When considering today’s hand-wringing over the vanquished spirit of Aspen, it is important to note that throughout Aspen’s history, laments of loss are nothing new. In a continuation of our new series, “In search of community” by Paul Andersen, we began to look at the history of Aspen’s sense of community, divided up into five historic epochs: the Utes, silver mining, the quiet years, the rise of skiing and culture and the age of affluence. Andersen is unraveling this narrative in four parts, the first two of which — covering the Utes and silver mining and the Quiet Years — are among our new stories over the last week. Look for the next two parts of the series in early February. It’s a good reminder that community is fluid, that joy and loss are universal and that understanding history is an important part of understanding our future.
Speaking of the past and future, in another story published in the last week, Aspen Journalism Water Desk Editor Heather Sackett illuminates how relics of the past are continuing to pose ongoing challenges for Colorado’s water system. The issue is decades-old conditional rights to build dams and reservoirs on Western Slope waterways, which remain on the books to this day, so long as the owners of those rights can get a court to sign off every half-dozen years that said owners have done their “due diligence” to eventually develop those water rights. The bar at proving diligence can be low and these filings tend to fly under the radar, until they don’t.
In this most recent case, we have the Puckett Land Co., a Front Range company with interest in oil shale development, that has conditional water rights dating to 1966 for a nearly 24,000-acre-foot reservoir on Thompson Creek, a part of the Thompson Divide area prized by conservationists who are working to get a federal decree withdrawing a nearly 225,000 acre-area from future oil and gas leasing, following a long fight to eliminate drilling leases issued two decades ago. Puckett’s reservoir does not appear tied to drilling proposals within Thompson Divide, but it would be part of an “integrated system” to service water-intensive oil shale development in Garfield County. They made their most recent diligence filing in November; parties with an interest in the case have until the end of January to file statements of opposition.
According to a 2009 study by Western Resource Advocates, companies with an interest in western Colorado oil shale in the 1950s and ‘60s were anticipating a boom in shale and amassed an enormous portfolio of water rights, with 27 reservoirs totalling 736,770 acre-feet of water in the mainstem Colorado River basin still on the books as of 2009. If those rights were developed, they would jump in front of water users with more recent priority dates who are already using water, potentially crashing the system. That is but one area of concern and some experts are calling for systemic reform.
As always, it is our honor to pursue investigative reporting on questions of environment and community – we seek to leave both a little better off as they enrich us. Thank you for reading, and supporting, our nonprofit, local newsroom.
– Curtis Wackerle
Editor and executive director
Aspen Journalism
During Aspen’s Quiet Years, a challenged but cohesive community takes hold
Aspen’s capacity for enchantment faded but never fled entirely
By Paul Andersen | January 22, 2024
“The lights of Aspen began to dim and softly flicker for almost 50 years. Still, the lights never went out. These were the years between prospecting and prosperity, … Aspen’s only future lay in its past. All of its dreams were trapped in its memories of yesterday.”
Aspen’s embattled community first experienced by the Utes, then came the silver crash
In each area of Aspen’s history, lamentations of loss
By Paul Andersen | January 20, 2024
Aspen’s community has proved resilient despite dramatic changes that have long inflamed a cathartic sense of loss. Aspenites are contentious about change because change alters the experience that first gave them a rich sense of place. A first love of Aspen leaves a deep emotional imprint.
Company with oil and gas interests seeking to keep rights alive for reservoir on Thompson Creek
Puckett Land Co.’s 23,893 acre-foot proposal dates to 1966, part of “integrated system” involving lands in Garfield and Rio Blanco counties
By Heather Sackett | January 20, 2024
The reason Puckett has been able to hold on to water rights that are nearly 60 years old without putting them to beneficial use lies in a quirk of Colorado water law that at least one scholar says needs to be reformed.
Data dashboard: Snowstorms boost snowpack
Roaring Fork basin snowpack has gained about 1.7 inches of snow-water equivalent since last week.
By Laurine Lassalle | January 22, 2024
• The monitoring station at McClure Pass, located at elevation 8,770 feet, recorded a SWE of 7.2 inches on Jan. 21 or 84% of median. That’s up from a SWE of 6.1 inches on Jan. 14.
• Lake Powell was 35.25% full on Jan. 21, down from 35.54% last week.
• High air temperatures at ASE went from 21°F on Jan. 8 to 38°F on Jan. 18.
Data dashboard: December occupancy rate in Aspen on par with last year
While the occupancy rate is close to last year, the number of booked hotel rooms went up due to larger inventory.
By Laurine Lassalle | January 15, 2024
• December occupancy reached 55.2% for Aspen and Snowmass combined this year, down from 55.7% last year, but 5.2% more rooms were sold in December than last year.
• Recent snowstorms boosted snowpack in the Roaring Fork basin, reaching an average of 7.3 inches of snow-water equivalent per site on Jan. 14, or 92% of median.
• High air temperatures at ASE went from 40°F on Jan. 1 to 21°F on Jan. 8, or about 13 degrees below normal. Meanwhile, low temperatures went from 20°F on Jan. 4 to -5°F on Jan. 9.
There are always stories that need a journalist to pursue them. These Aspen Journalism investigative stories are published for you, the community, and our collaborators as a public service, thanks to the generosity of our readers and funders.
