New rules allow for more public comment

Is a proposed tunnel in Mt. Emmons the start of ramped-up mining activity or is it just a way to conduct further prospecting and gather more information? Read More »

“We are kind of getting the one guy, mule and pick kind of scrutiny”

Mt. Emmons Moly Company (MEMCO) is one step closer to ramping up exploratory mining activities and building a series of drifts, after the company was issued a prospecting permit from the state of Colorado. The state’s Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS) has been considering this permit for nearly 12 months, and on Monday it issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) to Conduct Prospecting, which is the permit at the state level.

Read More »

“They have to follow the same rules as everyone else”

The company hoping to conduct studies determining the feasibility of mining molybdenum in Mt. Emmons does not want to formally abide by the Crested Butte watershed ordinance during the study phase of the mining project. Instead, Mt. Emmons Moly Company (MEMCO) officials have proposed an agreement encouraging open communication between the town and the company. Read More »

“No plan for actual mining has been developed…”

Led by a local conservation group, the Crested Butte Land Trust and a homeowner’s association have come together to file a motion in District Water Court asking for dismissal of conditional water rights held by U.S. Energy for the purpose of mining molybdenum from Mt. Emmons. High Country Citizens’ Alliance (HCCA), the Crested Butte Land Trust (CBLT) and Star Mountain Ranch Homeowner’s Association located up Ohio Creek all joined in the motion filed Wednesday, August 11 in Montrose.

Read More »

Town will insist on watershed permit

The State of Colorado has told the Mount Emmons Project that several issues still need to be resolved before the group can begin moving toward construction of a new drift, or tunnel, in Mt. Emmons with the ultimate goal of mining molybdenum. Read More »

Maintaining silence for quasi-judicial purposes

While a community-wide effort to keep a mine from opening on Mt. Emmons wages on, some citizens are concerned that two groups have been silent on the issue—the Crested Butte Town Council and the Gunnison County Commissioners. Read More »

Street party in the future?

In her April 15 report to council, town manager Dara MacDonald said High Country Conservation Advocates (HCCA) has initiated discussions about holding a street party when the Mt. Emmons/U.S. Forest Service land exchange is completed. That is expected to happen in late summer or early fall and would be a final step in protecting Mt. Emmons/Red Lady from major industrial mining.

Upping the ante for illegal demolitions in town

Council agreed to let the staff confer with the Board of Zoning and Architectural Review (BOZAR) over appropriate penalties for people who violate the town’s demolition ordinance. Staff was made aware of an offender two months ago and in the process discovered some flaws in the current ordinance. Community Development director Troy Russ said that even with a $2,650 per day penalty, it can be more economical to suffer the fine given the financial return of a real estate investment. Council approved the idea of exploring options for more severe penalties for egregious violations.

From old trees to new art?

While no one likes cutting down trees in town, the council said it was sometimes necessary, as with the elimination of three cottonwoods in Crested Butte in mid-April. Councilmember Anna Fenerty suggested the trunks be used as some sort of potential art project. Councilmember Gabi Prochaska said some trunks from cottonwoods taken down in Denver were turned into benches and seats. Staff will look into possibilities of how to use the remaining tree stumps.

Stuff

—Russ said stakeholders in North Valley parking issues met on April 9. He said there would be regular follow up meetings this summer, starting in May. “We are at a preliminary point where we are gathering a list of resources to address the issue,” he told the council.

—Fenerty is asking the town to investigate expanding its new rebate program for electric outdoor equipment (such as electric lawn and garden equipment) to include not just residents, but also commercial operations.

Mt. Emmons Land Exchange will bring the protections for Red Lady this community has been seeking for almost 50 years 

By Jon Hare, HCCA

Earlier in April, Gunnison Country celebrated when the US Department of Interior signed the historic Mt. Emmons–Thompson Divide Mineral Withdrawal to remove the opportunity for new mining or oil and gas operations on over 220,000 acres of federal land in Western Colorado managed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). 

This is definitely a great reason for all of us who love public lands to celebrate, yet at High Country Conservation Advocates (HCCA) we are focused on the next project in the Gunnison basin that is several years in formulation and moving toward completion in 2024. Right now, at our doorstep, the Mt. Emmons Land Exchange is the best chance this community has ever had to save the mountain known as Red Lady and the best opportunity to protect Gunnison Country from the impacts of a large-scale industrial mining operation.

Mt. Emmons, affectionately known as Red Lady, is the mountain just three miles west of Crested Butte, which contains a large deposit of molybdenum ore. Molybdenum is a steel hardening agent which is an essential ingredient to make metals thinner and lighter. HCCA formed in 1977 to protect Red Lady and our community from the impacts of large-scale industrial mining. 

So, what does this Mineral Withdrawal (MW) mean for public lands in Gunnison Country? Of the over 220,000 acres of federal lands included in the withdrawn area, approximately 100,000 of those acres are in Gunnison County. The MW area enters Gunnison County on the north at McClure Pass and drops south along the western boundary of the Ragged Mountains Wilderness Area to the Beckwith mountains. From the Beckwiths, the MW area runs east across Kebler Pass encompassing Irwin, Scarp Ridge, Oh Be Joyful and south via Splain’s Gulch into Carbon Creek and the northeast corner of the Ohio Creek valley. 

The withdrawal edges up to Red Lady but doesn’t actually encompass the bulk of Mt. Emmons as the lands covering the ore body are private lands owned by the Mt. Emmons Mining Company (MEMC). 

On the map the withdrawal area stands out as a corridor of wildlife habitat that connects the Gunnison zone to Paonia and north to Aspen and Glenwood Springs. As wildlife habitat continues to be fragmented in almost every direction, it’s a sliver of hope that a herd of elk, bear or lynx will keep moving through the three different zones.

According to the official Public Land Order for the Mineral Withdrawal, its purpose is to ensure the retention of the contiguous landscape, resulting in more efficient and effective administration of National Forest System and BLM-administered lands, and to protect the agricultural, ranching, wildlife, air quality, recreation, ecological and scenic values of the Thompson Divide Area from further mineral development that could adversely impact these values and the local economies that depend on these values. 

The Mt. Emmons–Thompson Divide Mineral Withdrawal area is an important layer of protection for public lands in Gunnison County for the next 20 years and formalizes the lean toward agriculture, ranching, wildlife, air quality, recreation, ecological and scenic values for public lands decisions in Western Colorado. 

The Mt. Emmons Land Exchange between MEMC and the USFS is the next real opportunity for this community to save Red Lady and avoid the impacts of a large-scale industrial molybdenum mine in the upper Gunnison River Valley. 

Those industrial mining impacts go far beyond Red Lady and Mt. Emmons to include reservoirs, ditches, settling ponds, powerlines, conveyor belts, significant truck hauling, tailings piles, emissions and an influx of people to our valley which would instantly change the nature of this place and have negative impacts on the reason why most of us are here—the natural environment and vast acres of unspoiled public lands. Most importantly, a molybdenum mine on Mt. Emmons would crush the water source for the Town of Crested Butte, limiting water supplies in an area where water supply is already a big concern. 

After collaborating with the Town of Crested Butte, Gunnison County and HCCA, the land exchange was proposed by MEMC to the USFS in 2021 with the goal of trading mine-impacted National Forest land on Mt. Emmons in exchange for four rural ranch properties in Gunnison and Saguache Counties. 

Ownership of the land with the mining infrastructure and impacts on Mt. Emmons will give MEMC the ability to operate, repair and replace the water treatment plant, as well as reclaim areas without having to work through the USFS. Their activities will still be permitted by the State of Colorado for water quality controls with additional oversight by the Town of Crested Butte and Gunnison County. In exchange, the American people obtain properties that are surrounded by national forest and have genuine appeal (wetlands, trails, wildlife habitat, etc.) to be included and managed as national forest moving forward.  

Second, the pending Land Exchange includes Conservation Easements through the Crested Butte Land Trust (CBLT) which will prohibit any industrial or residential development on the private land on Mt. Emmons, while simultaneously providing legal public recreational access to traditional ski and hiking routes that cross the mine-owned private lands. This is perhaps the most significant layer of protection for Red Lady and finally provides a path for legal recreational access to the summit of the mountain. 

The third part of the Mt. Emmons Land Exchange is that MEMC will sign a mineral extinguishment with CBLT for the permanent relinquishment and extinguishment of mineral rights on their private land on Mt. Emmons, as well as, separately, relinquish over 1200 unpatented mining claims on federal lands in Gunnison County. 

It can’t be stressed enough, especially considering the time and funds invested into the project by MEMC, the USFS and BLM, U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, Gunnison County, the Town of Crested Butte, CBLT, HCCA and on down the line—there are many people who have worked to queue up this project, and ensure it has fully considered the practical details of its implications on the ground and deliver to this community an end result that provides confidence in a mine-free future while deeply tapping into the collaborative spirit of our community and the value of our public lands. 

The forest supervisor for the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forest (GMUG NF) has the authority and should sign the decision memo to authorize the Mt. Emmons Land Exchange as soon as possible. Once the GMUG forest supervisor signs the Land Exchange Decision, a cascade of work is in place to adjust the boundaries and execute the conservation easements and mineral extinguishments with CBLT. 

Once the ink is dried, this community will finally see the end to the threat of a large-scale industrial mine on Red Lady. 

In Gunnison County, HCCA is advocating for other important layers of protections for public lands and Red Lady, like the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act, but we must emphasize that right now the owner of the mine, MEMC, is committed to and significantly invested in the Mt. Emmons Land Exchange, which represents the best package of protections ever put together to Save Red Lady! 

Jon Hare is the advocacy director for High Country Conservation Advocates and a resident of Gunnison. 

Thompson Divide mineral withdrawal finalized for 200K+ acres

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. 

Achieving significant things for a broad community is rarely done alone…it takes a team, a partnership. Partnerships can sometimes be trying but when partners agree on a goal, figure out action to achieve that goal and then proceed with focus and honest intent, good things happen. Good things are happening as we close out the winter ski season.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced the finalization of the Thompson Divide administrative mineral withdrawal. It will basically prohibit mining on 225,000 acres of public land from Crested Butte over Kebler Pass toward Glenwood Springs. For us here in the valley, it takes away the threat of mining on Mt. Emmons for the next 20 years. Congressional approval of the CORE Act can make that permanent, but this week’s action is a big deal. And it came about through a lot of hard work over many years from a variety of partners that included environmentalists, ranchers, recreationists and public officials. 

This action closes a gate on a molybdenum mine on Red Lady for the next two decades. While that mining threat has dissipated in recent years, it always seems to raise its head out of nowhere. The Red Lady fight is part of our history and culture, but this provides an opportunity to breathe and continue to find that solution that lasts forever. Kudos to all the partners involved, especially our U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper. A good partnership resulted in broad community benefit.

Up at Crested Butte Mountain Resort, this season’s actions helped bolster the ski area’s cred with the community. For the second season in a row, the mountain received great snow. It was a sweet season. The pow came regularly and the mountain has held the winter goods. There is still terrific skiing up there.

Great appreciation goes out to the CBMR mountain ops and ski patrol teams. This seemed to be one of, if not the best season for getting the Extremes open in a timely fashion when we got hit with a storm. The professionals up there focused on the difficult work needed to get our signature steeps open and they deserve a lot of credit for a great job this year. Locals noticed. Cheers to that effort and hopefully it signals continued good things to come in future seasons. That effort goes a long way toward making the resort feel like a community partner and not a stereotypical corporate adversary.

The seven members of the Crested Butte town council are not turning a deaf ear to the copious feedback floating around the real and virtual worlds over the parking direction they set a few weeks ago. That is a positive thing, especially when they convey that they understand the partnership involved between the town and the greater surrounding community. 

The parking kerfuffle issue came up at last Monday’s meeting and the council is refocusing on potential alternatives to ramifications of restricting parking near Mountain Express bus stops next winter. The idea of putting aside money for a Brush Creek intercept parking lot was touched upon. A meeting is being held in the CBMR corporate suite next week to figure out ways and responsibilities to make parking at the Crested Butte Community School parking lot during busy holiday weekends and powder days convenient and easy. While they still haven’t dismissed the plan to implement two-hour winter parking limits on the public parking spaces located near the Teocalli Avenue and Four-Way Mountain Express bus stops, at least some of the council members understand the town can shift direction if things become difficult for locals. Purposely pushing locals away from easily catching the most reliable and convenient mass transit option in the valley makes things difficult for locals.

Credit to the council for acknowledging the public feedback floating around the valley. That’s what good partners do. They listen. Personally, even after listening to the town officials pushing the idea, I still do not see the logic of pushing away non-CB residents from parking in a public parking spot near a public bus stop to take a public bus to the ski area. Aside from a few days each ski season, I do not see a major problem given the current realities of vehicle usage and lack of realistic parking alternatives. 

Kudos especially to councilmembers Billick, Prochaska and MacMillan who made clear they did not want to proceed blindly without viable alternatives. They did not want to push more cars up the hill to Mt. CB so promised to keep a close eye on the situation and were willing to “pivot” or amend the parking direction if locals encountered problems with the new restrictions.

Billick was clearest when he stated that, “I believe it should be a town priority to facilitate access by locals to the ski resort without driving up the hill. If the partners are unable to address the situation before next winter and locals have problems accessing Mountain Express because of the changes around the Four-Way and Teocalli, I’d like to see the town pivot quickly.” Hear, hear.

Some on council raised an eyebrow when, during an after-meeting discussion, I said that I agreed with the aspirational goal to have fewer cars in town. I walk and ride my townie a lot in Crested Butte and fewer cars zipping by me and our aging dog would be good. But there is no magic wand that will get waved to simply eliminate the use of cars and trucks as tools for people who live, work, recreate and shop in the North Valley. Council must deal with the broader holistic community— its partners— and not just the conveniences experienced by in-town residents. There is reality to face as well as aspirations to shoot for. Give people a convenient place to park-and-ride and they’ll use it. They are in fact doing that now. Success!

My informal poking around of local officials indicates there is no regular tidal wave of complaints coming from the neighborhoods that see cars park in the public rights-of-way along Elk and Teocalli. 

I do think if the new two-hour restrictions push people to other places near bus stops in town, those neighborhoods will become artificially congested and the “ask” will be to put restrictions there as well based on numbers generated by town action…Grrrr.

The sentiment that Crested Butte should not be solely responsible for ski customer parking is also valid. Hopefully the partners that most directly benefit from ski area business, CBMR and Mt. Crested Butte in particular, will step up at that April 9 stakeholders meeting and agree to put skin in the game to figure out better parking solutions or all. That too is what good partners do.

Successful partnerships embrace thoughtful collaboration, honesty and responsibility to improve things for the broader community. A halt to mining on Red Lady, a focus on the terrain locals like to ski and that defines CB, a shift away from making things hard for out-of-town locals in a ski town. It seems at the end of the great 2023-24 ski season, we are seeing good results from dynamic partnerships.

—Mark Reaman