Elliott unstoppable at the Birke
Durango’s Tad Elliott skate-skied his way into the history books last weekend.

Elliott, 23, took top honors Sat., Feb. 25, at the 39th American Birkebeiner, in northwest Wisconsin – just the second American male in 22 years to win the esteemed Nordic race. The former Olympian and U.S. Ski Team member finished the 50-kilometer course, the largest Nordic race in North America, in 2:04:48.

Fellow U.S. Ski Team member Holly Brooks, 29, of Anchorage, Alaska, won the women’s race.

It was a rare American sweep of the mens and womens podiums this year, in a race that is typically dominated by the Europeans. Elliott, skating for Team Salomon, was joined by Salomon teammate Matthew Liebsch, of Orono, Minn. (13.7 minutes behind); and Brian Gregg, Team CXC, of Minneapolis (14.8 minutes behind.)

Liebsch, who helped to dismantle the European dynasty in 2009, is credited with helping Elliott to victory. According to a report in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Liebsch counseled Elliott to hold back until the race hit the 34K mark, then tangled with Alaska’s Lars Flora, which allowed Elliott to break free for a 10-kilometer solo ride to the finish.

“At that point, you’re pretty committed to that move,” Elliott told the paper. “If you watch the video, I was all sorts of fired up.”

With his $7,500 in winner’s spoils, Elliot will fly back to Europe, where he is competing on the World Cup circuit for the U.S. National Team.
Brooks, who won in a time of 2:18:53:2, was joined by Olympic teammate and wife of Brian Gregg, Caitlin Gregg, who finished a mere ski length and 4 seconds back; and Jennie Bender, of Maple Plain, Minn. (2:21:46).

In a bizarre twist to the mens classic race, an upstart college freshman from Duluth, Minn., Joe Dubay, beat one of the legends of the sport, Vegard Ulvang. However, Dubay was disqualified after it was discovered he skied wearing a bib registered to his college teammate, but only after he made it thorugh the post-race press conference.

Mesa Verde adds $41M to local economy
In yet another promising economic sign, Mesa Verde National Park visitation reached a 12-year high in 2011, according to new numbers from the National Park Service. Last year, 572,329 people visited the park, the most to pass through the park’s gates since 1999 and a 2.5 percent increase over 2010’s numbers.

Park visitation plummeted to around 400,000 in 2002, the lowest number since 1966, because of the Mesa Verde Fire, and slowly rose until dipping again at the onset of the recession in 2007. Numbers have been on a slow incline since.

The increase has equated to more than just a busy park staff.  A report issued by the NPS this week shows that in 2010, the 559,712 visitors to Mesa Verde spent $41.3 million in surrounding communities, supporting more than 575 jobs.
“The people and the business owners in communities near national parks have always known their economic value,” park superintendent Cliff Spencer said in a press release Tuesday.

Most of the spending and jobs were related to lodging and food (52 percent) followed by retail (29 percent); entertainment/amusement (10 percent); gas and local transportation (7 percent); and groceries (2 percent).

The annual independent visitor spending analysis was conducted by Daniel Stynes, of Michigan State University. Visitor spending and local impacts were estimated using 2010 park visits, spending averages from park visitor surveys, and local area economic multipliers.
In 2010, 281 million visitors passed through the country’s 394 national parks, spending an estimated $31 billion and supporting more than 258,000 jobs, according to the report. This was an increase of $689 million and 11,500 jobs over 2009.
The report includes information for visitor spending at individual parks and by state. To view the report, visit http://www.nature.nps.gov/socialscience/products.cfm#MGM.

West Building earns Energy Star rating
One of Durango’s most iconic downtown buildings has undergone an inner transformation.

The West Building, the familiar four-story blue office building on E. Second Avenue, was recently awarded the Environmental Protection Agency’s prestigious Energy Star rating. The award ranks it among the top 16 percent of commercial buildings in the country as far as energy efficiency.

“The West Building has made sustainability a core component of our goal to be a good steward of the environment,” said Marie Leslie, building manager. “In addition to a building-wide recycling program, we purchase renewable energy credits from LPEA, and 100 percent of our electricity consumption comes from green sources.”

Constructed in 1959, the West Building is owned by Frank Anesi, the Maynes Family LLC, Thomas Shipps and Janice Sheftel. It is one of Durango’s oldest office buildings and likely the first in the area built with a “curtain wall system” – whereby the exterior walls are non-load bearing and merely keep out the weather.

In 2007, with  many of the building’s systems at the end of their useful life, building managers embarked on an ambitious retrofit. In 2008, the building underwent an overhaul to its heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, and in 2010, building owners completed a comprehensive lighting retrofit.

As a result, the West Building has reduced its annual energy costs by 40 percent and reduced CO2 emissions by 813,498 pounds per year, the equivalent of electricity emissions produced by 386 single-family homes.

The 4 Corners Office for Resource Efficiency, or 4CORE, which is housed in the West Building, applauded the efforts. “The energy efficiency measures create substantial savings on energy costs, and the building is far more comfortable for the tenants that work here everyday,” said Greg Dubit, 4CORE executive director. “The West Building provides an excellent example as a leader in energy improvements for other area businesses.”

Further improvements are being considered for the West Building, including occupancy sensors to further increase lighting efficiency.

 

– Missy Votel