A conversation with the Crested Butte Land Trust

With opportunities for hiking, mountain biking, wildflower viewing and horseback riding in the summer, and Nordic skiing, backcountry skiing and snowshoeing in the winter, Snodgrass Mountain has long been a popular destination for visitors and residents to the upper valley. Yet, despite its accessibility and well-traveled trails, Snodgrass is not wholly public land. Use of large portions of the mountain by the public is at the discretion of the landowners, and in recent years access has been threatened by the possible development and sale of the private property.

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Local stakeholders ask: Is three years of monitoring enough?

U.S. Energy, the mining company with mineral rights beneath Mt. Emmons, submitted additional information to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) last week concerning its proposed VCUP (voluntary clean-up plan) for the old Keystone mine on Red Lady. The local stakeholders are reviewing the new proposal and will comment on the plan to the state by next month. No official timeline for comments and review has been established by the state but they hope to have a completed analysis in July.

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Executive sessions
The council held a couple of long executive sessions on Wednesday, May 7 to discuss two items. The first dealt with a potential special event permit and the possibility of negotiating with a national company about shooting a major commercial in Crested Butte in the fall. The second session related to the ongoing U.S. Energy discussions over the proposed Voluntary Clean Up Process for the old Keystone mine and a longer-term discussion over a permanent solution to proposed molybdenum mining on Mt. Emmons. Read More »

VCUP, multi-party talks on the radar

Gunnison County continued to wade into the Mount Emmons, US Energy, Crested Butte, High Country Conservation Advocates, Red Lady Coalition soup this week.
In two decisions this Tuesday, the Board of County Commissioners opted to be open to involving itself through the Gunnison County attorney’s office in both the effort by US Energy to participate in a Voluntary Clean Up program at the old Keystone Mine water treatment facility, and in the multi-party talks currently underway by USE and several area stakeholders to determine the future of molybdenum mining on Mount Emmons. Read More »

CB3P brings it all together in one surreal day

With the snowpack still intact, the roads clear, the rivers rising and off-season upon us, it’s time to bridge the gap between winter and summer in one day at the second annual CB3P (Crested Butte Pole, Pedal, Paddle) on Sunday, April 27. 

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“There is some risk…”

The Crested Butte Town Council has agreed to sign a confidentiality agreement with U.S. Energy in regard to the mining company’s plan to pursue a voluntary cleanup plan (VCUP) at the historic Keystone Mine on Mt. Emmons.
The agreement will allow the town to receive some proprietary information from U.S. Energy that must be kept confidential. According to the agreement, the information can be used “for the purpose of evaluating the acquisition of certain properties and related clean up activities.” Read More »

 Keeping it clean

Thirty minutes before the lifts started spinning at Crested Butte Mountain Resort on a recent Sunday, it was bedlam in the Treasury Center. Bodies and ski boots were scattered across the floor like a stand of flattened trees and stumps as people sorted and fit equipment. Amid the din, a man in jeans and a sweatshirt stopped to pick up some trash and throw it away.
“Hi there,” he says to someone in a parka and helmet looking lost. “Is there anything I can help you find? Tickets? Right over there.”
In a suit or a crisp embroidered fleece, a haircut and a shave, he might have been an executive come to bask in the sounds of commerce and have a little face time with the public. But Barry Mossak won’t claim executive status. In a lilting Midwestern accent, he’ll tell you he’s just a janitor.

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We’ll remind them we are still interested in participating in the process…

The state agency overseeing the amended application by U.S. Energy for a Voluntary Clean-up Plan (VCUP) at the old Keystone Mine site on Mt. Emmons is nearing the deadline of its 45-day review of the proposal. The local organizations closely following the VCUP process plan will not submit any further comments on the proposal at this time but will remind the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) before Friday’s deadline that they are still interested in being part of the process as any VCUP moves forward. Read More »

The High Country Citizen’s Alliance (HCCA) Red Lady Salvation Ball is stronger and better than ever, albeit a far different bash from when it began 37 years ago. The evolution, however, is in sync with the new generation of gentle warriors who have to deal with a different set of laws in a far more frenetic world. Read More »

Heavily bearded, burly, mountain-man Shawn Williams, also known as Knuckler, is running in circles, jumping up and down, waving his hands in the air and screeching like a fifth-grade girl at her first slumber party. His audience is even more excited than he is.
Blonde, slight of frame, and not even two years old, Joey is practically doing back flips as she chases after Williams while rag-dolling an old piece of blanket that she holds lightly in her mouth. When they both finally stop, Joey drops the blanket and shakes her entire body from the tip of her black nose to the end of her golden tail. Then she raises her ears and looks at Williams. Though she doesn’t speak, it’s easy to tell what she’s saying: “That was awesome! Let’s do it again!” Read More »