What's the Village at Wolf Creek Good For?

The following appears in the November Four Corners Free Press.

The suspense is over, Red McCombs and family have decided to appeal Judge Matsch’s May decision which nullified the 2015 “Village at Wolf Creek/LMJV, landswap agreement with the Rio Grande National Forest/US Dept Agriculture.

There's much to be said, but here I focus on the headline quote from Leavell-McCombs Joint Venture’s attorney William J Leone a top notch legal gunslinger at Norton Rose Fulbright* who assures us:   

“The Leavell-McCombs Joint-Venture believes strongly the project is a good project and the Forest Service did everything it needed to do to study the environmental impacts of that project.”

Good for who?  Good for what?  What good will it be for the Rio Grande National Forest?

What good will it be for the Alberta Park watershed at the source waters of the Rio Grande River?  What good will it be for the wellbeing of this wildlife corridor and its occupants?  What good will it be for tax payers and local governments who are left holding a boondoggle?

Changing Climate impending impacts on water availability

Here at NO-VillageAtWolfCreek the post with the most visits, by far, is from September 26th 2012 titled:  The Impact of Climate Change on Ski Resort Operations and Development: Opportunities and Threat.  Obviously, many people understand climate change is an increasingly important issue that needs to be taken into account.

Since I'm an advocate, I know that anything I say about global warming and its impact on the near future will be brushed off by boosters of this speculative venture.  That's why I like pointing to evidence based studies by genuinely knowledgeable people.

Here I want to share a recent assessment that focuses on Colorado's water resources. It's a sobering look at the near future and the challenges that we will be facing.  My point being, the time to squander precious natural resources on a developer's crap shot has passed.

The new dream is that someone in a position of authority will stick their neck out and declare the intact biologically productive wetland, and fens of the entire Alberta Park area an irreplaceable resource worth the protecting.

In any event, I encourage you to take the time to view the entire report, it's only 18 pages long and well written, and there's a lot to learn about.

The Rocky Mountain Climate Organization

http://rockymountainclimate.org/statements_1.htm

RMCO's Recent Statements and News Releases

Alberta Park Openhouse ~ Recalling the RGNF Sept. 20th, 2011 Field Trip

Since I seem to be getting some regular visitors, and we're stuck waiting on the Village at Wolf Creek Land Swap Environmental Impact Study, I'm thinking it would be a good time to bring forward some old stories to reacquaint folks with the threat and the struggle to protect a nearly pristine watershed at the headwaters of the interstate, international Rio Grand River.

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THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2012

Alberta Park Openhouse ~ Recalling the RGNF Sept. 20th, 2011 Field Trip

September 20th, 2011 the Rio Grande National Forest sponsored a 
four hour field trip/hike through Alberta Park, 
site of the proposed VWC development. 

Led by District Ranger Tom Malecek the tour was intended 
to inform the interested public about the project.  
Below is a report I filed with the Four Corners Free Press on the event.

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Printed in the Four Corners Free Press 

November 2011 issue

page 28

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"Moving The Village" 

Memory Lane... Alberta Park Field Trip, Democratic State Convention

Looking at old posts I found four more worth bringing up:

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Colorado State Democratic Convention ~ The Memes Courier 4/14/12 (side one) 

In honor of the Colorado State Democratic Convention I put together a two sided flier on legal size paper resembling a single-sheet newspaper publication of old.  It’s the culmination of years of attention to this issue and a distillation of previous posts here at NO-VillageAtWolfCreek.blogspot, along with news. . . 

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Colorado State Democratic Convention ~ (side two) The Memes Courier

The Memes Courier, April 14th, side two . . .

Red McCombs’ Alberta Park Poker Game, Texas Style

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Wolf Creek development tangled with political ties
By Mike Soraghan
Denver Post Staff Writer

Posted:   02/05/2006
Updated:   06/02/2010
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_3474870

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Thursday, April 19, 2012

Alberta Park Openhouse ~ Recalling the RGNF Sept. 20th, 2011 Field Trip

September 20th, 2011 the Rio Grande National Forest sponsored a 
four hour field trip/hike through Alberta Park, 
site of the proposed VWC development. 

Led by District Ranger Tom Malecek the tour was intended 
to inform the interested public about the project.  
Below is a report I filed with the Four Corners Free Press on the event.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Printed in the Four Corners Free Press 

November 2011 issue

page 28

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"Moving The Village" 

It appears Billy Joe “Red” McCombs’ longtime dream of constructing a luxury resort town in the middle of Alberta Park (elevation: 10,300 feet), nestled against the Continental Divide on Wolf Creek Pass Colorado and coincidentally home to some forty feet of annual snowfall, burns hot as ever.

After having over a decade's worth of development preparations thwarted McCombs dumped Bob Honts, his developer, regrouped his Leavell-McCombs Joint Venture and has hired a new developer, Clint Jones, to spearhead a new plan of attack. . .