A 3,700-acre property owned by St. Benedict’s Monastery is now on the market for $150 million as the religious institution faces a dwindling population of monks. Past efforts to preserve the land never came to fruition — but some local groups hope a collaboration might help.
Category: Environment
Aspen Journalism’s “Connie Harvey Environment Desk” is named in honor of the longtime Aspen environmentalist.
Posted inEnvironment
Forecasting what will fly if runway is moved animates airport debate
Data from other airports in the Western U.S. that serve mountain-resort destinations where such planes can land suggests there is relatively little demand for private Boeing 737s that are currently too big for Aspen.
Posted inEnvironment
Agencies from Pitkin County to Glenwood Springs are collaborating on a regional recreation, conservation planning effort
The 3-year-old Roaring Fork Outdoor Coalition, headed up by Pitkin County Open Space and Trails, is looking for expert and community involvement to help establish a plan for natural resource conservation and recreation in the Roaring Fork Valley.
Posted inEnvironment
Pitkin County will pay to preserve Nordic skiing through private meadow
The settlement averted the potential break up of a Nordic course adjacent to Aspen’s public schools that has long held a designation to host high-level races from the International Skiing Federation (FIS).
Posted inEnvironment
Habitat growth fosters wildlife use at North Star, study shows
The data from Lowsky’s report highlights a few areas of concern — including the decline of red-winged black birds and the fact that there are no current great blue heron or red-tailed hawk nests on site — but largely shows that habitat is improving and a wide variety of wildlife use the nature preserve.
Posted inEnvironment
City helping Aspen restaurants comply with compost mandate
Keeping food waste out of the landfill is beneficial not only because it helps to preserve space in the rapidly filling dump 8 miles downvalley from Aspen, but because it keeps that food from rotting under layers of other trash and turning into methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas.
Posted inEnvironment
Paperwork filed for gold-mine exploration near North Star Nature Preserve as county eyes land exchange
“Our intention with filing the NOI on the mining claim is to establish additional documentation of our rights to the mining claim so that we can have a seat at the table when a land exchange is discussed,” members of the Boyles family said in a statement.
Posted inEnvironment
History of North Star, new data to inform future management of nature preserve
Overall trends also show a clear increase in the number of river users, and neighbors and frequent local users say there is not enough reverence for the sacred place. It’s clear that many in the community want to see fewer paddleboarders on the preserve.
Posted inEnvironment
Native-carnivore bill would tie depredation compensation to coexistence strategies
“This is a stick that says: Try nonlethal coexistence methods. Here’s the tools. Here’s the money. Here’s the training. Give it a try, and if you do and you lose livestock, we’ll pay you for them.”
Posted inEnvironment
The recycling symbol’s Aspen roots
The Container Corp. of America placed the symbol in the public domain in the hopes that it would be used widely to mark products made from recycled and recyclable paper products, making the symbol available in the fall of 1970 to all industries that recycle their products.
