible.”
On December 4, Erica will run a half marathon in Nashville. She’s working out her 2024 race schedule now. “I have my sights set on either the Boston or Chicago marathon next year.” Boston, she says, is her favorite city, “but it’s really hard to get a spot in that race.” She’s also eyeing the Berlin Marathon for next year.
“I don’t run every day but will continue to run three to four days a week on top of strength training and skiing. It takes about 18 weeks to properly train for a marathon,” she says. “For me, this running journey is part of my lifestyle now. What was really special is this Gunnison Valley community, because it felt like wherever I went, people were cheering me on like I was going for the Olympics. Since I’ve been back, the encouragement has been overwhelmingly positive and uplifting and no matter where I’m running, this community is 100% behind me.”
Follow Erica’s journey on Instagram
@runforyourgoals and her web blog EricaRuns.com
First, congratulations to the Crested Butte Titans soccer team. Battling adversity and fighting an uphill battle in the playoffs, this team came out as the 2-A state champions in what was expected to be a “rebuilding year!” Okay then. In its post-season run, there was a double overtime victory, a shootout win on penalty kicks and a 1-0 win last Saturday. This is a young team and while we can look to the future with some confidence, take the time now to enjoy what was a magical run.
Speaking of magic…Driving home from Denver on Sunday after a quick trip to Minneapolis (it was warm there too), the highlight might have been a grazing herd of more than 100 elk in a field near the Dvorak rafting complex. Three dozen cars were pulled over on the side of 285 to watch them. It was a reminder that here in the valley we are exposed to that type of magic on a regular basis. The majestic bugling elk in the wetlands by the school or on the hillside by CB South is something to truly appreciate.
Then there’s the annual autumn cattle drive through town. That remains one of the best things that separates Crested Butte from its peers in the ski industry and took place last week. Watching the Allen cattle come through town dropping pies on the kids’ soccer field and ignoring the 25 mph signs is perhaps one of the highlights of every fall. It’s one of those things that parents and friends visiting Crested Butte remember forever if they are lucky enough to witness it.
For me it is a tangible reminder of the depth and importance of ranching in this valley. It is an incredibly valuable asset that separates us from most of our peer resort communities. I truly believe that our active working ranches top the list of things that separate us as a resort community and we need to do what we can to help them maintain that business, the lifestyle and culture. Embrace the cow pies on the hiking trails, accept the perceived favoritism of the Forest Service toward the ranchers over recreationists on public lands, appreciate the control longtime ranching families have over big swaths of land along the highways. Without that stewardship, and more importantly, their control over the water rights in the area, we could easily look like a poor man’s valley near Keystone with condos on brown hillsides instead of cattle on verdant fields. Don’t take that for granted.
Another thing not to take for granted is how we are surrounded by millions of acres of wilderness and forests at the end of the road while having the amenities of a resort community. So, the current draft of the regional GMUG Forest Plan is a bit baffling as the powers that be seem to see the forest more as an extractive opportunity for logging than a golden asset unto itself. I understand the need and the logic for some logging and mining, but the draw of nature is powerful in both a spiritual and economic sense and it is one of the primary amenities in our amenity-based community.
Being fortunate enough to talk to U.S. Senator Michael Bennet and county commissioner Jonathan Houck on a joint call about a month ago, they obviously get it. Both have been longtime passionate participants in the Gunnison Public Land Initiative (GPLI). Bennet literally spent years working on the project and crafted it into draft legislation called the Gunnison Outdoor Resources Protection Act. They had expected that recommendations from the GPLI would be a core part of the proposed forest plan. Alas, that wasn’t the case, which is a travesty. When you have a grassroots initiative that brings together diverse interests of a community that reach practical compromises, there is little reason not to embrace that opportunity in an increasingly polarized world. The fact that the Forest Service has ignored it is one more thing that makes people believe the bureaucrats have no sense of what the people want and instead impose their views because they know what’s best. Wrong.
The proposed draft plan actually goes against the grain of what it is that makes this place special. So, I appreciate the elected officials at both the local and the federal level, in this case Houck and Bennet, in advocating and understanding what is part of our uniqueness. We are fortunate to have elected representatives like Senator Bennet and commissioner Houck that put in the time and hard work to understand what it is we are about and try to turn that understanding into practical, on the ground direction. Bennet and Houck are continuing to do the good work and for that we should be grateful. The Forest Service, on the other hand, should reevaluate its draft plan to more clearly reflect the priorities of the community.
The recent CB town council discussion over the direction of its climate mitigation measures was interesting. I appreciated the viewpoint that if you are dealing with an emergency and going to focus on a goal, then focus on a goal. I am afraid too many people living up here at 9,000 feet in a resort valley that depends on jets, and cars, and trucking in everything, and using energy to suck water from the rivers to make snow, believe they can save the world by making everyone ride a bus. There is moral and practical value in doing what you can to chip away at the climate problem but be careful on how far you go to make people do what you think is right unless you are walking the straight walk. The council discussion touched on those issues and while no definitive conclusion was reached, I appreciated the back-and-forth about being real.
Mitch Hoffman’s wife Carolyn sent a note reminding us that November 19 is World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. Cheers to her and to the memory of a good man lost in a still horrible situation for all involved. And while it may not be directly related, we should all remember to pay attention to the road while in a vehicle and not look at a text that came in while driving.
Congratulations to Jeff Hermanson and Kyleena Falzone for getting the old Last Steep open this coming weekend. It is great to see tangible progress in our lacking Elk Ave restaurant scene and I know people are looking forward to experiencing The Hideout that they have worked so hard on the last year.
Meanwhile, someone mentioned to me recently that I was being too hard on Mark Walter, the billionaire owner of several other Elk Avenue business locations. I don’t think I’ve mentioned him in months, which made me think perhaps he lost my phone number.
While I believe mutual acquaintances that say he’s a good guy, and I do appreciate that he is saving iconic CB buildings like the Forest Queen, I also think it would be beneficial to everyone in this small-town community to understand what he’s trying to do over the long term. So, as a reminder, if he feels the desire as a major player in Crested Butte to share his goals with the community, we at the News are all ears and offer a conduit to the community in general. My phone number is 970–349–0500, extension 109. And I know many of “his people” have my cell phone and email if that is more convenient.
When the CB planning department makes plans to push for reroutes of the Mountain Express bus system based on a statistic that says most people in the country won’t ride a bus unless it’s within 500 feet of their door, they seem to be missing a foundational point that people in Crested Butte think differently. People here don’t feel old. They understand walking is part of the transportation system. I ride the bus in the winter regularly with people both young and old who grab the bus and live blocks from a bus stop. Applying those kinds of textbook standards to shape decisions on Crested Butte, seems a form of gentrification — something we all say we don’t want.
We are closer than we think to the start of the next on-season. In fact it begins this coming Wednesday. It may feel like spring, but winter is looming. Enjoy the remaining few days of a quiet, community-centric off-season. The slower pace, the empty streets, the opportunity to reconnect with friends and neighbors while not hurrying off to another job is fleeting. But it is here now and so we should all embrace it. Believe it or not, the lifts start spinning in less than a week and there will indeed be natural and manmade snow on which to slide… and that too is a good thing in a different way.
—Mark Reaman
Gunnison County comments on Department of Interior plans; “Multiple use doesn’t mean every use, everywhere, at the same time.”
[ By Katherine Nettles ]Gunnison County has weighed in on the new Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oil and gas leasing proposed rule and submitted comments last month asking the agency to give greater care to protecting the Thompson Divide area, deciding how lands are eligible to be leased for oil and gas development and making climate change impacts more of a priority. County commissioners have also decided to have more in-depth discussion about their overall goals and hopes for the oil and gas rulemaking in the near future.
The BLM completed a review of its onshore oil and gas permitting and leasing practices in 2021, and then responded to additional recommendations and laws (the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022) requiring reform to its oil and gas program with a new proposed rule—the first comprehensive update to the program since 1988.
The U.S. Department of Interior asked for comments on the Proposed Fluid Mineral Leases and Leasing Process Rule by September 22, and Gunnison County commissioners reviewed their letter extensively before submitting it for the deadline last month. They also determined they have more questions to explore around local impacts and will hold a work session to discuss it further in the coming months.
Commissioner chair Jonathan Houck worked with county attorney Matthew Hoyt to draft Gunnison County’s letter of comment, which the commissioners discussed and approved on September 19.
“What we’ve been trying to do is make sure that the rules the BLM uses for extraction meet the expectations of the citizens of Gunnison County,” said Houck. He recalled that prior to Senate Bill 181, which passed in 2019 and created state-wide oil and gas development regulations, Gunnison County had some of the stricter rules and regulations that applied to the industry. SB181 made such standards more widespread.
The proposed rule would implement increases to royalty rates, rentals, expressions of interest and minimum bids for oil and gas leases and update the bonding requirements for oil and gas leasing, development and production. It would steer development away from wildlife habitat and cultural resources and toward lands with existing infrastructure or high production potential; increases royalty rates to the federal government and starting bids for oil and gas lease auctions.
According to a fact sheet from Citizens for a Healthy Community, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the North Fork Valley water, air and “foodsheds” from oil and gas impacts, the BLM’s proposed rule also requires operators to cap shut-in wells that are no longer producing; eliminate non-competitive leasing practices that allow energy firms to “speculate” or “gobble up development rights for a pittance;” and ends last-day applications by energy firms seeking to suspend a lease expiration. The nonprofit also states that the reforms and higher bonding requirements are better but still too low.
Gunnison County’s letter commended the BLM for addressing “long overdue fiscal reforms and important conservation goals with this proposed rule, including increased bonding, royalty rates and minimum competitive lease bid prices, the elimination of non-competitive lease sales and the end of 11th hour lease suspension applications.”
The county expressed its approval for the BLM rule’s goal of avoiding leases in important areas to fish and wildlife habitats or connectivity areas, historic properties, sacred sites and other lands with “important uses or resources,” including recreation, but asked that it go further in order to protect places like the Thompson Divide area, which includes the agricultural hot spot of the North Fork Valley and parts of Gunnison County.
“We are troubled and concerned by the preference for lands with high development potential for oil and gas and proximate to existing oil and gas infrastructure, without any guardrails for ensuring development doesn’t take place in these areas where…inappropriate,” stated the county letter.
A Thompson Divide Administrative Withdrawal would remove that area from lands considered to have high development potential for oil and gas leasing and protect much of it from oil and gas leasing, but until the withdrawal is completed these lands remain at risk, and the county asserted they will be “even more so under the proposed rule.”
The county’s letter acknowledged the value of clustered development and preventing industrial development sprawl, “however, good land use planning and codes have constraints upon them that provide clear guidance for when development is inappropriate. That is missing from this proposed rule.”
The county proposed eligibility requirements preventing lands from being leased under various circumstances, some of which included recreation, agricultural, environmental, ecological or water resources values of greater value than oil and gas extraction.
The county’s letter proposed eligibility requirements around climate change as well, such as where development would threaten a local government’s water resources directly and indirectly; lands in a location that have warmed 1.5 degrees Celsius or more; where lands have experienced severe or extreme drought for the last five years; or locations in a geologic hazard area where oil and gas development could have seismic impacts or activate landslides; where infrastructure leading to the lands, including roads and bridges, are vulnerable to collapse due to extreme weather; and where freshwater taken from the watershed for oil and gas development cannot be returned to the hydrological cycle.
Houck commented that Gunnison County has long understood the balance needed for extraction, whether it’s fluid minerals like oil and gas, or hard rock/coal mining. “They are part of our economy and part of the needs of this country and a global economy. But we understand that at the same time there should be some sensible guard rails and reasonable policy… there’s nothing in here that we have not taken a policy position on before,” he said.
Considering future topics
Commissioners Liz Smith and Laura Puckett Daniels had some other input which they discussed, but did not ultimately include in the letter based on the deadline timing. That included Smith’s inquiry about being more specific about protecting wildlife activity or migration corridors.
“We are suggesting that lands wouldn’t be eligible for leasing if there’s recreation, agricultural, environmental or ecological value. I think wildlife corridors fall into those categories for sure,” responded Houck. “And those values are greater than the oil and gas possibilities…we believe in multiple use of public lands. But multiple use doesn’t mean every use, everywhere, at the same time.”
Smith’s other concern was for wells no longer in production but not mitigated, and how to limit new wells until previous ones are addressed.
“Doesn’t it make sense to quantify what that impact is before you continue to allow more leasing? Is there potentially a recommendation around that?” she said.
Hoyt said he wasn’t sure if federal law allows the BLM to say leases would be limited based on how many orphaned wells are already in an area.
“But part of our comment is we support the idea of increased bonding to basically create a financial obligation to reclamation,” said Houck.
“When we’re talking about these environmental impacts that are already existing in a location, doesn’t it make sense to say we are already experiencing exacerbated effects related to climate change and other values,” said Smith. “It seems like it could be a consideration.”
Houck said the issue is that there are different operators, “so if one operator has issues with abandoning wells and then another operator is applying for a lease, you can’t toggle one operator to another.”
“I understand that,” said Smith. “But what I’m talking about is there is a holistic and collective environmental impact regardless.”
Hoyt said he is not clear on how the various federal environmental laws might allow for that or not, and while they could include it in the letter comments “just be mindful of the fact that the BLM might come back and say we are not authorized to do this under federal law.”
He said the BLM is required to consider climate change in any federal consideration, so promoting the suggestion as relating to climate change might be more successful.
“The question is, does federal law allow us, and for the BLM to regulate new leasing based on failures to address old leases,” he concluded, “I could see the arguments on both sides.” He said he could research it and get back to everyone.
Houck suggested they revisit this topic in a work session, and perhaps reach out to oil and gas commission member and former Gunnison County commissioner John Messner.
“There’s a mix of authorities and boundaries. And I feel like at least what we have in front of us today addresses that at a higher level. What I’m hearing is maybe we need a deeper dive on the abandoned well issue, and to understand how much of an issue it is in Gunnison County. Which I believe is fairly minimal, but we can take a look at that,” he said.
Commissioner Laura Puckett Daniels asked for more information and details about several aspects of the county’s letter, such as the climate-related eligibility proposals and the eligibility of lands based on various points that are hard to quantify, such as economic, recreation or ecological values, compared to oil and gas.
“The spirit of it I totally support… there are these jumps in logic that aren’t totally fleshed out,” she said.
After extensive discussions with Hoyt, Houck and Smith, Puckett Daniels agreed to submit it with a few grammatical edits, and the other commissioners approved. The county’s interest is to remain involved in the rulemaking process, and in the meantime the BLM is considering the comments it received from the county and other stakeholders during the comment process for potential inclusion in its final proposal. There is no estimated timeline for the final process as of yet.
The BLM’s proposed rule and rulemaking portal can be found at https://www.regulations.gov/document/BLM-2023-0005-0001.
Could be generating power within a year…
[ By Mark Reaman ]Tangible progress continues on the plan to use the Taylor Reservoir and Taylor dam to generate hydroelectric power in Gunnison County. If everything falls into place, power could be produced before the end of 2023 but will more likely start in early 2024. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will receive the completed design plan from the Gunnison County Electric Association (GCEA) next week for review.
“Our 100% design plan will go to the USBR for final review on February 11,” explained GCEA strategy execution specialist Matt Feier. “GCEA’s primary power supplier, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, has approved our project application. We are very close to signing the construction contract and only waiting for some final numbers before signing.”
Construction on the 500 kilowatt (kW) generator would start this spring in late April or early May after all the permits are approved and the snow has melted at the site. According to the GCEA, a generating plant of this size would operate at or near full capacity 24 hours a day all year round. It would result in 3.9 million kilowatt-hours annually or enough to power 475 average Gunnison County houses. By comparison, a 500 kW hydro project would produce about the same amount of energy annually as some 2,500 kW fixed-tilt solar arrays.
“The dam was originally designed to accommodate hydroelectric energy generation,” said Feier. “The distribution lines in the canyon can handle the anticipated output and it will produce sustainable power for the local coop.”
In early 2020, GCEA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association (UVWUA). GCEA and UVWUA formed a jointly owned entity called Taylor River Hydro LLC to develop, own, and operate the plant.
The Taylor Park Dam was built in 1937 and was originally designed to incorporate a hydroelectric facility at a later date, explained Feier. The Bureau of Reclamation owns the facility and has awarded a Lease of Power Privilege to Taylor River Hydro, LLC. to get the hydroelectric project running.
The cost of the project is estimated to be approximately $3.3 million. Most of the money for the project is initially coming from GCEA and the UVWUA with federal grant and reimbursement funding expected for a significant portion of the initial investment.
Feier said a large, specialized transformer has been ordered as part of the project. “We have been aiming to have the facility commissioned by December 31, 2023, but that may have to be pushed by a couple of months due to a long lead time for one specialized, necessary valve,” he said. “That valve might have to be manufactured as a one off. But the goal is to get the dam working to produce electricity within the next year.”
The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
