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Mountain News:

Vail to emphasize ethnic diversity

VAIL, Colo. — Vail Resorts plans to put some colour on its websites, advertisements, and other collateral material. To that end, photographers have been taking photographs of African-Americans, Hispanics, and other racial minorities on the ski slopes.

This is part of a greater drive toward inclusivity being pushed by Roberto Moreno, a Denver-based former ski instructor and ski patroller. Moreno argues that ski areas have perhaps unwittingly turned a cold shoulder on racial minorities, failing to extend a welcoming hand. One way of extending that hand, he says, is to have people of colour in front-line positions, such as is in ski schools and at ticket windows. But he also argues that ski areas need to make racial minorities feel welcome by showing them on websites.

Bill Jensen, the chief operating officer for Vail Mountain, has been supportive of Moreno’s work, and this year gave 2,000 lift ticket/lesson/and rental packages to Moreno’s organization, Alpino. Copper Mountain, Eldora, and other ski areas in Colorado have given another 2,000 similar packages, and next year Moreno expects Steamboat Springs to participate.

Moreno points out that if ski areas hope to boost their numbers after 27 years of so-so growth, they will have to reach out to minorities, whose populations are growing more rapidly than the general population rate. In Denver proper (but not the Denver metropolitan area), the various minorities collectively are now the majority.

Although Vail Mountain still appeals to the world’s wealthiest skiers, it will join California’s Mountain High, which caters to the hip-hop culture kids from nearby Los Angeles, and New York’s Hunter Mountain as being one of the few ski areas to show racial minorities on skiing websites. Ski areas have had the most success and have worked hardest at reaching out to Asian-Americans, who have income and educational levels most close to those of the ski industry’s traditional market.

Merchants call for affordability

TELLURIDE, Colo. — Merchants distressed about rising rents in Telluride are appealing to town officials to tip the playing field their way, perhaps by creating deed-restricted commercial space or restricting existing commercial space to current uses.

Telluride Mayor John Pryor is reluctant to directly assume the task of managing the economy, but the idea is being reviewed in a town planning effort.

While mandating "affordable retailing" is a new frontier, city and county governments in this country have long engaged in attempting to manage their economies. Transportation, from subsidized direct flight programs to subsidized parking garages, are the most obvious example, but similar are marketing programs and affordable housing.

Aspen unveils Canary Initiative

ASPEN, Colo. — Aspen’s city government has adopted a plan that declares it believes global warming is a problem.

While the town was already planning to invest more heavily in alternative energy sources (it is also the electrical power provider), it is buying more wind energy and installing a hydroelectric dam. The renewable component of the city’s portfolio is now at 57 per cent; after more than $1 million in investment, the city hopes to get it to 80 per cent. The balance would continue to come from the burning of coal.

As well, the city plans to hire a consultant to analyze how global warming will affect the community, and it plans to step up efforts to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases from transportation serving the city and in homes and buildings. It is allocating up to $110,000 a year in staffing to supervise this effort.

Not least, the city is allocating $50,000 toward what is expected to be a $400,000 to $500,000 international conference next year that is intended to draw greater attention to global warming.

Called the Canary Initiative, this plan was hatched in January but kept under wraps, to prevent it from becoming a political football in the always-ready-to-argue Aspen community.

Telluride adopts green building code

TELLURIDE, Colo. — Telluride town officials are adopting a building code that mandates energy efficient and environmentally benign techniques in construction of residential housing.

A point system is to be used, and a house, condominium or town-home project must accrue a minimum number of points from a long menu of possible construction and design techniques. Multiple-residential structures get a head start, because of their more environmentally munificent density, explained The Telluride Watch. An ebullient town council member, Hilary White, predicted the code will be a model for other communities.

Whether it will have much impact in Telluride is another matter. The town is essentially built out, and White and other council members have vigorously opposed any plans for expansion.

Defensible space needed

CRESTED BUTTE, Colo. — Representatives from both the U.S. Forest Service and Colorado State Forest Service are pushing Gunnison County to mandate homeowners in the so-called urban-wildlands interface to create defensible space.

"If we ever had a fire, we’d have trouble saving a single house," said Jerry Chonka, the U.S. government’s fire management officer in the Gunnison Ranger District. While county regulations urge landowners outside of cities and towns to thin trees and in other ways reduce the threat from wildland fires to their homes. Byran Ayers, from the state’s Forest Service, thinks the county should make it mandatory. "The only way you’re going to get people to thin trees is to require it," he said. He reported that perhaps six counties in Colorado have already done so.

Fire chief wants trees thinned

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — With the snowpack in March at only 68 per cent of average, Fire Chief Carlos Rodriguez is suggesting that rural residents begin work now to protect their homes from wildfires. Rodriguez says that during a large fire, firefighters must sometimes choose what houses to save, and they do so based on which ones look more defendable. Houses where people have taken protective measures, such as where firewood and other combustibles are stored away from the house, will get priority.

Lodging rises slightly

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. — Lodging rose only slightly in Steamboat Springs during January, but visitors who were there spent more money. The sales tax rose nearly 6 per cent, but the lodging rate increased less than 2 per cent, reports The Steamboat Pilot.

Too little H20 for village?

WINTER PARK, Colo. — It’s nip-and-tuck whether there is enough water for the $70 million first phase of real estate construction that Intrawest plans at the base of the Winter Park ski area. While there would be enough water most of the time, drought years and peak-use months of March and July are another matter.

Intrawest altogether plans 1,200 to 1,500 units in coming years, but this first phase is expected to include only 160 condominiums and 42,000 square feet of commercial. But is there enough water for even this? Water district and Intrawest officials think yes, but the buck stops at town hall, and the Winter Park Manifest reports that officials there are dubious.

Who’s to know for sure? That’s partly what a $60,000 study aims to find out, with Intrawest picking up most of the tab. Longer range, the community is also looking at various have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too schemes. One involves a reservoir, to trap spring runoff, but three other ideas now being explored involve pumping water back from below sewage treatment plants, to ensure water remains in the Fraser River as it flows through the town. Even at 9,000 feet, water gets recycled.

Enviro efforts recognized

ASPEN, Colo. — Aspen city officials have launched a new program to reward outstanding environmental efforts by local businesses. Called the Green Leaves Program, it is designed to recognize businesses for good practices in recycling, toxic materials awareness, and conservation, as well as conscientious purchasing, green building, and commitment to counter global warming.

The program is similar to one begun by Vail town officials about 10 years ago, except that Green Leaves expects to recognize a business quarterly, while Vail’s program is an annual affair. Also, Vail’s program looks beyond its own border, to the broader Eagle Valley.

Insects gone, fish struggling

BANFF, Alberta — Alarmed anglers are reporting a collapse in the insect population in the Bow River, which in turn has resulted in fish becoming sick and starving to death.

Brown trout and mountain whitefish are reported to be "skinny, unhealthy and lethargic," while many have died. Surveys have found spawning numbers down 70 per cent. Bird counts are also down, reports the Rocky Mountain Outlook.

Over-fishing and changes in water chemistry as a result of upgrades to sewage treatment plants are theorized, but the stronger evidence for this dramatic decline in stoneflies and mayflies points to a 1999 mudslide near Banff. The silt subsequently smothered insect food and killed off eggs laid by adult insects.

Impervious surfaces limited

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — Aping what is going on in Banff National Park, the idea of a building limit inside Grand Teton National Park is quickly gaining support among both park officials and boosters.

"I think that is a goal that we could strive for," said Mary Gibson Scott, the park superintendent. The idea, which was proposed at the Power of Place Conference in Jackson, would set a standard of no net gain of impervious surfaces.

While most speakers were hopeful while looking into the future, David Wendt had a stern warming. "By 2025, it’s possible that as a result of climate change, we’ll measure snowpack in the mountains not in feet but in inches," said Wendt, president of the Jackson Hole Center for Global Affairs.

Meth users blamed for thefts

GRAND LAKE, Colo. — A group of business owners in Grand Lake who believe they are being victimized by thieves getting money to support drug habits have begun a campaign to raise money for anti-drug police work.

"I bet you I lost $50,000 out of my pocket last year on drug theft," one restaurant owner told the Sky-Hi News. He did not say how he lost the money, except in "hits," but he’s sure of what motivated the thieves: drugs, particularly methamphetamines.

Grand County Sheriff Rod Johnson doesn’t think his jurisdiction, which includes Grand Lake, has an abnormal use of drugs, but does note that an increase in domestic assaults of late has been tied directly to use of methamphetamines. He welcomes more money for undercover work and for training of deputies who patrol the roads.

How many wolves in 100 years?

DENVER, Colo. — The first wolf in the wild in 60 years was confirmed in Colorado last June, and yet others are expected to migrate from the packs around Yellowstone National Park in coming years. Meanwhile, wolves reintroduced into Arizona and New Mexico may be loping northward into Colorado, and if not, they may be reintroduced.

With all of this going on, how many wolves can be expected in Colorado 100 years from now? The moderator at a panel discussion held in Denver during February asked that question, and the answers that he received seemed to surprise even the panelists. While various surveys have put the number at nearly 1,000, two of the most knowledgeable speakers had the same answer: 0.

Ed Bangs, who supervised the gray wolf recovery in the Yellowstone region for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said he doubted Coloradans would make room for wolves in the long term. It could be done, but at some cost and inconvenience. Gary Skiba, the Colorado Division of Wildlife biologist who is supervising creation of a plan that anticipates return of the wolf, said essentially the same thing.

Big hopes for music festival

FAIRPLAY, Colo. — While Telluride has struggled at times to cope with the successes of its summer-beginning Telluride Bluegrass Festival, promoters in Fairplay are hoping for comparable successes at the summer-ending South Park Music and Art Festival in coming years. The goal of organizers of the event, nicknamed Burropalooza, is to attract more than 10,000 people and boost the attractions to more than 100 bands. Yes, this is the same Fairplay upon which the comic television show "South Park" is modeled.

Indians unhappy with snowmaking

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Indians are unhappy with a decision by the U.S. Forest Service to allow snowmaking from reclaimed wastewater at a ski area on San Francisco Peaks.

Leigh J. Kuwanwisiwma, director of the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office, said the decision "has placed a dagger in the Hopis’ spirituality." Joe Shirley Jr., president of the Navajo, claimed that the Forest Service is breaking "our hearts by choosing to enrich the pockets of a few over enriching the souls of the indigenous people of this land." The San Francisco Peaks are among the Four Sacred Mountains of the Navajo Nation.

Indian News Today explains that while the Forest Service believes the reclaimed wastewater is safe, Indian medicine men say it would affect the herbs they gather for medicines and ceremonies. Also among the 14 Indian groups opposing the decision were the Apache, the Pueblo, the Havasupai and the Paiutes.

Affordable housing era dawns

WINTER PARK, Colo. — Work is expected to begin next fall on 10 more homes in what is expected to be 45 affordable-level single-family homes in Winter Park. The town owns the seven acres, which were purchased for $1.3 million. The mostly two-bedroom, two-car-garage homes are expected to sell for $217,000 to $245,000 to full-time workers in the Fraser Valley. This is part of the first flush of affordable housing there.

Hotel height likely to be issue

KETCHUM, Idaho — Another battle about height is expected in a downtown project in Ketchum.

There, a developer previously spent two years getting acceptance of his plan to redevelop a motel, the Bald Mountain Lodge. The land occupies one city block, and the developer Bruce Barsotti, at length received permission to build an 80-room hotel. The building was to have been 47 feet tall, 7 feet more than the city’s existing height limitation.

But, unable to find enough investors to make the $40 million project work, he has sold the property to a new firm composed of the principles of two Seattle-area construction companies. The principals in one of those firms, Steve Burnstead, told the Idaho Mountain Express that his ownership group wants to build a "four-plus star hotel" with 60 hotel units underwritten by 10 to 20 condominium units, most likely perched atop the project. Ketchum Mayor Ed Simon said he doubts the public would support a four-storey hotel, although he believes the city needs to give hotel developers more flexibility.

If Ketchum does bend to the wishes of developers, it will certainly be following a clear tend line established in Aspen, Vail, and Mountain Village (Telluride’s slope-side sister town).

Revelstoke’s air fouled by smoke

REVELSTOKE, B.C. — A large device used to burn sawdust and other wastes from old-fashioned sawmills is causing a heated discussion in Revelstoke. The devices, variously called beehives or teepees, were once common in mountain towns of the West that had sawmills. Most have disappeared, but Revelstoke retains a sawmill that employs 450 people, and the provincial government recently extended the sawmill’s deadline for eliminating the smouldering by two years.

The alternative technology is relatively simple but expensive: a cogeneration plant that would convert the burning wood into usable energy. However, the sawmill operator, Downie Street Sawmills Ltd., has floundered during the last several years as Canadian exports have become more expensive to the United States, the primary customer of Canadian lumber. The increase is due to both a surging value of Canadian dollars and a new 27 per cent tariff on Canadian lumber products entering the United States.

Drought impairs growth of plants

TELLURIDE, Colo. — Drought is having impacts in curious places, among them the tailings pile east of Telluride. There, remediation workers had expected the spent ores to be given stability after several years of fertilization and irrigation. However, vegetation growth in the sandy-type tailings has been marginal. "They don’t hold water very well," said the state of Colorado’s project director. A new agreement authorizes additional irrigation and other work.

Zoline heirs take their case public

ASPEN, Colo. — Aspen continues to be divided about the propriety of a big development that would yield 47 affordable housing units, 12 free-market mansions and 21 acres of dedicated open space on a ranch adjacent to it that has so far evaded development.

The ranch was purchased in the 1950s by Joe Zoline, who is better remembered as the person who opened the Telluride ski area in the early 1970s. He died earlier this year, but even before he did the family was trying to craft a deal with city officials that helped them cope with the enormous estate taxes that a large chunk of land on the edge of Aspen would ordinarily provoke.

Now, Pam Zoline Lifton, the daughter, is putting her argument into the public realm. Do not presume, she tells opponents of the affordable housing plan, that the ranch will remain as it is if they reject this plan.

"Some people sort of have this fantasy that if this doesn’t happen, nothing changes – it just changes the way it is," she told The Aspen Times. That’s not the case, she added. "People will probably hate what happens," said her husband, John Lifton.

Zoline and Lifton are well-known residents of Telluride where they have struggled with the repercussions and stimulants of growth. Among their causes has been a loud questioning of the need to expand the resort’s mesa-top runway.

Vail unimpressed

VAIL, Colo. — Having reviewed the various options for Interstate 70, the Vail town government has chose answer "e," none of the above.

In its proposal to the public, Colorado transportation officials have outlined a plan that calls primarily for widening highways from Denver into the mountains but also using unusual rail-based buses to Summit County. The state planners rejected an innovative but unproven plan for mass transit that is commonly called a monorail.

Bigger highways will fill just as rapidly as they get built, notes Greg Moffet, a Vail town councilman. But the mass transit option doesn’t seem to make any sense, as people during summer months – the time of peak use on the highway – go to the mountains to get away from highways. With mass transit they very well cannot do that.

Vail Mayor Rod Slifer notes that, from a Vail perspective, a rail-based option is of no real value unless it goes to Denver International Airport. Instead, the plan only goes to the outskirts of the metropolitan area, about 25 miles east of the airport. On the other hand, the I-70 quandary makes the local airport, 30 miles west of Vail, that much more important of a portal, reports the Vail Daily.

The Northwest Colorado Council of Governments is planning a two-day session during May in which various governments from Aspen to Grand Lake will be brought together an effort to work out a consensus opinion.

No more slopping of beer

VAIL, Colo. – A sort of low-rent bar at the base of Vail Mountain is closing after slopping up beer for 24 years.

The Sundance Saloon was your basic place with barn-board walls, a pool table in the corner, and various lift operators, post-game basketball players, and even an occasional tourist. The bar, and the old hotel in which it is located, will topple this spring to make way for a new and hotel and condominium complex, of the four-star variety. It’s part of the $1 billion make-over of Vail.

Apaches over skies of Crested Butte

CRESTED BUTTE, Colo. — Apache helicopters were flapping around Crested Butte and Gunnison recently. Boeing, the manufacturer, wanted to test the noisy birds in cold weather, and the Gunnison Basin may well have the franchise on that in Colorado. Some 200 Apache helicopters have been used in Iraq, reports the Crested Butte News. Boeing also tested a military plane out of the Gunnison-Crested Butte Airport last summer.