On April 14, the Crystal Valley Environmental Protection Association (CVEPA) board meeting enjoyed a delightful levity which is uncommon these days. Solidarity is not synonymous with unanimity, so it is refreshing when we all agree on something. The pact to agree to disagree, respectfully, is a basic tenet of any healthy board. Numerous issues in […]
CVEPA
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Opinion: CVEPA on Redstone to McClure Trail
Game wardens and a few locals gathered at the old railroad siding at Placita. Word was out that the Division of Wildlife was going to release elk into the upper Crystal Valley. John Darien remembered that day in the early ‘40s as he recounted the scene to me in the barnyard at Prospect Mountain Ranch […]
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Marble Wetlands Preserve created through land donation
A long-sought Marble-area land donation was completed at the end of 2021 between an anonymous donor and the Trust for Land Restoration (TLR), a Ridgway-based nonprofit. The property, a 54-acre strip of land with wetlands on one side and steep forested hillside on the other, has been used by the public for river access for […]
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Redstone to McClure Pass Trail: Not a simple yes or no
White River National Forest (WRNF) officials are taking public comment on the Redstone to McClure Pass Trail, a seven-mile segment of the proposed 83-mile Carbondale to Crested Butte Trail (CCBT). Pitkin County Commissioners approved the CCBT plan in 2018. Five miles of the seven-mile segment would be built through federal land, which means the USFS […]
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CVEPA Views: To trap an elk in 1972…
The 500-pound cow elk was wild-eyed as she kept trying to escape the trap. She continued to jump up on the eight-foot-tall walls of her plywood pen until she finally broke down a section. The “wapiti” (the Shawnee and Cree word for elk) struggled to get her front legs over the wall. When she succeeded, […]
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CVEPA Views: Weighing methane capture
The view from the Dutch Creek Mine Number One, above Redstone, was breathtaking but the air was breathless. The stillness made the constant coursing of the methane gas from the old mine portal even more pronounced. Chris Caskey is a climatologist from Paonia and owner of the Delta Brick and Climate Company. This October, Caskey […]
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A responsibility to participate
When it comes to balancing public service with a growing community whilst preserving what that place has to offer, it takes a lot of grit and an exuberant amount of dedication. Dorothea Farris is an authentic example of someone who strives to meet that balance. Farris believes wholeheartedly that “if you participate, and participate sincerely, […]
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Letters – Oct. 14, 2021
Re: Marble Ski The board of the Crystal Valley Environmental Protection Association would like to thank Lynn Burton and The Sopris Sun for the terrific article on the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Marble Ski Area (Sept. 22, 2021). Entering CVEPA’s 50th year of service, we are so indebted to our founding fathers and […]
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Marble Ski Area fight raged 50 years ago
As Colorado ski areas boomed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a couple of Denver developers decided they wanted in on the action. They eventually set their sights on Marble, a near ghost town about 25 miles as the crow flies, west-southwest of Aspen. The developers, Lee Stubblefield and John Zakovich, thought that Mt. […]
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CVEPA shares perspective
On Aug. 29, the Crystal Valley Environmental Protection Association (CVEPA) board conducted their annual public meeting at Propaganda Pie in Redstone. Longtime Western State University professor of history Dr. Duane Vandenbusche was the keynote speaker and focused on the importance of water conservation in the West. CVEPA formed in 1972 in opposition to a proposed […]