Recently at Aspen Journalism, our water desk reported on a simmering issue in Marble, which came across our radar when community members began raising concerns about heavy equipment manipulating the channel and bank of the Crystal River as it flows past the airstrip property outside of town. Those concerns made their way to Gunnison County, which issued a stop-work order in August, finding that the property owners did not have a county permit for such a river project.
Consultants working on the behalf of the landowner replied to county officials that they were working under authorization from the Army Corps of Engineers, which had previously granted approval for limited streambank maintenance and restoration. That put the ball in the corps’ court, which investigated the matter to determine if the work performed was in line with what’s allowed under the permit. Last week, officials weighed in, finding that the work exceeded the previously established scope. The notice of noncompliance sent to the property’s manager gives them 30 days to apply for a new permit or restore the site to its prior condition.
Representatives of the property owners — the owner’s address listed in public records until last month shared a post-office box in Bentonville, Ark., with Walton Enterprises, which handles financial affairs for “multiple generations” of Walmart founders Sam and Helen Walton’s family, according to LinkedIn — say they will apply for a new permit and emphasized that they’re “committed to ensuring the protection and preservation of the natural environment and wildlife.” (Editor’s note: Aspen Journalism is supported by Sam R. Walton, grandson of the Walmart founders, via the Carbondale-based Catena Foundation.) The natural resources consultant leading the project, ERO, told Gunnison County that the work is needed because streambank erosion has toppled trees into the river, causing water to back up and flow toward the airstrip.
Also in the last week, Aspen Journalism published a story from Kaya Williams, freelancing for our Connie Harvey Environment Desk, looking at what’s happened to a plan from the Town of Snowmass Village to add recreational amenities in a wetlands area near Town Park. While a bridge connecting mountain biking zones and an event deck were in initial proposals, they are not anymore, thanks in large part to citizens who raised concerns about how greater human access would have a detrimental effect on wildlife. If the town wants to consider the features in the future, it is now required to undertake more study. However, an analysis of the plans already completed found that the recreational amenities would not have a long-term impact on local wildlife populations, given that the area subject to development — already hemmed in by housing developments and trails — is a small piece of a large wetlands complex stretching from Snowmass Village down Cozy Point Ranch.
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– Curtis Wackerle
Editor and executive director
Army Corps of Engineers: Marble airstrip work is noncompliant
Streambank stabilization went beyond scope of permit
By Heather Sackett | October 1, 2022
A Nationwide Permit 3 authorizes streambank restoration work covering up to 450 linear feet, but the current project “appears to extend significantly beyond what was previously authorized,” the letter reads.
Plan for amenities at Snowmass Village wetlands stirs conversation on impact 
Town council strikes references to new trails from ordinance, calls for more analysis
By Kaya Williams | September 30, 2022
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
Data dashboard: River levels rose this weekend after recent rainfall
Air temperatures remain above normal in Aspen
By Laurine Lassalle | October 4, 2022
• The Fork ran at 145.5% of average below Maroon Creek and 120% of average near Emma on Oct. 2.
• Lake Powell’s elevation is 4.5 feet from a critical level.
• High air temperature was about five degrees above normal on Sept. 29, while minimum temperature reached 12 degrees above normal.
Tracking the Curve
Currently, four wastewater treatment plants in the valley—Aspen, Snowmass Village, Basalt and Glenwood Springs—are participating in the Colorado’s COVID-19 Wastewater Monitoring project. As of Sept. 22, the Aspen facility recorded 66,400 copies per liter.
By Laurine Lassalle | October 4, 2022
Garfield County has reported 32 new COVID-19 cases since Thursday and Eagle County has added eight cases. Pitkin County has recorded eight cases since Thursday.
Staffing shortages, inflation, housing likely to remain challenges for Aspen in 2023
“Occupancy has decreased below 2021 levels since May this year, Strecker said, and they are also below pre-COVID numbers. ‘That by itself might be a little bit concerning, but … what you don’t see as an individual body count, you certainly see on the dollar side in terms of average nightly rate — with that rate going up some 40%,’ Strecker said. ‘You can have a little bit of softening in the occupancy numbers and still generate a significant amount of revenue.’”
Source: aspendailynews.com | Read more
The stretch of I-70 through Glenwood Canyon is 30 years old. Will it survive another 30 years?
“The total cost to repair the interstate so far has exceeded $110 million—or roughly one-seventh of this part of I-70’s original construction cost in today’s dollars. ‘It’s mind-boggling to witness what’s happening here in such a short time,’ says Ralph Trapani, the project manager who oversaw the I-70 enterprise in the canyon over portions of two decades and lives in Glenwood Springs.”
Source: 5280.com | Read more
Redstone residents debate effects of short-term rentals on town
“There are some homes in the commercial zone and they are appropriate for STRs, several speakers said. But Bell and others said the residential zone is not appropriate for what amounts to lodging businesses. The continued operation of short-term rentals in the residential district creates a clash of visitors versus residents, she said.”
Source: aspendailynews.com | Read more
Gross Dam opposition gets new legal life in fight against massive Boulder County reservoir expansion
“Opponents say the proposed expansion would add 900,000 cubic feet of concrete, ‘effectively tripling the size of the reservoir,’ damaging both local environmental resources and stripping more water from Colorado River tributaries across the Continental Divide. Denver Water wants a bigger pool to store rights to Fraser River water that is pumped under the mountains and comes down South Boulder Creek to the dam.”
Source: coloradosun.com | Read more
At Colorado’s largest reservoir, one national park scientist shifts her focus to toxic algae
“The ongoing megadrought in the West has changed the water in Blue Mesa Reservoir: the levels are low and the temperatures are warm — creating ripe conditions for harmful algae blooms. With three research projects running at once, Gibney travels around Blue Mesa by boat most days of the week from April to October sampling and observing the reservoir for harmful algae blooms. The goal is to identify what is causing the large swaths of algae, and what, if anything, the park can do to prevent them.”
Source: coloradosun.com | Read more
Western Slope water advocates reflect on 2022 water year
“A lot of the deficiency between snowpack and streamflow can be attributed to dry soils, Langenhuizen said. In the northwest corner of Colorado, including Summit County, heavy monsoonal moisture greatly benefited the abnormally dry soils. Earlier this month, the southern half of Summit County was lifted from drought status, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.”
Source: summitdaily.com | Read more
Federal officials set their sights on Lower Colorado River evaporation to speed up conservation
“States in the river’s Upper Basin – Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming — are already charged for evaporation from federally-managed reservoirs. An historical quirk left Lower Basin users without that same responsibility. Lower Basin users rely on court decrees that followed the Supreme Court decision in Arizona v. California as some of their governing documents. Those decrees never required accounting of evaporation from Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir.”
Source: kung.org | Read more
More high-elevation wildfire is sapping Western snowpack, study finds
“In the Southern Rockies, specifically, more forest burned in late-melt snow zones in 2020 than in the previous 36 years combined. These burn scars at higher elevations, the researchers discovered, affect how much snow the mountains can hold, and for how long.”
Source: kunr.org | Read more
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