Officials with Pitkin County and the White River National Forest say the special-use permit is the best possible way to protect the Maroon Bells amid federal staffing and budget shortages, but public-lands watchdog groups are sounding the alarm that the move could inadvertently serve as a forerunner in efforts to privatize federal lands.
Tag: White River National Forest
Posted inEnvironment
‘Where’s our bench?’
All departments/programs at the White River National Forest have seen reductions in the workforce, except the forest leadership team, which has been able to fill positions with Forest Service employees who have left other roles within the agency. Recreation, engineering and specialist roles have been particularly hard-hit.
Posted inEnvironment
Aspen Highlands master plan includes gondola to Cloud Nine, summer operations
Highlands’ lift fleet has changed little since a push for upgrades in the ’90s. SkiCo wants to “be in business forever” and can’t do that on essence alone.
Posted inEnvironment
Local public-lands group moving from crisis reaction to long-term plan
This was not a typical summer season for the White River National Forest, but thanks to unprecedented efforts from local organizations, visitors may not have noticed. The U.S. Forest Service did not hire seasonal workers to manage the influx of crowds, but it did offer incentives for employees to quit. Funding shrank and uncertainty grew. […]
Posted inEnvironment
‘The public is losing out’
Working two full-time jobs was taxing, and it’s true that the federal government pays far less than local governments in the same resort communities. But the real push to leave the agency came from Washington.
Posted inSocial justice
Community shows up for ‘Latino Conservation Week’ despite concerns over immigration crackdowns and DEI rollbacks
Defiende Nuestra Tierra’s program director said reconnecting Latino families with their ancestral roots to the land is at the heart of the organization’s mission to get more people involved in protecting public lands.
Posted inEnvironment
Volunteers report uptick in illegal campfire rings
Given the moment’s urgency, the Forest Conservancy is seeing record levels of staffing, recruitment, total hours and in-kind value. Through Aug. 17, volunteers with Forest Conservancy have worked more than 8,800 service hours, which Johnson said represents an in-kind contribution value of more than $340,000, or the equivalent of 10 to 12 seasonal employees.
Posted inEnvironment
Common ground: Protecting our public lands
Citizen involvement amplified the call to protect national assets and save something for the future. A campaign to win hearts and minds for preserving the inspiring vistas was beginning to sensitize America to the natural treasures of which it had taken possession.
Posted inEnvironment
Becoming the White River National Forest
The story of the WRNF is therefore a weave of time and place, and of a people for whom the forest is both an economic lifeblood and a battleground for conservation and preservation.
Posted inEnvironment
A crisis of the commons
The idea of selling off lands held in public trust throughout the United States is grounds for national reflection on the significance of these very lands. Historically, the privatization of land across the continental United States has been, in large part, a protracted scandal of greed, corruption, exploitation and opportunism.