Speak up on Village at Wolf Creek
To the editor,
“You believe what you believe, I believe what I believe and we will never convince each other” period!” Those were the sage words of Clint Jones, the developer for Red McCombs’ speculative luxury Village at Wolf Creek when we spoke at last month’s Del Norte open house for the Village’s land exchange proposal’s Environmental Impact Statement.

What a chilling attitude. It implies the impossibly of learning anything new. It also explains how the 1980s dream of a billionaire could get hardened into an obsession no matter how the winds of time have changed the physical and financial landscape.

A dream that started in those halcyon ’80s when Red partnered with Charles Leavell, owner of land the Rio Grande National Forest coveted. With that temptation and announced plans for a low-key development of perhaps 200 homes, a land trade for nearly 300 acres of Alberta Park was arranged.

Then Leavell passed away and McCombs hired developer Bob Honts, who announced a plan 10 times that size. In his zeal, Honts crossed various ethical and legal boundaries. Worse, he got caught, scuttling Red’s first drive to develop Alberta Park. It also ended Honts’ association with McCombs.

There’s too much to tell here, but for an informative synopsis, check out Denver Post writer Mike Soraghan’s article, “Wolf Creek development tangled with political ties,” (2/5/06).

Given a development of a couple hundred homes, the Forest Service was under the impression that road access issues could be resolved. But, a village for 10,000 people blindsided officials and created a whole set of complications, since the Forest Service has every desire of keeping the only access road, FSR391, a seasonal, light traffic dirt road.

In time, McCombs’ lawyers found the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980. The property owner’s road access provisions in this Act were codified4 because huge expanses of Alaskan land was being acquired and placed into the national trust. This left many private land owners surrounded by federal lands. This law ensured land owners road access rights to their newly landlocked property.

What is striking is that McCombs traded into his “landlocked” situation.

But, because he is a billionaire, Red can force his will. Now the Forest Service is in a position of thinking they owe McCombs a high volume, all-year road or they owe him damages. This doesn’t make any sense considering that Red knew exactly what he was buying. Still, his demand is: either a high- traffic, all-year road or we owe him big. In this case, big being a swap of 178 acres of Red’s land for 204 acres of prime, Grade A U.S. highway-accessible real estate.

Incomprehensible though it seems, this is exactly the rationale driving this current Environmental Impact Statement and potential land swap. An Environmental Impact Statement that remains blind to the many cascading damages that bulldozing of this watershed will inflict.

During my discussion with Mr. Jones at the Del Norte open house, I asked: what about the changing world, both business and environmental, that are making this 1980s dream look increasingly financially hopeless?

“None of us can predict the future” was his easy salesman’s reply.

I asked, what about climate change and scientists’ projections that current drought conditions are a sign of more to come; or the bark beetle epidemic that’s ravaging those mountains and is spreading right into Alberta Park as we spoke? Is it really that hard to predict prospective million dollar home buyers will be turned off by a standing dead forest?

“None of us can predict the future” seems a feeble response when it comes to the importance of an unmolested watershed for downstream stakeholders. After all, we are discussing the health of source waters for the Rio Grande River Basin during increasingly difficult times.

Do you think Red’s VWC sounds like a disaster for Alberta Park and the Rio Grande River Basin? For a review of the flaws in the VWC Land Exchange Proposal #35945’s DEIS visit: NO-VillageAtWolfCreek.blogspot.com – there are also links to the official RGNF comment page.

Please, if you are a Friend of Wolf Creek, get informed now. These next few days are the only time your voice carries legal weight! RGNF officials need to hear thoughtful objections and alternatives. They’ll never hear you if you don’t tell them!

– Peter Miesler, Durango

Being green as American as apple pie
To the editor,
What a stir the prospect of a plastic bag fee in Durango has caused. Thank you, City Council, for bringing this issue forward. As with other smart regulations of the past, such as smoking bans, we are bombarded by the same “the sky is falling” arguments against any form of social responsibility.

Needless to say, we still live in a free society and the sky, despite its coal-fired haze, is still mostly blue.

I’d like to remind our red, white and blue patriots that green is also as American as apple pie. Henry David Thoreau, John Muir and Theodore Roosevelt represent a value system that is at the core of this country. A value system that honors our wild places, believes in conserving our precious resources and understands the importance of intelligent governance.

We are capitalists to be sure – but as Americans, we have always hemmed in market forces when they work against the best interests of our society or harm our citizens and our environment. This too, is a venerable part of our heritage

There is a lot of squawking about freedom these days, but we hear very little about the other side of the coin: responsibility. Freedom without responsibility is not freedom at all, but chaos and descent back to the animal kingdom from which we came. Like any currency, moral or otherwise, you need two sides for it to hold any value.

A single-use plastic bag ordinance is one small measure of responsibility that I whole-heartedly support and hope you will as well.

– Erich Bussian, Durango

Clearing up ballot confusion
To the editor,
There has been a lot of both good and bad information circulating about “permanent” mail-in ballots. Here is the situation in brief: If you did not vote in the 2010 General Election, your name has been moved to an “inactive file” by the County Clerk. You can still vote at the polls this November, but even if prior to 2010 you had requested permanent mail-in ballot status, you will not receive a mail ballot, unless you have returned one of the mailings from the Clerk’s office since then.

If you want to vote by mail this November, visit the Colorado Secretary of State’s web site www,govotecolorado.com to check your voter registration and to request a mail ballot.

To read a letter from the County Clerk on this topic, go to http://lwvlaplata.org/files/letter-donna_9-3-12.pdf

– Jill Patton, League of Women Voters of La Plata County

The unsightly side of mountain life
To the editor,
Mike Alcott and I happened to be driving around Bodo a few weeks ago, attempting to locate a 4 business that we assumed we knew the location to, yet obviously did not, when we noticed that one of the roads happened to turn to dirt. Obviously, being that we both are inquisitive types, we decided to see what was at the end of the road. It ended with a sign “Bodo State Wildlife (or Wilderness?) Area” and a gate.
 
Recently, I decided to explore said area and wow, what an interesting find I discovered! Behind the gate the road continues for about a quarter mile, during this quarter mile I noticed a few deer and or elk carcasses, hmmm.. While continuing the quarter mile endeavor, my accomplice and I started smelling a pungent odor that continued to escalate, culminating at the end of the road where we found a large pit full of dead animals! The ensuing view was and is probably one of the most morbid things I have ever seen.
 
After a cursory examination of the pit, we determined that the majority of dead creatures within the pit seemed to be bears, to our surprise. Not to mention there were also many other dead animals, mostly deer and elk. Following our immediate departure from the scene in which we stumbled upon, I gave the Colorado Department of Wildlife a call in order to ascertain answers to all of the questions that the morbid site provoked within me.
 
Apparently, most of the corpses within the holocaust-esque trench are roadkill related; however, I am sure that many bears are put down for being “bad” in many different scenarios.
 
Frankly, I’m not sure that such a sight should be available to the public to behold. I was under the assumption that I was just on another hike in the Durango area, not a short stroll to a death pit! On my many jaunts around Durango, there are often gates in order to deny civilians vehicle access, which is completely understandable. The Bodo area in question is very similar, at first glance, to any of the other “pedestrian and nonmotorized vehicles only” access trails, for example Horse Gulch.
 
Maybe the solution would be for the DOW to fence off the dump zone specifically so the public could still tromp around the rest of the area without fear of stumbling upon such a disturbing sight.
 
– Andy High and pals, Durango

What has J. Paul done for you latetly?
To the editor,
Colorado’s 59th District Congressman J. Paul Brown has done it again. This time in a Grand Junction debate with challenger Mike McLachlan in which Brown forgot how he had voted on several significant bills. Two that he forgot about were when he voted against a bill to help homeless youth (the only Republican to do so), and, he voted against a bill to require background checks for child-care workers, after he initially supported it. Huh? These are not controversial notions. It’s hypocrisy for Brown to proudly claim his concern for kids and then vote like this. I’m sure he has his principles, but McLachlan’s principles are those that include empathy for the most vulnerable in our society, common sense values, and a willingness to hear views that clash with his own. Mike has the experience, judgment and vision our district deserves.
 
What did Brown vote for? Wholesale bear slaughter, which the people of Colorado had voted against.
 
Other issues J. Paul voted to stop include measures lowering taxes on small businesses, improving public safety and investing in water projects critical for Colorado farmers and Colorado jobs.
 
How did this man get voted into office? Whom does he represent? Not me! You? Why? What has he voted for that has made your life better, safer and happier?
 
As Colorado’s Solicitor General, Mike McLachlan successfully argued the constitutionality of Colorado’s Women’s Health Clinic Shield law before the U.S. Supreme Court. He has fought for women, children and men as an accomplished lawyer and advocate, including serving as trustee of the Durango Hundred Club (a charity dedicated to helping injured police officers, fire fighters and their families), and on the Southern Ute Tribe - State of Colorado Environmental Control Commission. He is well-informed on current issues and is well-rounded in what he supports. I like Mike!
 
– Sincerely, Cherry Miloe, Forest Lakes, and Byron Kellogg, Durango

Keep on truckin,’ Telegraph
To the editor,
I have been reading the Telegraph ever since the beginning. I enjoy reading most of each issue, but my two favorite features – by far – are “Flash in the Pan” and “Top Shelf.” Conveniently, they are usually right next to each other. “Flash in the Pan” covers two of my favorite pastimes, gardening and cooking. I just love Ari’s writing style and sometimes wish he was our friend or neighbor, cooking for my family, informing us, and making us laugh.

As for “Top Shelf,” even though I rarely go to any of the shows or events Chris writes about (if I lived in town, I’d probably go more often), I also love his writing style. Like he’s just talking to his friends about what he’s gonna do this week. I cannot comprehend all the sadness that he and Shelly have endured in the past year, but I am glad he wears his heart on his sleeve and shares the ups and downs of life, while entertainingly urging us to be entertained. Keep on truckin,’ Chris.

I have almost never seen any of the movies that Lainie reviews, but the Haikus make me laugh. The Diver never fails to entertain. Thanks for a great 10 years!

– Pamela Marshall, Hesperus
 

 

In this week's issue...

January 25, 2024
Bagging it

State plastic bag ban is in full effect, but enforcement varies

January 26, 2024
Paper chase

The Sneer is back – and no we’re not talking about Billy Idol’s comeback tour.

January 11, 2024
High and dry

New state climate report projects continued warming, declining streamflows