The Roundup | Looking ahead to a sustainable future

County seeks land swap to ease pressure at North Star put-in

Pitkin County is moving forward with an official proposal for a land exchange that would see it acquire 23 acres of U.S. Forest Service land around Wildwood Lane including a busy river access point for floaters heading to the North Star Nature Preserve. The Wildwood put-in has been the epicenter of management challenges after the rise in popularity of stand-up paddleboarding spiked river use numbers along the mellow stretch of the Roaring Fork just upstream of Aspen. But the land swap, where the county is offering the Forest Service nearly 350 acres spread across nine backcountry parcels it owns, invites the latest round of controversy over how to manage recreation at North Star. Wildwood Lane homeowners say they are likely to condition their support for the trade on the county introducing new use restrictions on the put in, something Open Space and Trails staff say can only be considered following a robust public process.

Nationwide protest observed locally highlights importance of immigrant community

The grassroots strike and nationwide protest “Un Día Sin Inmigrantes” or “A Day Without Immigrants” aimed to call attention to the important social and economic role immigrants play in communities. On Feb. 3, many immigrant-run businesses were closed and a noticeable number of students and staff at schools stayed home in the Roaring Fork and Colorado River valleys as part of the nationwide protest. Eleanor Bennett talked to business owners, schools and Rep. Elizabeth Velasco to learn more.

Nonfunctional thirsty lawns face more limitations

In the fall of 2023, Aspen Journalism edited and published an award-winning five-part series written and reported by Allen Best of Big Pivots examining evolving norms in how Colorado uses water in urban landscapes. While the shift will likely never be absolute, the dominance of Kentucky bluegrass and other thirsty cool-weather grasses as the default landscapes of homes and businesses has started to fade. Last year, a bill limiting new nonfunctional turf plantings in commercial, industrial, governmental and roadway settings was signed by the governor. Last week, Heather Sackett followed up with her story about House Bill 1113, the recently introduced legislative proposal that would further limit planting nonfunctional turf, artificial turf or invasive plant species around new and redeveloped apartment or condominium housing complexes. Local governments would also have to enact their own policies about how to limit new turf on properties not covered by HB1113 or SB5 by 2028. This is a great example of how Aspen Journalism’ reporting is on the forefront of long-term impact. 

Noticias en Español

As part of the Social Justice multimedia, bilingual collaboration between Aspen Journalism and Aspen Public Radio, each story is translated into Spanish and posted on our website. A big thank you to Aspen Community Foundation for helping to support this initiative in the shared mission of providing and reporting on essential human services and programs that promote community belonging, particularly for Spanish-speaking community members. Please consider strengthening this initiative by donating in support of Eleanor Bennett’s reporting on social justice stories in the Roaring Fork Valley. 

Thank you, as always, for reading and supporting the valley’s only nonprofit, investigative news origination.

– Curtis Wackerle
Editor and Executive Director
Aspen Journalism

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