Summit County Citizens Voice

Online independent journalism in Colorado

A dark cloud looms over the even darker silhouette of Buffalo Mountain with the lights of Frisco twinkling below.

Compiled by Kim Marquis

SUMMIT VOICE — Summit Voice offered extended coverage of the Texas wildfires through September of 2011 — the end of a long and active wildfire season throughout the West. Here’s one story: Texas wildfires: 2 dead, 300 homes lost near Bastrop. And a follow up: Texas timber industry takes a $97 million hit from wildfires.

Bob Berwyn wrote of a “gentle kiss of frost” on Sept. 20, marking the beginning of another season that came in like a lion. Five feet of snow fell in the San Juans in late October and Frisco got nearly 10 inches during the same storm. By the end of October, some ski areas reported nearly 2 feet of snow and Wolf Creek opened super early. But the weather quickly gained more lamb-like characteristics as snow discontinued falling and stayed away through the end of the year.

Locally last fall, Summit Voice reported on the completion of a reclamation project at Lake John near Walden. Thousands of trout were stocked and the lake opened for fishing in September. The BLM released a draft plan for one of Summit’s favorite playgrounds, the Upper Colorado River, and the local Rotary group raffled off a condo.

A gold mine was proposed near Fairplay in November, and a showdown loomed as off-road users asked to develop a 30-mile system on Tenderfoot Mountain. Facing dwindling revenues at the landfill, Summit County officials considered banning trash exports to stem the bleeding. The drop in revenue was due to the housing crash that halted construction.

Hurricane force winds snarled roads, downed trees and knocked out power for Summit County residents during a Nov. 12 storm; Summit Voice had this coverage. The next day, we had our first installment of Sunday Funnies from Scotty Bondo.

In Colorado this past fall, the popular Hanging Lake Trail received some rock and wall work during a large volunteer project. Summit Voice offered a follow up on Frisco Peninsula clearcutting and the town of Breckenridge pondered installing a solar garden. The new Point Breeze Cabin near Leadville opened as the Forest Service started a scoping period on Summit Hut Association’s proposal for a new hut on Baldy Mountain.

In early November, Colorado River fish populations received some potential relief as water users agreed to revamp allotments. While those fish will benefit, trout in other West Slope basins could suffer.

Also across Colorado and the West:

Sagebrush rebellion flares up in New Mexico
Udall touts local support for new San Juan wilderness
Over The River plan breeds bad blood
Experts surprised by intense fires in beetle-killed stands
Colorado cloud-seeding program grows
Fracking: EPA finds toxic chemicals in Wyoming aquifer
Utah avalanche kills pro skier Jamie Pierre

Nationally, A Department of Homeland Security plan to build a new base on National Park Service land near the border between the U.S. and Mexico drew some criticism from conservation groups for threatening antelope habitat. Republicans in Congress accused NOAA of doing more work than it’s supposed to in a move described as “ideologically driven anti-science.” The National Park Service outlined ambitious goals for the centennial, which included a dark sky collaborative on the Colorado Plateau. Summit Voice also reported on oil, gas and coal revenues, which climbed to $2 billion, and President Obama’s plan to develop offshore drilling in Alaska.

In news from the universe, it was reported that a collision two billion years ago probably gave the Milky Way its spiral shape. Global tourism visits were predicted to pass 1 billion in 2012, and Summit Voice had this coverage of mining protests from the west coast of Australia: Anti-uranium mine marchers reach Perth.

The first week of September, Bob Berwyn first wrote about this season’s return of La Niña. It became official three days later, when NOAA issued a La Niña advisory.

In skiing news, winter sport athletes Jeremy Jones, Gretchen Bleiler and Chris Davenport went to Washington, D.C., to discuss climate change in a public forum and to lobby against legislation that would limit the EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gases. Monarch Mountain introduced its One Planet, One Pass marketing genius, taking the concept of global tourism to a whole new level with a Colorado ski pass good for lift rides in the Alps. In October, the USFS OK’d a new master plan at Copper Mountain, and Sen. Mark Udall’s ski area summer-use bill passed the House. We also had this interesting story about a Swiss study that looked at the impacts of ski trails on vegetation.

Airlines announced new flights to Colorado ski areas, including several non-stops to Aspen. Breckenridge kicked off its 50th anniversary with a marketing blitz and Summit Voice had this story about the area’s beginnings, which ironically involved protests from Vail Resorts. Breck opened the season on Nov. 12.

In our sometimes-wacky wildlife coverage, a mountain lion killed a dog near Glenwood Springs in September. Also:
Urban wildlife refuge planned near Albuquerque, New Mexico
Spike in sea turtle deaths prompts lawsuit
Recent highway crashes with wildlife spur warnings
Colorado biologists boosting bighorn sheep herds

Coverage during the fall of 2011 in the area of biodiversity included these stories:

Restoring giant sequoias in Yosemite
Atlantic fish populations shifting as seas warm
New research confirms global shark declines
Federal Court rebukes Forest Service for failure to monitor endangered animals in Arizona and New Mexico

Finally, a favorite collection of autumn photos from last year: Aspens!

Filed under: Colorado, endangered species, Environment, Summit County Colorado, Summit County news, wildfires, wildlife Tagged: | climate, Environment, Summit County News, Wildfires, year in review