Challenging the status quo
Silverton task force examines mining as preservation tool

A twisting road borders the Alpine Loop, an area in the San Juans targeted for preservation by the San Juan Alpine Task Force. The new group has formed with the priority of creating economic stability for nearby San Juan County. While this will entail preservation of viewsheds and historic resources, the goup is also hoping to stimulate sustainable mining in the San Juan Mountains/Photo by Jared Boyd.

by Shawna Bethell

Always unique in everything they do, the folks of San Juan County are once again challenging the status quo. A newly formed task force, The San Juan Alpine Task Force (SJATF), is not only setting out to preserve historic assets and breath-taking vistas in order to procure economic stability in their county, they are seeking the return of mining on some of their potential environmental easement sites – something that is rarely considered in these types of circles.

“San Juan County is setting trends,” said Pete McKay, SJATF member and San Juan County commissioner. “We really have nothing to lose. Our economy is down, our population is so small. By taking this unique stand, by challenging the status quo, we can find a future that works for us.”

The objectives of the task force prioritize economic stability for the remote county. Modeling itself after the successful Red Mountain Task Force in Ouray County, the San Juan Alpine Task Force hopes to preserve key historic areas such as Animas Forks and the Alpine Loop as well as unadulterated pristine vistas that draw thousands of tourists each year. But the group also recognizes that mining not

only played a role in the economic development of Silverton in ages past, it is possible to open the region to environmentally sustainability mining today. Such a move would keep alive the historic nuance that gives the small community a sense of identity while also encouraging economic growth for a region that desperately needs it, the group argues.

“I never like to see the physical scars on the land,” said task force member Lisa Richardson, an environmentalist and backcountry enthusiast. “But mining is going to happen, and if we send it to South America where mining laws are less strict, the environment is going to suffer even more. Everyone says ‘not in my back yard,’ but at least if it is here, we can better control it.”

Richardson, an environmentalist and backcountry enthusiast. “But mining is going to happen, and if we send it to South America where mining laws are less strict, the environment is going to suffer even more. Everyone says ‘not in my back yard,’ but at least if it is here, we can better control it.”

If mining is allowed in the land easement component of the project, all companies will have to follow state and federal environmental mandates. The thinking behind the decision included discussion about the mining claims being split up and sold as private housing development. If the land is held as a single claim, say a 100-acre claim, the mine itself would maybe occupy a single acre leaving the rest as open country. On the other hand, if a claim was split and developed, there could be as many as 20 homes scattered across the parcel. Economically speaking, this sort of development could be a detriment to the county. Studies repeatedly show that backcountry home development costs counties more in services, such as law enforcement and road maintenance, than is generated by property tax, leaving a financially struggling county even more burdened. To its credit, San Juan County has attempted to be pro-active by upgrading its Land Use Regulations four times in the past few years to allow for sustainable development while protecting natural and historic assets. However, the building boom is rapidly increasing.

Currently San Juan County has three major development corridors. Corridor One is in the south part of the county, along Highway 550 and includes the Mill Creek Subdivision, Cascade Village, and Durango Mountain Resort. The second runs from Silverton to Eureka, along County Road 2, and includes the Lackawanna Hillside home sites, the Cole Ranch Subdivision and Renegade/Liberty Hardware, a small manufacturing business. The third corridor includes Silverton Mountain Recreation Area and the Old Gladstone Townsite Area, which is being studied for an RV park, home sites and commercial space. Recognizing these corridors for economic development frees up the backcountry from this type of building and utilizes the beauty of the open space to sustain the tourist economy that San Juan County relies on. If that tourist draw is lost due to the scattering of trophy homes across the wilderness, the task force believes the county may well lose the precarious financial base it has counted on since the closing of the last mine in 1991.

“I want this project to be community based,” said McKay. “We need something that respects our mining heritage as well as our natural resources, and as a commissioner, I don’t want to lose anybody who might want to be involved.”

The group pulls its members from a wide base of expertise and knowledge including historians, a geologist, an archeologist, a Realtor, environmentalists, and members of local government, all with a concern for the San Juan County backcountry. The group is hoping to acquire 1 percent of the land base of the 248,954-acre county through not only conservation easements but land trades between San Juan County, the Bureau of Land Management and the Sunnyside Gold Corp. It also is looking for to acquire land via a small, tailored program of the Federal Land and Water Conservation Funds, which have allotted $12 million to the Red Mountain Task force over the past 10 years. The San Juan Alpine Task Force will apply for $1 million in the fall of 2005 for the federal budget year of 2007.

“We know this is going to take time, and that’s OK,” said McKay of the fledgling project. “Right now we just need to get our name out there and our desires known. This isn’t necessarily for our own generation; this is to preserve our heritage for the generations to come.”

A website for the task force, www.sjalpine.org, gives further details on how to become involved with the organization. •