HomeMy WebLinkAboutLtr to MarbleTrustees 07262021
530 E. Main Street • Aspen Colorado 81611 • Phone: 970-920-5200
July 26, 2021 Board of Trustees Town of Marble 322 West Park St. Marble, CO 81623 Dear Trustees, I am writing on behalf of the Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners and we extend our best wishes to you and your community as we come out of the global pandemic and hopefully enjoy a nice summer and fall ahead. I am writing now on three items regarding the Crystal River Watershed. The first item deals with the Pride of America Mine and the relocation of Yule Creek. As you may know, Pitkin County submitted comments to the Army Corps of Engineers on this activity and the mine’s violation of the Clean Water Act. We additionally had requested that the Corps require compensatory mitigation for failure by the mine to obtain a permit. A decision on this by the Corps is currently outstanding. In the meantime, the Colorado Stone Quarries has reached out to our Crystal River caucus to request input on possible mitigation measures. Based on this outreach, we would like to bring together the four entities - Gunnison County, Town of Marble, Pitkin County, and the mine - to have a collaborative conversation on such measures. We request your support for such a meeting and your availability to schedule the same with the designees of your choosing. The second item is in relation to the effort to designate the Upper Crystal River as Wild and Scenic. Pitkin County is supportive of and involved in the steering committee to advocate for this designation. However, we equally realize that a broad stakeholder effort is necessary to identify whether there is appropriate community support and as such, what the appropriate protections for the river may be. It is Pitkin County’s goal to help establish a neutral and inclusive stakeholder outreach effort that brings all voices to the table in a meaningful way in order to deliver outcomes that are credible and with the highest level of integrity. We envision hiring a neutral facilitator to advance this process and Pitkin County has appropriated money to support it. We request your participation in the establishment and the effectuation of this stakeholder process. This may take the form of financial contribution and/or designation of an elected representative to both organize the stakeholder effort and select a facilitator, and to participate in the stakeholder conversations. We do not think that this obligates you to take any position on designation of the Wild and Scenic proposal at this time, but instead we believe that your endorsement of the process is an important first step so that any outcomes from the community are credibly received.
530 E. Main Street • Aspen Colorado 81611 • Phone: 970-920-5200
And, finally, the third item is also related to Wild and Scenic and is an invitation that I am passing along from a local conservation organization, Ecoflight, to take any and all members of your board on an aerial tour of the portions of the Crystal River watershed that are eligible for protection. On this tour you will be able to see the different river segments proposed for wild, scenic, and recreational, and to learn more about the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Ecoflight can fly out of Aspen or Gunnison airports and expects the tour to take 45 minutes inclusive of loading and unloading time. There is no cost for you for the tour and they have reserved time on August 16 and 17, and September 10 and 13 to schedule this tour. We request that you please let us know as soon as possible your interest in this offer and your availability on those dates. Thank you for your consideration of these items. We are happy to have staff or a commissioner attend one of your meetings to further discuss. And of course, I’m happy to answer any questions by phone or email as well. Kind regards,
Kelly McNicholas Kury Chair, Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners kelly.mcnicholas@pitkincounty.com 970.319.0219 Cc: Gunnison County Commissioners