Sign of theTimes: Fort Lewis College student Tyson Snyder displays his anti-war sign along College Avenue on Friday. /Photo by Todd Newcomer.

Lynx reintroduction prompts lawsuit

With the Colorado Division of Wildlife set to release 50 lynx into the San Juan Mountains in coming months, a legal challenge has surfaced. The Mountain States Legal Foundation has filed suit, changed that an environmental impact statement is required since the state’s action included a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

In 1999, the first of 96 lynx were released into the San Juans, beginning what state wildlife biologists hoped would be a restoration of a species. Now, to augment the remaining 34 lynx, the DOW is preparing to release 50 additional lynx in coming months, part of a four-year program to add 180 lynx to aid in the odds of reproduction.

However, the Mountain States Legal Foundation is asking a Denver Federal Court for a temporary restraining order to bar the lynx reintroduction beginning on April 1.

“NEPA requires federal officials to analyze the impact of their decisions, “says William Perry Pendley, the foundation’s president and chief legal office. “In the case of the lynx federal officials have boldly refused to do what the law requires: answer the question of the impact on forest management of the lynx's presence in the forest.”

Beyond the issue of law, both Pendley’s group and conservation groups are arguing about whether the lynx reintroduction will slow thinning of wildfire-prone forests. The Mountain States Legal Foundation says it will, causing elevated fire risk to homes.

Sinapu, a Boulder-based carnivore conservation group, brands the lawsuit a “cynical tactic to kill the lynx program.” In a press release, group’s Rob Edwards, the group’s director of carnivore conservation, doesn’t argue the law, but he disputes that lynx reintroductions will elevate fire danger to homes.

River Trail condemnation in works

The City of Durango has been forced to pursue its last resort to fully link up the Animas River Trail. The city is currently going forward with the process of condemning the necessary property behind the China Restaurant.

The Animas River Trail is interrupted in the middle at the Main Avenue bridge. Over the past year, the city has been working to buy property from Terri D’s, the VFW Post and China Restaurant to complete the connection. In total, the connection has been estimated at a cost of $2.3 million.

Terri D’s and the VFW have come to the table, but China Restaurant’s owner Louis Cummins has strictly opposed selling an easement. Having exhausted all other options, the city is in the process of condemning a portion of Cummins’ land. The first steps toward condemnation have been taken and studies have been completed on the property.

“We went on the property and did the necessary surveying and geotechnical work,” City Attorney David Smith said. “We are proceeding with condemnation.”

The property has been appraised and the city will be offering Cummins fair market value for the land it plans to seize. “We’re reviewing the appraisal right now and we will make him a final offer,” Smith said. “If that doesn’t work we will proceed with our petition.”

Smith said that it is unfortunate that negotiations disintegrated to this point. However he added, “We’ve tried everything we can.”

Avalanche kills Mancos man

An avalanche in the La Plata Mountain claimed the life of a 22-year-old man from Mancos last Saturday. Lee Austin was snowmobiling with eight others on a north-facing aspect at roughly 11,000 feet of elevation near Burro Peak when he triggered an avalanche and was buried.

Montezuma County Sheriff Joey Chavez said that the San Miguel County dispatch received a cell phone call shortly after the slide occurred at 1:09 p.m. A helicopter with a dog crew was dispatched immediately from Telluride Helitrax Dispatch then contacted Montezuma County and Mancos Fire and Rescue, United Search and Rescue and K-9 Search and Rescue responded.

After an extensive search, Austin’s body was found buried beneath five feet of snow and 40 feet from his snowmobile at 2:45 p.m. CPR was undertaken for 45 minutes but to no avail. At 4:45 p.m., the coroner pronounced Austin dead.

Chavez said that the conditions were ripe for an avalanche. “I think it was mainly due to the conditions,” he said. “I guess it was pretty warm up there. The snow was unstable and when he rode on that hillside, he triggered the slide.”

None of the nine snowmobilers was carrying avalanche safety equipment.

Local fire rehabilitation gets boost

The San Juan National Forest is getting a big chunk of the federal funding appropriated to address wildfire rehabilitation this year. $1.9 million has been earmarked for rehabilitation of the Missionary Ridge Fire. Of the 2.4 million acres of National Forest lands that burned in 2002, 71,000 acres burned locally. About 13,000 acres of Missionary Ridge Fire area were burned severely, causing erosion and debris flows according to a release.

Last year, the San Juan National Forest received $4.5 million to complete a Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation (BAER) Plan. About half has been spent on immediate emergency stabilization to prevent additional damage and minimize threats to life and property. BAER emergency stabilization projects do not include long-term rehabilitation work.

Long-term rehabilitation projects included in the $1.9 million funding for this year include: the removal of hazardous trees along Missionary Ridge Road, work to make other roads in the burned area safe for travel, invasive weed treatments, insect and disease control, fence repair, seed collection and planning for reforestation, and rehabilitation of fire lines. Hazardous trees will also be removed this year on the east side of Vallecito Reservoir, but the campgrounds may not open this season. Hazardous trees will also be removed along the East Vallecito Road. Some trails in the overall burned area will be reopened this summer after dangers are reassessed and trail corridors cleared of obstacles. Trail users will be alerted by signs at trailheads that hiking in the burned area will still carry a significant risk of falling trees, missing trail segments, and the possibility of debris flows.

-compiled by Will Sands