Colorado mountain residents fed up with mining mess win fight to keep rivers clean HEAD TOPICS
Colorado mountain residents fed up with mining mess win fight to keep rivers clean
10/23/2022 12:16:00 AM Colorado mountain residents fed up with mining mess win fight to keep rivers clean
Source The Denver Post
Colorado mountain residents fed up with mining mess win fight to keep rivers clean ALMA – Colorado mountain residents got so frustrated by gold and gravel mining churning through wetlands along headwaters of the South Platte River that they took oversight into their own hands. An… A “Don’t Brecken-ize Fairplay” bumper sticker and t-shirt depicting a miner who declares Fairplay to be “Not Breck” reflect local sentiments. Mining culture endures.Episodes filmed around Fairplay “generated a lot of interest,” town treasurer Kim Wittbrodt said. Panning for gold in South Platte headwaters “became a sort of bucket-list thing to do.” Mining operations are seen all around the small mountain town of Alma on Oct. 11, 2022. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)and population growth is causing far greater environmental harm than mining — displacing elk and bighorn sheep and destroying habitat. Read more:
The Denver Post » Take a look at the Avs' 'reverse retro' sweater for the 2022-23 season Officials warn hikers of 2 mountain lion sightings in Redlands Man charged in Boulder King Soopers attack still incompetent Discovering the place on the Colorado where water becomes river Biden says it s his intention to run again in 2024 CNN Politics
President Joe Biden said Friday that while he has not made a formal decision about running for reelection in 2024, it is his 'intention' to do so. Read more >> Take a look at the Avs' 'reverse retro' sweater for the 2022-23 seasonThe Avs’ “reverse retro” sweater’s design elements are meant to pay homage to the Colorado state flag and the Rocky Mountains – with a color scheme reminiscent of the old Colorado Rockies. JGonTV has *thoughts* on this latest sweater release. More: JGonTV I thought the old Colorado Rockies were a purple and silver or gray. Nice! it's fiiine. really we're too young to have retro though Officials warn hikers of 2 mountain lion sightings in RedlandsThe City of Redlands is warning hikers and residents after two recent reported sightings of a mountain lion in the canyon areas of south Redlands. Man charged in Boulder King Soopers attack still incompetentThe man charged with killing 10 people at the Boulder King Soopers last year is still incompetent to stand trial, a judge ruled Friday, keeping his prosecution on hold. He should be given the same sentence he gave those ten people. Discovering the place on the Colorado where water becomes riverOpinion: The Colorado River speaks. Limiting my eyesight on a rafting trip improved my vision. And even more strangely, my hearing for what it had to say. Colorado Senate race tests whether a Republican feuding with Trump can winColorado Senate candidate Joe O’Dea said in an interview that he would “actively” campaign against Trump in the 2024 presidential primary. Trump fired back. He'll lose. Tuck Frump Clean, local power wins in S.F. against PG&E monopolyMost citizens rely on PG&E for electricity in their homes and electric vehicles as well as gas in their water heaters and stoves, whereas many civic buildings are on the Hetch Hetchy power grid. an authentic mining town .DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche has a new alternate sweater for the 2022-23 season.The most recent sighting was reported south of Gateway Ranch, 31313 Live Oak Canyon Road, on the Saha'tapa Loop Trail, officials said.BOULDER, Colo. ” And uprooted workers — including police officers, firefighters, teachers, bus drivers – come looking for houses they might afford in Alma and Fairplay. The historic blue Fairplay-Valiton hotel recently became a dormitory for workers. The league partnered with Adidas to design the threads. A “Don’t Brecken-ize Fairplay” bumper sticker and t-shirt depicting a miner who declares Fairplay to be “Not Breck” reflect local sentiments. Of the hundreds of mountain lion sightings reported statewide annually, few are considered safety threats, city officials added. Mining culture endures. Watch the video player above for the good, the bad, and where the Avs' new look ranks. A few years ago, miners here helped create the reality TV show “Gold Rush. He killed customers, workers and a police officer who tried to stop the attack. ” Episodes filmed around Fairplay “generated a lot of interest,” town treasurer Kim Wittbrodt said. Our love of home, and love of hockey. The last documented human-lion attack in California occurred in June 2020 in San Diego County. Panning for gold in South Platte headwaters “became a sort of bucket-list thing to do.” Record numbers of hobbyists, including semi-professional gold-seekers, pay $10 at the town hall for panning permits. #GoAvsGo x @adidashockey pic. They wade through creeks scanning for gold flakes. Permit numbers have increased from 641 in 2019 to 1,191 in 2021, town records show.com/FwRR32YxRc — Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) October 20, 2022 It’s also meant as a nod to the Avs’ first-ever sweater in 1995-96. He has not been asked yet to enter a plea. Yet profits from gold mining vanish. Taxes paid by mining companies in Park County, where the population has more than doubled from 7,174 in 1990 to 17,626, seldom surpass $200,000 a year — less than 1% of total revenues, records show. “Remixed with the original sweater elements from the Avalanche's first season as an NHL team, the uniform is a celebration of our deep connections over love of home and love of hockey. Mining operations are seen all around the small mountain town of Alma on Oct. 11, 2022.twitter. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post) Day-to-day economic survival depends more and more on tourism and housing construction. Alissa lived in the nearby suburb of Arvada, where authorities say he passed a background check to legally buy the Ruger AR-556 pistol six days before authorities say he used it in the shooting. The future is shifting toward meeting the demands of well-heeled newcomers who build fancy second homes, which “pays the bills,” said Ken Kerkela, an electrician and longtime resident.. An avid hunter, Kerkela said housing and population growth is causing far greater environmental harm than mining — displacing elk and bighorn sheep and destroying habitat. Mining for economic balance would be tolerable, he said, “as long as they do it right.” The mining opposition group Save South Park has disbanded for now. But newcomers increasingly seek pristine views from their property, landscapes like those where native Utes hunted before . They welcomed toughening rules for mining. Fairplay Mayor Frank Just envisions the creation of a “ 100-acre “river park” as a central amenity, a project local leaders painstakingly have planned for 10 years. It requires reclamation of mined lands. Just pointed to an estimated 9.7 million tons of mine waste heaped south of town that some residents reckon will never be removed. Locals remain relatively powerless, despite the court victory, Just said. “Whatever we would wish or desire is really a moot point,” he said. “We as a community, for the most part, we have relegated ourselves to accepting that we are a mining community. We cannot dictate to miners to the point of saying ‘you cannot continue.’ ” However, the best mining companies have shown restoration can be done. “They’ve turned ground that was just a mess into very nicely landscaped, groomed areas that were planted” to hide scars, he said. “We expect, as the years progress, that this will be done.” A Park County master plan prioritizes open space, wetlands, wildlife, river flows healthy enough for fishing, agriculture and rural character. Elsa Lopez’s mobile home in Fairplay Estates is adjacent to a large gravel mining operation. Heaps of rock from the mining site are piled feet from the family’s front porch, seen here on Oct. 11, 2022, in Fairplay. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post) For retired legal services company owner Bob White, the argument that better-regulated mining could help avert ruinous tourism and over-development “is a legitimate one.” Yet White has settled on “more people over the mining industry and its trucks.” The house he’s building on a mesa looks out on gravel piles from dredging in wetlands. He hears machinery, sees white glare from industrial light . He went to Denver to meet gravel mining executives and learned miners are planning to extract enough rock to fill a 28-ton truck every three minutes for another 40 years. He has protested repeatedly with county officials, invoking master plan priorities. He purchased a 1,400-acre ranch, protected it under a conservation easement that prohibits mining, and sold it back to the community. Compared with mining, “I don’t see a downside to having more people,” White said. “More people might bring a few more amenities, like a better grocery store. I don’t mind some growth. I’d take that any day, rather than having to drive between gravel trucks, hear their backing-up beepers every day, and watch their dust blow across the valley.” .