Chimney Rock nears monument status
A Four Corners treasure is edging closer to lasting protection. Last week, Rep. Scott Tipton,R-Colo., introduced legislation to establish Chimney Rock Archeological Area as a national monument.

The 4,700-acre Chimney Rock site located near Pagosa Springs is currently managed by the San Juan National Forest and considered a significant national historical area. Chimney Rock exhibits many of the features that earned Chaco Canyon a World Heritage designation, and the site is the most northeasterly and highest (7,600 feet) Chacoan site known. In addition, Chimney Rock is among the most remarkable Puebloan sites in terms of archeoastronomy. Last July, the National Trust for Historic Preservation recommended elevating Chimney Rock to national monument status.

“By making Chimney Rock a national monument, we will preserve an important cultural treasure for future generations,” Tipton said.  “The national monument status will increase awareness and interest in the region, creating new tourism opportunities and potentially creating new jobs in a region that has been ravaged by double-digit unemployment.”

The effort is a bipartisan one with Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., authoring and introducing legislation in the Senate earlier this year. Bennet praised Tipton for crossing the aisle for the initiative.

“I introduced the Chimney Rock National Monument Establishment Act in the Senate earlier this year and look forward to working with Rep. Tipton to move this important bipartisan initiative forward,” Bennet said. “Passage would provide increased tourism and economic development in Southwest Colorado and would finally give Chimney Rock the recognition it deserves.”

DOE agrees to EIS for uranium mining
Pressure from environmental groups has led the Department of Energy to agree to a more comprehensive environmental impact statement on the effects of uranium mining in Southwest Colorado.

Since re-opening the Uravan Mineral Belt to uranium leasing in 2008, the DOE has awarded or renewed 31 leases on more than 25,000 acres between Naturita and Moab. However, up till now, the DOE has reviewed mining operations on a piecemeal basis, rather than looking at the cumulative impacts.

In a pending lawsuit, conservation groups, including Telluride’s Sheep Mountain Alliance, allege that the DOE’s leasing program does not comply with the National Environmental Policy or Endangered Species acts.

Impacts from current mining activity combined with future mining on unpatented claims as well as the proposed Piñon Ridge Uranium Mill in Paradox Valley makes for serious water quality concerns,  said Sheep Mountain Alliance’s Hilary White. “We have to understand and mitigate existing contamination problems in the area before the government allows new mining,” she said.

Durango lawyer Travis Stills, of the Energy Minerals Law Center, and Jeff Parsons at the Western Mining Action Project, are representing the groups.

Energy Fuels, a Canadian company, was recently awarded a permit to operate a uranium mill in Paradox Valley. Gary Steele, Energy Fuels’ vice president, said the EIS would put the brakes on any new exploration on its leases on public lands, but production at its two existing mines on private claims and operations at the mill will be unaffected.

“We’re kind of disappointed,” Steele said, adding that more extensive review process could be better for the region in the long run. “It’s probably a good idea to have this regional development looked at in its entirety.”

The DOE will take public comment on its environmental impact statement until Sept. 9. Comments will also be accepted at public meetings Aug. 8-11 in Telluride, Naturita, Monticello and Montrose.

Growth in the forecast for Colorado
Colorado is beginning to climb out of the financial hole. The state is continuing to rebound from the Great Recession and is set to grow at a modest pace throughout the second half of 2011, according to economist Richard Wobbekind of the University of Colorado Boulder. However, continued high unemployment will make for a mixed bag in coming months and years.

“Colorado businesses will continue to experience revenue and profit growth, but we are not going to see the level of hiring needed to seriously bring down the unemployment rate,” Wobbekind said. “And that remains the long-term challenge.”

On the bright side, agriculture is outpacing the forecasted expectations for growth and recovery so far in 2011, and Wobbekind expects the rest of the year to be positive as well.

“We have had stronger than expected agricultural exports,” he said. “Global concerns about food prices have led some nations to stockpile food to create a buffer against high prices. There has been strong demand for corn, wheat and cattle.”

While it is possible that the nation could slip into a double-dip recession in 2011, Wobbekind is still betting against it. “Right now, a very small number of people are calling for a double-dip,” he said. “If it were to happen, it would slow down job growth even more nationally and in Colorado.”

While unemployment remains the state’s biggest challenge, Colorado did add 4,500 nonfarm jobs from May - June for a total of 2.2 million jobs. This brought the state’s unemployment rate down two-tenths of a percentage point to 8.5 percent and marked the fourth monthly decline in unemployment. National unemployment increased from 9.1 - 9.2 percent during the same period.

Potash prospector eyeing the region
A new type of mining could be springing up in Southwest Colorado. The Bureau of Land Management is considering a proposal for potassium (potash) prospecting and exploration near Egnar.

Potash, the name for naturally occurring minerals containing potassium, is used in chemical fertilizer. Beds of rock salt containing potash were deposited in Southwest Colorado during the evaporation of an ancient sea. The area in question is about 15 miles north of Dove Creek, in San Miguel and Dolores counties.

The company RM Potash has proposed exploration to determine whether potash deposits are viable for commercial development. The initial phase entails drilling of up to six holes to determine the quality and quantity of potash. A decision for the initial drill holes is expected by January. Test drilling would begin thereafter.

– Compiled by Will Sands and Missy Votel