Free-range dogs and the leashed kind
JACKSON, Wyo. – Mountain towns can be roughly divided into two categories: those where dogs run wherever they please and those where they have to be on leashes.
Oh sure, every town has laws. But are they enforced?
Consider Red Cliff, located on what is, from a Vail perspective, the “back” side of Vail Mountain. It began life as a mining town, but never struck it rich like Aspen and Telluride. It’s hemmed in tightly by mountains, so much that even the town softball field is tilted. There are only rumors of curbs.
As for dogs? They have, at least in the not too-distant past, run free, sometimes even in packs. Sometimes, alas, they also got shot.
Jackson tilts toward refinement. There are laws against dogs running free and, apparently, enforcement of those laws. Can there also be a place for them to run free?
“If you have 10,000 dogs you have to take care of them,” Councilor Bob Lenz said.
But where? One park being considered consists of 2 acres sold at a low price by a couple. A son says they never dreamed of the park being the domain of off-leash dogs, and he wishes the idea were dropped.
Two acres of land for free-ranging dogs doesn’t seem like that much, but then this is Jackson Hole, where 97 percent of outlying land is administered by the federal government.
Salida latest to join 350.org movement
SALIDA – The organization called 350.org has a new chapter in Colorado, its 13th. The Colorado Central chapter is headquartered in Salida.
Other chapters are located in Aspen and Carbondale, but most others are found along the Front Range.
The organization was founded by Bill McKibben, the writer and activist, as a way of pushing for grassroots action to address the threat of climate change by reducing combustion of fossil fuels.
The new Central Colorado chapter has a mailing list of 80 people, but maybe 10 to 20 people who can be expected for meetings. Mel Strawn, the co-founding chairman, says he has decided that the political parties aren’t a productive way to work for action. But he also decided that individual group action was less powerful than being part of a network.
Aspen to become a one-gas station town
ASPEN – Aspen is soon to become a one-gas station town. The Conoco station on Main Street last month sold for $6 million. The next life of the prime real estate will not be to sell gas for $4 or $5 per gallon but more likely lodging at $400 or $500 a night, at least during Christmas.
The Aspen Daily News reports philosophizing on the City Council. Adam Frisch noted a handful of gas stations in Manhattan, a borough of New York City, for $25 million.
Aspen Mayor Steve Skadron sees this as not at all inimical to Aspen’s interests. “We live in a town whose priority is to de-emphasize the automobile,” he said. “The fact that we may be losing a gas station that serves automobiles ... that’s not a big concern of mine.”
Bear tumbles after Aspen infractions
ASPEN – No wonder dark alleys have a bad reputation. An off-duty Pitkin County sheriff’s deputy was walking in an alley in downtown Aspen just about closing time for the bars when she was assaulted.
The 400-pound bear raked her stomach and upper thigh sufficient to require stitches. “This could have been much worse, but fortunately this deputy was able to fight the bear off,” said Mike Porras, a spokesman for the Colorado Parks and Wildlife. “She knew what to do and she didn’t run.”
If the bear can be trapped, it will be put down.
“This bear is not afraid of people and that’s a concern to us,” Porras told the Aspen Daily News.
Elsewhere in Aspen, another bear also paid the ultimate price after breaking into at least one condo. It was hanging out in a tree about three stories up when wildlife authorities tranquilized it. It fell three floors.
The two bear incidents, taken together, were seen as compelling evidence of why Aspen residents need to be more careful about making sure no food is available to draw bears into town.
“I’m so angry at the people of Aspen,” said one resident of the condominiums.
Tent cabins a trojan horse for hotel?
JASPER, Alberta – Parks Canada has said no to a 66-room hotel that Malgine Tours Ltd. had proposed to build on the shores of Maligne Lake. But the agency has said yes to 15 tent cabins on the hillside below the existing chalet.
Jasper National Park superintendent Greg Fenton told the Jasper Fitzhugh that the agency decided a permanent hotel had too much adverse environmental impact. But the tents are smaller in scale and can be folded up and moved.
Environmental advocates are wary. Jill Seaton, of the Jasper Environmental Association, called the tent cabins “a trojan horse” for a future hotel.
The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society has much the same worry. Danielle Pendlebury, conservation coordinator for the group’s northern Alberta chapter, warned of opening the floodgates. Many of the recreational activities approved by Parks Canada are “more appropriate for a theme park than a national park.”
At the core of the heartburn is use of the Maligne Valley by wildlife. It is home to Jasper’s smallest caribou herd, just four animals, and is a major corridor for grizzly bears plus important habitat for harlequin ducks.
Jackson tangled up in ropes course idea
JACKSON, Wyo. – Snow King, the in-town ski area located in the heart of Jackson, has been hurting for a number of years, with life ticket revenues failing to match up to expenses.
Better use of the hill during summer has been hailed as one solution.
A ropes course is the immediate proposal before the Jackson Town Council. The News&Guide observes that the review distills the larger debate about the future of Snow King to its essence.
“Either you’re going to make Snow King pay for itself, or it’s going to go away, or else you’re going to pay for it out of your tax dollars,” Councilor Bob Lenz said.
But others are skeptical. “As much as we’d like to see Snow King generate revenue to support winter operations, I’m not seeing anything that shows this generates significant income,” said a nearby homeowner, Nancy Hughes.
Jim Stanford, a council member, described the Snow King proposals as “gimmicks.”
“I ask what’s wrong with experiencing nature on nature’s terms. The answer is you can’t make a buck,” he said.
That drew a sharp response from Mayor Mark Barron. “What might be a gimmick for somebody like my associate here might be a first-in-a-lifetime adventure for someone else,” he said.
Telluride snowmaking ups efficiency
TELLURIDE – During the last two years, the Telluride Ski and Golf Co. has spent $3 million to improve its snowmaking system. The new system will, reports The Telluride Watch, enable snowmakers to use the same amount of water but in a more powerful way while still using less energy.
The upshot is that more runs will be open earlier. Too, the addition of 16,000 feet of steel pipeline last summer and 22,000 feet this summer, crews have created the foundation or future snowmaking expansion on the trails feeding down to the town of Telluride.
Heroin dealer pleads guilty in overdose
AVON – A 24-year-old woman had admitted she provided the heroin that resulted in the death of a man in Avon last year.
Tracking text messages from the victim’s phone, police figured out that he had arranged a heroin buy from the woman the night he died. The victim’s roommates found his body in a bathtub, half on his knees and half hanging out toward a toilet. He had overdosed.
– Allen Best
The Vail Daily reports the woman is pleading guilty to felony heroin distribution. In exchange, prosecutors say they will not seek a prison sentence.
The newspaper further notes that the woman has been in a wheelchair for several court appearances after a slow recovery from a surgery that doctors said was required, at least in part, because of stress involved in the case.
Cannabis downtown or just in the suburbs?
BRECKENRIDGE – Sharply divided amongst themselves, Breckenridge officials will let voters decide whether shops selling cannabis should be allowed on Main Street. The street currently has one such business, the Breckenridge Cannabis Club.
While Breckenridge voters overwhelmingly voted for legalization of marijuana, some are offended by a cannabis dispensary in the prime business district, even if there are liquor dispensaries in abundance there.
The Summit Daily News reports an acrimonious debate in Breckenridge over the last several weeks. “The sale witch trials were OK for everyone who lived in the village, unless you happened to be a witch,” said one council member.
The town currently has three retail cannabis shops in the its service-sector district, and pot shop owners feel they are being discriminated against if one business is allowed downtown and they are not.
– Allen Best
For more, go to www.mountaintownnews.net
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