Noticias

• Mountain Village and Telski Go To Battle
• Mining Sees More Regulation in San Miguel County
• Public Health Encourages Measles Vaccination

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Mountain Village and Telski Go To Battle

The future of the Sunset Concert Series in Mountain Village has taken a legal turn.

At a special Town Council meeting Thursday, the Mountain Village Town Council unanimously voted to authorize condemnation of an easement in Sunset Plaza for the purpose of continuing the concert series.

“The condemnation of property is a significant and serious discussion for us to have tonight, and it’s unfortunate that we’re having this discussion because it seems, from my perspective, that this is something that could be resolved by the parties involved,” said Mountain Village Town Manager Paul Wisor.

For the past 25 years, the Telluride Mountain Village Owners Association (TMVOA) has run the Sunset Concert Series, with concerts each Wednesday evening throughout the summer.

For Wisor, the series helps both the town and TMVOA achieve their goals of economic vitality.

“The series is one of the premiere events that TMVOA puts on every single year. We have visitors that come, it generates revenue, and it creates a sense of community unlike any other event,” Wisor said.

However, for the concerts to take place, TMVOA requires permission from the landowner, Chuck Horning, who owns the Telluride Ski and Golf Resort.

Wisor said that over the years, securing that permission has become more difficult. Last year, TMVOA did not receive an agreement until a week before the first concert, and an agreement has yet to be signed for 2025.

As a result, Wisor said Mountain Village has three options: relocate the event, help facilitate an agreement between TMVOA and Telski, or condemn an easement to allow the concerts to continue in Sunset Plaza.

Wisor explained that the Sunset Concert Series would not fulfill its mission of economic vitality in another location, and the likelihood of negotiations between Telski and TMVOA is low. This leaves the option of condemning the land.

“I think when most people think of eminent domain, it means taking a whole property, and then the government owns it. That is not what we’re suggesting. We are suggesting we use our eminent domain power to impose an easement on that area for the days the concert is held, as well as the day before and the day after. TSG would still have use of that land except for those days, and they will fully have use of it during the spring, fall, and winter,” Wisor said.

During public comment, the majority of speakers expressed support for Mountain Village taking action to ensure the concert series continues.

San Miguel County Commissioner Lance Waring spoke on behalf of the Board of County Commissioners.

“This longstanding summer tradition measurably contributes to the health of our local economy (particularly that of Mountain Village), the well-being of full- and part-time residents of all socioeconomic levels, and the vitality of visitor experience,” Waring said. “The loss of the concert series would be deeply felt across the east end of San Miguel County and beyond.”

Michael Marz, a 20-year property owner in Mountain Village, also spoke in support of the concert.

“I’m highly disappointed that you find yourself in this situation of being held hostage by an individual and Telski in general. I wholeheartedly agree with the council’s attempt on how to move forward,” Marz said.

On the other hand, Steve Swenson, who works with Telski, said the ski company and Horning are in support of the concert series.

“The concert has done a lot of good things over the years. It’s allowed for the community to get together, allowed for good music, good food, good drinks, and a lot of fun for the community. It is by far a community event. Chuck knows that. The ski company knows that, and it’s been supportive over the years,” Swenson said.

Back to the Town Council, Mountain Village Mayor Marti Prohaska shared her disappointment that the issue had escalated to this point.

“There’s a somber feeling up here because I don’t think any of us want to be having this conversation. I don’t want to be here doing this. That’s what makes this conversation even more difficult. It doesn’t have to be this hard. I implore Chuck to hear us when we say we care deeply about this community, we care deeply about your ski resort, and we want all of these things to be successful. That is why this action is being contemplated,” Prohaska said.

Horning was not in attendance at the meeting but, in a statement to KOTO News, said he was “very disappointed to see the rush to take this course of action and the lack of interest in communicating and understanding.” He added that the discussion is bigger than the concert series and that conversations about building vitality in Mountain Village should be a “discussion rather than a battle.”

After minimal discussion, the Mountain Village Town Council unanimously voted to authorize condemnation of an easement in Sunset Plaza.

However, the meeting did not end with the Town Council’s vote. Town Manager Wisor took the final word, calling into question Horning’s commitment to the future of the community and his ability to run the Telluride Ski Resort.

“From my limited perspective, Chuck has failed in every respect to meet his responsibilities in a meaningful way and he’s been doing so for quite some time. That failure isn’t just a failure for TSG. It affects our town, it affects our economy, and it affects our future. All of you and all of us need to come together and decide how we move forward, because I truly believe that this mountain and this community deserve so much better,” Wisor said.

Moving forward, Mountain Village will make an offer to Horning for the land. If Horning does not accept, Mountain Village’s town attorney will file for condemnation in District Court (along with a deposit of their offer to Horning), allowing immediate possession of the land.

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Mining Sees More Regulation in San Miguel County

Mining regulations in San Miguel County are expanding—growing from a few pages in the land use code to more than 55 in the new draft.

The regulations were first introduced in late December 2024. At the first county planning meeting to review the regulations, stakeholders and federal agencies expressed concern about the short time frame to review and comment.

After a comment period and a second draft, County and Planning Commissioners met Thursday, March 13, to discuss the second draft of a comprehensive update to mining regulations.

County Planning Director Kaye Simonson said, “The intent of the mining regulations is to mitigate the impacts of proposed activity.”

San Miguel County has a rich history of hardrock mining, from the high-country gold and silver days to the uranium boom of the 1950s to the 1970s in the West End. Since 2022, seven mining exploration permits have been approved in the county—most for uranium and vanadium.

Mining in the modern age is a complex landscape of permitting on different levels of government. A majority of mining in San Miguel County occurs on federal public land, managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The state of Colorado, under the Division of Mining Reclamation and Safety (DRMS), also has jurisdiction over hardrock mining.

For a new mining operation in San Miguel County under the new regulations, there are 39 required standards—ranging from economic to vibration and noise analysis. Federal and state agencies, as well as mining industry stakeholders, shared a common theme in the draft comments: the issues of preemption and duplication.

Tory Jarvis, a land-use attorney hired by the county, explained, “What we chose to do is be redundant, take a lot of the same things that you would have in a DRMS permit but require it separately, really getting at this exact reason. You have the ability and the authority to ask for whatever application materials you desire as a local government, separate and apart from the state or federal government. The intent is an applicant could give you their other application, but if those other applications fall away, you have a full set of regulations that it doesn’t matter. If the federal government isn’t doing what they were doing previously, you still have your regulations in place.”

DRMS is the Department of Reclamation, Mining and Safety, the Colorado regulatory agency overseeing mining.

Typically, federal and state laws supersede local regulations. A preemptive county land-use code would conflict with those higher regulations. Adam Eckman, president and CEO of the Colorado Mining Association, said, “But a general theme here seems to be that the county is trying to do what I think could be summarized as going above and beyond what DRMS is doing, the way that we view as still triggering preemption issues.”

County Planning Commission Chair Lee Taylor said, “My sense is that we have differing approaches to how we skin this cat.”

Other mining industry stakeholders shared Eckman’s sentiment, saying these county codes conflict with state and federal regulations or, at the least, are duplicative.

Taylor responded that the county’s approach is different. “Whereas the county’s approach is to say this is the list of things that need to be covered, and we’ll accept any federal, state, or other agency submission as fulfillment of those expectations. We don’t want anybody to have to redo what is in a DRMS application.”

County Commissioner Lance Waring emphasized that these codes don’t encourage or discourage mining; they are about ensuring new mining operations don’t negatively affect the county, whether through housing or environmental impacts.

“All those things are important to all of my citizens, and I need to make sure that a new operation doesn’t have a negative effect on the existing citizenry,” Waring said. “I hope that helps explain a little bit of the thinking behind this process and perhaps a better understanding of why it may seem daunting on its face, but in reality, this rewrite—this upgrade—is hopefully going to be a streamlining process at the end of the day.”

As for the expansion of county regulations, Waring hopes this will eventually streamline the process for all agencies involved.

“And that we are not expecting anything in the way of additional work but merely sharing work that already needs to be done. That, to me, is not duplication. That is hitting forward or adding another manila envelope with a document and sending it to us as well as to the state or federal agency,” Waring said.

Commissioners agreed to extend the second draft comment period for 30 days. After the third draft, it will be considered for potential adoption and recommendation to County Commissioners by the beginning of the summer.

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Public Health Encourages Measles Vaccination

San Miguel County Public Health is encouraging the community to get vaccinated for measles if they aren’t already.

“Currently, there is a pretty large outbreak of measles cases in northern Texas and a small portion of New Mexico,” said San Miguel County Public Health Director Grace Franklin.

“This began mostly from a largely unvaccinated community but continues to spread due to the highly contagiousness of the virus,” Franklin added.

When most people think of measles, Franklin says, they think of the rash.

“It is a rash that typically starts at the hairline and looks like a bucket that dumped rash with a downward trajectory. Then on top of that, it’s a fever, conjunctivitis (watery eyes, cough, very typical respiratory symptoms). That might not sound too terrible of an illness, but measles is really more than a rash. It can cause encephalitis, major health complications, and sometimes death,” Franklin said.

Franklin notes that there’s not a huge need for concern as long as you’re vaccinated with the MMR or MMRV vaccine—measles, mumps, rubella, or measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella.

“These vaccines are very effective and last pretty much your entire life. They wane a little bit, but not enough to need a booster, for the most part,” she said.

The full dose, which is two shots, has a 97% efficacy in preventing measles. But for those who aren’t vaccinated, the illness can spread rapidly.

“Measles is a highly contagious illness. For unvaccinated communities, it’s likely that 9 out of 10 individuals will get infected if one person is ill. And because of the severe health implications, the risk is really not worth it,” Franklin said.

She added that this is a call to action for those who don’t know their vaccine status to check and to get vaccinated if they’re not.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends getting the first dose around 1 year old and the second dose between ages 4 and 6.

Franklin noted that those born before 1958 are presumed to have immunity, as the vaccine wasn’t available then, so the CDC assumes those individuals had the illness.

While Franklin emphasizes the risk of illness is low as long as you’re vaccinated, she adds that the timing of the outbreak is a bit eerie.

“It’s pretty unprecedented to have such a large outbreak in the United States because of our vaccination rates. Coming up on the five-year mark of COVID with another really highly consequential disease is pretty startling. It’s kind of an unexpected revisit of COVID, mentally preparing,” Franklin said.

To that, she urges the community to get vaccinated.

San Miguel County Public Health and the Telluride Regional Medical Center have MMR vaccines available, at low to no cost, so people can get vaccinated regardless of their insurance.

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Sen. Catlin Pushes to Keep Public Lands Federal

Local state Sen. Marc Catlin held a rally Thursday at the Colorado Statehouse to introduce a resolution supporting the retention of public lands in federal hands. The bipartisan resolution responds to ongoing rhetoric from Washington, D.C., about selling off federal lands.

Catlin was joined by public land supporters and Gov. Jared Polis at the rally, which took place March 13. The resolution highlights the significant economic impact of public lands in Colorado, including outdoor recreation, tourism, logging, mining, and oil and gas.

While there are no confirmed plans to sell Colorado public lands, Rep. Jeff Hurd recently introduced legislation to reverse several Bureau of Land Management plans that would open lands to increased oil, gas, and mineral production. This move aligns with former President Donald Trump’s “energy dominance” agenda. The legislation has been met with opposition from many Western Slope conservation advocates, who argue it would undermine Colorado’s values.

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Community Celebrates Kris Holstrom’s Climate Action Legacy

Former County Commissioner Kris Holstrom is known for many things—promoting sustainable agricultural practices, founding local nonprofits, and her climate action legacy.

Next week, the community will celebrate that legacy with an event at Patagonia Telluride. The public is invited to share stories, find resources, and glean wisdom from Holstrom herself.

The event will take place at Patagonia on Main Street Thursday, March 20, starting at 5 p.m. Light snacks and refreshments will be available.

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Colorado House Approves Incentive to Lure Sundance to Boulder

The Colorado House has given initial approval to a package of tax breaks aimed at attracting the Sundance Film Festival to Boulder.

The incentives would be worth up to $34 million over the course of a decade. But Arvada Democrat Brianna Titone says the festival would bring tens of thousands of moviegoers to Colorado and generate tens of millions in spending.

“This is real results. This is real investment. And this is not just the state of Colorado that is investing in this film festival,” Titone said.

Boulder has also agreed to offer its own incentives. The city is competing with Cincinnati and Salt Lake City for the festival, which says it has outgrown its longtime home in Park City, Utah.

Republicans have pushed back on the incentive package, questioning the fairness of dedicating so much money to a single event focused on the film industry.

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Polis, Democrats Clash Over Proposal to Repeal Labor Peace Act

Governor Jared Polis and Democrats look to be on a collision course over a plan to rewrite Colorado’s labor organizing laws. A proposal at the statehouse to repeal the World War II-era Labor Peace Act advanced last night. But as Chas Sisk reports for the Colorado Capitol News Alliance, Polis says he’s not on board.

Story begins at 18:04

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USGS Employee Reflects on Work in Civil Service, Federal Layoffs

Thousands of employees of federal land management agencies have been fired as part of the Trump administration’s stated goals of reducing the federal workforce.

Most of those workers have been probationary employees — in their first year or two in their positions with agencies like the Bureau of Land Management, the National Parks Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Allison Stegner was a paleobiologist working with the USGS in southeastern Utah and western Colorado, before she was fired—along with thousands of other workers—on Valentine’s Day.

For Stegner, the work was personal. She’s also the granddaughter of Wallace Stegner, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and environmental advocate whose writings helped shape modern conservation policy.

On Thursday, March 13, a California District Court Judge ordered the Trump administration to reinstate probationary workers who were fired last month at six agencies, including the Department Interior, which oversees the USGS. The federal agencies have seven days to contact fired employees about reinstatement.

Rocky Mountain Community Radio’s Caroline Llanes spoke with Stegner about her experience in the civil service.

Story begins at 19:15