Looking across the Roaring Fork Basin, soil moisture on Nov. 2, 2022, measured 70% of average for the higher elevations sites and 100% of average at lower elevations. That is wetter than in November 2020, when soil moisture was mostly between 50% and 70% of average.
Category: Environment
Aspen Journalism’s “Connie Harvey Environment Desk” is named in honor of the longtime Aspen environmentalist.
Posted inLocal Public Data
The outsized impact of REMP residences
Mitigation strategies that offset all exterior energy use have not always been possible or sufficient. Local governments are considering additional measures to help meet climate goals, including potentially reducing the maximum allowed house size in the county.
Posted inLocal Public Data
New short-term-rental rules limit supply, restrict future growth
Since new permits became available in September and October, Aspen has issued 790 as of April 3 and 111 licenses were issued in unincorporated Pitkin County as of April 20, for a total of 901 licensed STRs between the jurisdictions. That appears to be well below the total number of properties involved in short-term vacation renting prior to the new permit regulations, when neither jurisdiction had strict limits on STR proliferation.
Posted inEnvironment
Garfield County commissioners defend Uinta Basin Railway against local opposition
In a February work session between the Garfield County BOCC and the New Castle Town Council, the town representatives expressed concerns about possible derailments due to an increase of oil trains and the speed at which trains roll through town.
Posted inEnvironment
Dealing with methane escaping from Coal Basin’s shuttered mines sparks debate
The biggest hurdle proponents of the Coal Basin methane project might face may not be the layers of bureaucracy they will have to navigate, but convincing Redstone residents that doing something is better than doing nothing.
Posted inEnvironment
Uinta Basin Railway opposition unites Colorado towns, Utah backcountry residents
“I think it’s communities like ours that are impacted by things like this because we’re just common people. We don’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight the government and the big oil companies, so they know they can just run it right over the top of us and there’s really nothing we can do.”
Posted inLand Use
Lift One Corridor hotel developers say they are working together
How well-coordinated the construction sequencing would be between the new developer and the neighboring Lift One Lodge has been an open question. But the parties say they have made significant progress since September.
Posted inEnvironment
Plan for amenities at Snowmass Village wetlands stirs conversation on impact 
Proposals for the multiphase project have included ideas for a recreational beach, a floating dock for gatherings, steppingstones, walking planks, a boardwalk and a bridge through the wetlands to connect the Seven Star Trail to Sky Mountain Park, plus a beach on one edge of the pond
Posted inOn Aspen Journalism
Aspen Journalism wins six awards in annual Colorado Press Association contest
Each of Aspen Journalism’s reporters and editors, as well as two freelance journalists, took home first-place awards.
Posted inEnvironment
Uinta Basin Railway faces obstacles
The UBR, approved by the Federal Surface Transportation Board in late 2021, would provide enough transportation capacity to quadruple oil production in the Uinta Basin at a time when scientists around the world are sounding an alarm over CO2 emissions.