Noticias

• Norwood BEST Grant See’s Third Round
•  Imogene Pass Remains Closed All Summer
• Commissioners Sign on to Support Endangered Species

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Norwood’s BEST Grant Sees Third Round

The third time may be the charm for a new Norwood public school. Last week, the Norwood School Board received notice of a successful third bid for the Colorado Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) grant, which would help fund a new school next to the Lone Cone Library. The upgrade has become a clear priority following ongoing infrastructure issues at the existing school.

There were two previous unsuccessful ballot measures for a mill levy to support the required local match for the state grant, which could bring nearly $80 million in potential funds. This time, Norwood officials have reduced the total cost of the school by about $11 million and are seeking public and private partnerships to minimize the bond burden on voters in the upcoming November election.

“We’re working with other organizations and stakeholders, public and private partnerships, to see what we can bring to fruition — potentially having partnerships with the Town of Mountain Village and the county,” said Norwood Mayor Candy Meehan. “I know that our first attempt was not successful, but we learned from that and we’re going to come back to the table with, you know, building a better mousetrap.”

Despite two failed mill levy attempts, Meehan remains optimistic. She emphasized the school’s importance to Norwood’s stability.

“If you look at it historically, overall, the school is the largest employer in our community — it really is the cornerstone,” Meehan said. “Say we had to disperse the high school. In PPOR, each student is worth $22,000 apiece. That would significantly impact the school’s ability to keep and retain teachers, which is already an issue. We wouldn’t be able to provide any additional curriculums for arts or sports. Losing the high school would have a significant long-term impact on this community — it would destabilize us fiscally and emotionally.”

Meehan said this time, the bond committee has more time to work with the community to explain the reduced bond and what it means for individual taxpayers.

“Last time the verbiage with the bond issue was overwhelming,” she said. “I think people really got lost in the verbiage; they didn’t truly understand what the point of it all was. And it was on the ballot — a very contentious ballot — with the fire district. I feel like people thought they had to pick one or the other. So I do believe that the opportunity to come back to the voters on an independent ticket — potentially, because I don’t know anyone else bringing bond issues to the voters — to have the opportunity to speak to people, do a grassroots movement, to speak to people, to have the conversations that are really meaningful and overcome people’s objections, and at least understand their no’s and their yes’s.”

If the bond passes, the town has an agreement to acquire the current school site, make necessary upgrades, and return it to the community.

“Our intent is to take that property and make it community use — to do whatever we can and make other special districts and other things like that,” Meehan said. “The fire protection district potentially, the park and rec potentially — utilize that space and place for our community at large.”

Meehan said the town has until mid-summer to finalize paperwork and pro/con statements for the ballot initiative.

“The bond committee and the community are stepping back and strategizing how we’re going to reach the voters who maybe didn’t speak up as loudly as last time,” she said, “or talk to the people where maybe they didn’t have all the information and give them the ability to weigh the facts for themselves and decide what they wanna do from there.”

No specific mill levy numbers have been finalized, but Meehan said with reduced costs and outside funding, she hopes voters will bear less of the burden this time.

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Imogene Pass Remains Closed All Summer

The popular Imogene Pass off-road route will remain closed for much of the summer as San Miguel County begins repairs following severe washouts during last year’s summer storms.

“Obviously our main goal is keeping the users of that pass safe and ensuring that if there’s a section of road that is concerning, that we have a reasonable level of confidence that all vehicles that are allowed to travel over are safe to do so,” said San Miguel County Manager Mike Bordogna.

The county began the process by assessing the damage.

“We first evaluated if we could do a temporary fix,” Bordogna said. “When we understood the increased complexity of the problem, we brought in geotechnical work and the county paid for that — to do core drilling, to find the layers of rock and bedrock and the integrity of the bedrock — to understand what type of design we would need to do.”

Most of the repairs are concentrated about 2.5 miles from Telluride, in the Royer Gulch waterfall area. The road falls under joint jurisdiction of the county and the U.S. Forest Service. Bordogna said the county is patching together funding from private foundations, Jeep clubs, local businesses, and off-road users.

“We’ve had some local businesses from Telluride already say they would pledge some donations toward this,” he said. “But unfortunately, as we all know, the Forest Service, with their current and expected future cuts, is not in a position where they could contribute substantially.”

The project recently went to bid, and 10 contractors submitted proposals — a sign of hope for competitive pricing and outcomes. Estimated costs range from $600,000 to $800,000.

Work is expected to take most of the summer. Although vehicles won’t be able to cross the entire pass, both sides will remain partially accessible.

“We have proposed — and they’ve tentatively agreed — to a higher-up closure,” Bordogna said. “That would allow for vehicles to get to a turnaround. So there will be vehicular access from here pretty soon, up higher before this closure area. Obviously foot and bike traffic will be allowed throughout the entire time of the project, except they will not be allowed to cross into the construction area.”

Ouray County will allow access from its side, with responsibility for search and rescue due to emergency response challenges during the closure.

So far, the county has raised about $155,000 in combined contributions from the Forest Service, Idarado Mining and private donors.

“We’re trying to make that delicate balancing act of using tax dollars responsibly,” Bordogna said, “but also we understand the impacts on the economy, on tourism, on our locals’ recreation.”

The closure is expected through September. Updates are available at sanmiguelcountyco.gov.

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Commissioners Sign On To Support Endangered Species

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) may often seem like a distant policy concern, but it plays a key role in protecting species locally — including the Gunnison sage grouse, a threatened bird native to the region.

On May 22, the San Miguel County Board of Commissioners signed a letter opposing efforts to weaken the ESA, specifically the definition of “harm” to threatened and endangered species.

“This is the letter to the USFWS for the endangered and threatened wildlife and plants, rescinding the definition of harm under the Endangered Species Act,” said Starr Jamison, the county’s Natural Resources and Climate Resilience Director.

The Gunnison sage grouse is listed as threatened, granting it legal protections under the ESA. These protections limit harmful impacts from development, mining and other human activities.

“This is a big one — a really big one. Big concern. Do you have any sense of how likely that is to happen?” asked Commissioner Anne Brown.

Jamison said she doesn’t yet know the outcome but noted the proposed rule change has already drawn more than 15,000 public comments.

San Miguel County is currently revising its land use code to better protect the grouse’s sagebrush habitat in the western part of the county. Jamison said she’s reviewing wildlife protection language from other counties.

While the Bureau of Land Management has finalized a Gunnison Sage Grouse Management Plan, broader threats remain — including policy changes to the ESA, limited agency capacity, and political resistance.

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The Downlow Returns to Telluride Theatre With Stories of ‘Awakening’

Telluride Theatre’s free storytelling series, The Downlow, returns May 26 for an evening of true stories and community celebration.

In partnership with Mountainfilm, the San Miguel Resource Center, the Trust for Community Housing, and others, the event will feature local and guest storytellers sharing on this year’s theme: “Awakening.” The series was created in 2014 by local Laura Shaunette.

The event takes place at the Sheridan Opera House. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., first-come, first-served.

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Gray Wolf Mortality in Northwest Colorado Under Investigation

Colorado Parks and Wildlife received a mortality alert on May 15 for female gray wolf 2512-BC, one of the wolves translocated to the state from British Columbia.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the lead agency under the Endangered Species Act, is investigating. A cause of death will not be determined until the full necropsy and investigation are complete.

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Wildlife Crossing in Wyoming Proving Effective After Tragedy

A new wildlife crossing in Wyoming is showing early success following the vehicle death of a grizzly cub. Sophia Boyd-Fliegel of KHOL reports for Rocky Mountain Community Radio.

Story begins at: 12:48

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Cities Sue State Over Local Control of Land Use

Six Front Range cities are suing the state, claiming it has unconstitutionally overridden local zoning authority in its push for denser housing. Bente Birkeland reports for the Colorado Capitol News Alliance.

Story begins at: 14:00

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Palisade Farmers Adapt to Drought in Colorado River Basin

Palisade, Colorado, known for its peaches and vineyards, relies on every drop from the Colorado River. Caroline Llanes of Rocky Mountain Community Radio explores how local irrigators are adjusting to climate-driven drought.

Story begins at: 14:46