• Donate
  • Subscribe
  • WATER
  • ENVIRONMENT
  • COVID-19
  • LOCAL DATA
  • SOCIAL JUSTICE
  • NEWSLETTERS
    • The Roundup
    • The Runoff
  • HISTORY
  • ABOUT
    • About
    • Staff, Board & Advisers
    • Editorial Independence Policy
    • Donors and Funders
    • Publish Our Work
    • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
Skip to content
Aspen Journalism

Aspen Journalism

local. nonprofit. investigative

DONATE

Tag: 3rd Place Extended Coverage

Backcountry motorized recreation pains remote mountain town
2022 SPJ Award Credit: Curtis Wackerle/Aspen Journalism

The town of Marble, located in a remote valley on Colorado’s Western Slope, has been at the center of a unique public lands controversy: The historic use of off-road vehicles along a nearby backcountry road system has increased in popularity over recent years to the point of degrading environmental and quality of life values for area residents and non-motorized recreationists.

Posted inEnvironment

Parking is a choke point in Marble’s motorized-use conundrum

by Curtis Wackerle June 18, 2021May 4, 2022

There is no designated parking near the Lead King Loop trailhead for the trucks and trailers needed to haul the machines. Many in Marble feel this has put the squeeze on their town, population 140, which has limited resources and infrastructure to handle the influx.

Posted inEnvironment

OHV authorization will continue near Marble, but clock is ticking

by Curtis Wackerle May 18, 2021April 12, 2022

While the commissioners did not enact a de facto moratorium on OHV, ATV and UTV traffic on the county road leading to the Lead King Loop, the discovery of a language error in a county resolution served to elevate the issue.

Visitors park their off-highway vehicles in the settlement of Crystal
Posted inEnvironment

Gunnison County appears unlikely to ban off-highway vehicles on road to Lead King Loop this summer

by Curtis Wackerle May 5, 2021May 4, 2022

Gunnison County commissioners expressed concern that an immediate, partial ban would be counterproductive but called for partner agencies to ‘lean in’ to long-term solutions.

Posted inEnvironment

Enforcement, education campaign to debut on Lead King Loop this summer near Marble

by Curtis Wackerle April 19, 2021May 9, 2022

An academic study found broad-based concern among residents about “degraded quality of life” related to the increasing number of visitors.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
  • Contact
  • About
  • Publish Our Work
© 2023 Aspen Journalism. Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic