Petitioning Chief of USDA Forest Service, Tom Tidwell: Protect Alberta Park

       

Stop the destruction of Wolf Creek Pass, an irreplaceable Colorado treasure

Wolf Creek Pass in southwestern Colorado forms the pristine headwaters of the Rio Grande and San Juan Rivers. Bridging the South San Juan and Weminuche Wilderness Areas, the pass is beloved for stunning vistas and ample opportunities for backcountry recreation along the Continental Divide. It is also one of the most biologically-important areas in the Southern Rockies, providing habitat and migration pathways for elk, deer, black bear and the threatened Canada lynx. In fact, Wolf Creek Pass hosts some of the best remaining, critical and high-functioning lynx habitat in the state.

Recently, the U.S. Forest Service approved a land exchange with a private developer, which will set the stage for a large scale development – 8,000 year round residents in over 1,700 units -- in some of the most important wildlife habitat in the heart of West.

Impacts of the proposed development threaten local businesses in nearby Archuleta and Rio Grande Counties, unspoiled backcountry recreation opportunities along the Continental Divide, water supply and water quality for downstream communities, rare and ecologically valuable fen wetlands, one of the most critical wildlife corridors in the Southern Rocky Mountains, and the scenic beauty of our Colorado wild spaces.

Please tell USDA Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell to stop the destruction of Wolf Creek Pass, an irreplaceable Colorado treasure.

https://www.change.org/p/tom-tidwell-chief-usda-forest-service-stop-the-destruction-of-wolf-creek-pass-in-sw-colorado

www.change.org and Friends of Wolf Creek

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Letter to: 

Chief, USDA Forest Service, Tom Tidwell

Dear Chief Tidwell, 
Recent actions by the Rio Grande National Forest have set into motion a plan that will destroy one of our nation’s most important wildlife movement corridors – Wolf Creek Pass.  

A national coalition of conservation and climate modeling experts has identified Wolf Creek Pass as one of the top ten landscapes that should receive immediate and lasting protection as part of a national climate change strategy.  

Protection of the area will: 
1) sequester carbon and advance climate change mitigation objectives; 
2) safeguard streams and aquifer sources that provide clean water for communities; and 
3) conserve vital high altitude wildlife habitat that will preserve species biodiversity in the face of climate change. 

Update 6/26/15 - citizens task force visits Washington D.C.

Village at Wolf Creek faces hurdle

http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20150624/NEWS01/150629803//article/20150624/NEWS01/150629803/Village-at-Wolf-Creek-faces-hurdle-

By Peter Marcus  | June 24, 2015 |  Herald Denver Bureau

… A coalition of conservation groups filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday after the U.S. Forest Service gave the land swap the go-ahead in May. Developers would offer 177 acres of private land to the Forest Service in the Rio Grande National Forest in exchange for about 205 acres of federal land.

...

The nearly 30-year effort has been overshadowed by several previous lawsuits, all of which sought to stop the ambitious development. Developers crossed a major hurdle last month, but they fully expected additional roadblocks. That delay was realized Wednesday.

“This land exchange was completed without the full and transparent analysis of the impacts that is required by law,” said Matt Sandler, an attorney for Rocky Mountain Wild, who filed the lawsuit. “These laws are in place to protect the public interest; this Forest Service decision protects the interests of big business and billionaires.”

...

They considered a 1980 law called the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which contains a provision that requires owners of in-holdings to be given reasonable access to their property. That means year-round access for developers, officials say.

Concerns have revolved around wildlife – such as migration routes for lynx – and maintaining the integrity of the scenic treasure that surrounds Wolf Creek.

Opponents recently organized a coalition to travel to Washington, D.C., to speak with lawmakers and federal officials about the matter. ...

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Report From Our Wolf Creek Trip To DC
By Jimbo Buickerood  |  June 26, 2015
http://sanjuancitizens.org/report-from-our-wolf-creek-trip-to-dc/

Last Friday night I camped on our national forest lands to the east and just below Wolf Creek Pass. Before snuggling into my sleeping bag, I bid a goodnight to the couple dozen elk grazing amongst the ponds and wetland fens nearby. The next morning I roamed the meadows, streamsides and forest while appreciating the thrush’s song harmonizing with the morning light.

On Monday night my pre-bedtime walk switched to bidding a stone-faced George Washington (on horse, not elk) goodnight before climbing into my bed in a Washington, DC inn. My morning walk the next day was a strident and timely effort to hop onto the Metro’s redline to arrive in time for our first meeting of the day in the Ford House Office Building – no time to listen for a bird’s song. Later that day we entered the headquarters of the Department of Agriculture – there were no elk to comfort me, but the wildlife photos on the walls assured me the agency had some interest in backcountry habitat.

There were five of us on our team – a diverse collection of conservations from Colorado and beyond who journeyed to Washington to Stop the Pillage.

Our objective was to inform administration officials and members of the Colorado federal delegation of the current status to develop (and profit from) a private inholding set amidst our public lands on the east side of Wolf Creek Pass – the one owned by that out-of-state billionaire. We were also there to listen to the experts on possible avenues to save the Wolf Creek Pass fens, forest and their resident creatures from the developers.

Most of the high level managers and elected officials (and their staff) we talked with were to some degree aware of the long and twisted history of the effort (conspiracy?) to airdrop a city of 8,000 people on the east side of Wolf Creek pass at the foot of the ski area. All were interested in an update of the situation that includes the recent signing of the Record of Decision (ROD) by Rio Grande National Forest Supervisor Dan Dallas to approve the proposed land exchange. 

You probably already know that the land exchange would give the developer direct access to Highway 160 for the first time since the private inholding “miraculously” appeared in the middle of our national forest in 1986, enabling vehicles to fill the envisioned 4,000+ parking spaces. Just thinking (and digressing) about 4,000 parking spaces in a location with an average of more than 400 inches of snow per year – perhaps “Shoveling at Wolf Creek” is the envisioned tagline for the development…..

Meanwhile, back in Washington – we emphasized our observations that the approved Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) was flawed to the core as we had noted in our official 96-page Objection to the FEIS and is detailed again in the legal complaint we filed this week in federal court. If you derived two lists from the FEIS, one listing “Important Issues Analyzed” and the other “Important Issues Ignored”, the second list would be longer – much longer. The so-called scope of the FEIS was very narrow, basically it looked at the exchange of real estate parcels while ignoring the proposal of airdropping in that 8,000-person “village.” Yes, that would include those 4,000+ parking spaces where those elk were grazing, the thrush was singing and the marshmarigolds were beginning to bloom.

Our meeting hosts asked a wide range of questions regarding community interests, wildlife habitat, the environmental analysis process, involvement of various agencies, concerns of nearby landowners, specifics of the project history, and more. There was one question they did not ask, as they seemed to already know – our mettle was strong as ever and our intentions were clear, Stop the Pillage.

While making the rounds of the Capitol and departmental offices we were buoyed by the tremendous amount of support being shown by supporters of a wild Wolf Creek Pass with the thousands of letters, postcards, phone calls and petition signers weighing in as we walked the marble and granite halls and told our story. It was evident by the words and expressions of many that we met with that we were not standing alone in our nation’s capitol – they knew, we knew – that we had all of you with us.

The multi-decade effort to Stop the Pillage has been long, convoluted, strange and demanding and we would certainly would have received our Patience and Persistence badges had been this a scouting achievement effort. With the incredible public support, a wide array of committed partners, a strong Stop the Pillage strategy, and certainly the knowledge that these lands deserve to be wild (not asphalt) I feel as confident as ever we will prevail.

Together we will – Stop the Pillage!

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USDA - Highlights of the US Forest Service NEPA Procedures

It appears that upon closer inspection the recent VWC Access Project EIS decision by the Rio Grande National Forest has once again been constructed around a NEPA process so riddled with gaps and shortfalls that it will require a Federal Judge to set the matter straight.  Recall that the Village at Wolf Creek's first EIS was trashed by a Federal Judge because of dishonest and inappropriate shenanigans (there will be more on that story in a following post).  

Is the current Wolf Creek Village Access and land swap agreement another repeat of backroom power-politics in action?  Can we the people do anything about it?

Considering there are some smart young folks just learning about the issues around Alberta Park and the Wolf Creek watershed, I though it would be a good thing to mirror the following information directly from the US Forest Service regarding NEPA guidelines.
  
Working within the system we can effect substantive change, but it's going to take the effort of some serious concerned citizens.

Highlights of the Final NEPA Procedures
http://www.fs.fed.us/emc/nepa/nepa_procedures/includes/final_nepa_procedures_highlights.pdf

Forest Service procedures for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) are now included in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFRs).

Problems with the VWC Access Project EIS - Ignoring the Lynx Issue - San Juan Citizens Alliance

Here's another news release that I'd like to add to this collection.  It's from the San Juan Citizens Alliance along with the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council and Rocky Mountain Wild, it's an update to the SJCA news article of last November that's featured in the preceding blogpost.

Friends of Wolf Creek: 

"Wolf Creek Access Project Administrative Objection 

+ 38 supporting Exhibits"

http://friendsofwolfcreek.org/wolf-creek-access-project-administrative-objection-exhibits/

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Forest Service ignores objections to land exchange at Wolf Creek Pass

http://sanjuancitizens.org/forest-service-ignores-objections-to-land-exchange-at-wolf-creek-pass/

By Erika Brown  |  March 31, 2015

For Immediate Release:
March 26, 2015
Matt Sandler, Attorney, Rocky Mountain Wild, matt@rockymountainwild.org
Christine Canaly, Director SLVEC slvwater@fairpoint.net
Jimbo Buickerood, San Juan Citizens Alliance jimbo@sanjuancitizens.org

Forest Service Ignores Concerns Raised in Objection to Proposed Land Exchange at Wolf Creek Pass, and Confirms that Decision Does Not Protect Lynx

Golden, CO – ... The Forest Service’s response to formal Objections filed by numerous organizations and individuals largely ignored concerns that have plagued the Forest Service for decades. However, the land exchange cannot take place until Rio Grande Forest Supervisor Dan Dallas explains why he didn’t follow existing Lynx protections in deciding to approve the land exchange. ...

(...)

There is a slim chance that the Forest Supervisor could still choose protection of public land and Lynx over the private development proposal. “This land exchange decision violates the Southern Rockies Lynx Amendment and the planned development is in the middle of a lynx corridor that connects habitat critical to lynx survival and recovery,” said Christine Canaly, Executive Director of the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council. “It will forever compromise and destroy good lynx habitat and impair the chances for this threatened species to recover to a full, secure population in Colorado. The Forest Service response confirms that the development is not compatible with the lynx, but it also gives the Forest Supervisor permission to approve the exchange after explaining why he decided to violate existing lynx protections, ” noted Canaly. 

Problems with the VWC Access Project EIS - San Juan Citizens Alliance

I'll admit when the Village at Wolf Creek Access decision came down last November, I was neck deep in other projects and it all seemed so hopeless that I really didn't tune in too much.  After all it's not like I can do anything about it.  

Then a couple days ago a chance conversation made me aware of the planned Saturday June 20th "Honor Wolf Creek" celebration up at Wolf Creek Ski Area.

It seemed to matter again, at least it seemed worth trying again.  Perhaps there were some more friends of Wolf Creek out there who are ready to become informed about the current situation and become involved.

Thus, this flurry of blog posts, while I myself have been catching up on news stories I'd avoided, such as this one from Jimbo Buickerood of the San Juan Citizens Alliance.

It makes the point that there are some serious flaws, gaps and legal issues with the Village at Wolf Creek Access Project EIS.

To me, that means there is hope and there is need for more people to become proactive - because there is the possibility of forcing the Rio Grande National Forest and their regional bosses to reassess this situation from a more realistic contemporary perspective rather than their current attitude that the government is beholden to Mr. McCombs' ill-considered development obsession, simply because he got thwarted in his sneaky back room high stakes political poker game.  

After all, we the people are supposed to be boss, it is our land.  But that only works if we assert ourselves. 

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Forest Service paves the way for Pillage at Wolf Creek

http://sanjuancitizens.org/forest-service-paves-way-pillage-wolf-creek/

By Jimbo Buickerood  |  San Juan Citizens Alliance  |  November 20, 2014
(I added the bold highlights)

Today’s decision by Rio Grande National Forest Supervisor Dan Dallas to approve a land exchange on top of Wolf Creek Pass requested by billionaire Red McCombs is both a disappointing and absurd decision to “green light” a development that would deface the inherent wild beauty of the area and ignore the widespread public opposition to the huge development.

Appreciating Fens Part 2. USFWS Category 1 Resource (highest protection rating)

To support of my claim that when it comes to Alberta Park, the watershed as it currently exists is far more valuable to Rio Grande River stakeholders than the prospect of some speculative "luxury village" development scheme.

I submit this policy statement by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Fens landscapes are a "category 1" resource because they are "essentially irreplaceable."  USFWS mandates that every reasonable effort should be made to protect them.

Such as stopping the destruction before it begins!

Consider the reality - bulldozing that land for a huge development is guaranteed to irreparable destroy the hydrologic integrity of the Alberta Park watershed with it's interlacing fens landscape, which stores and filters water for the Rio Grande River.  Not to mention the destruction and disruption of that huge wildlife sanctuary.

Furthermore, consider the economic, environmental and water supply realities of 2015 and moving forward in time.  The value of Alberta Park 'As Is' increases in leaps and bounds with every new year.

While the financial outlook for a "village" dedicated to the luxury vacation home market, hours and hours from the nearest airports of note, at over ten thousand feet elevation with it's 66% oxygen supply, get shakier with every season.

I submit the following evidence for the importance of leaving Alberta Park unmolested by speculative "development."

Regional Policy on the Protection of Fens, resource category 1, as amended

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 6 

January 20, 1999 

From page two: 

"Because of their uniqueness and importance, Region 6 decided that all its functioning fens, which were identified on U.S. Geological Survey, National Wetlands Inventory, ... fall within Resource Category 1 of the Service's "Mitigation Policy" (Federal Register Vol.16, No.15, February4, 1981).  

The mitigation goal for Resource Category 1 is no loss of existing habitat value.  In other words, because of the irreplaceability of the type habitat, every reasonable effort should be made to avoid impacting that habitat type."

Appreciating Wolf Creek's ‘old-growth’ fens. Part one

Here is a Durango Telegraph article from December 2005, written by Adam Howell, it examines an interagency conflict that was triggered by the Army Corps of Engineers interfering with the Environmental Protection Agency's mandate to survey the Alberta Park wetlands, site of the proposed Village at Wolf Creek.

I share it because it highlights the conflicts between blindly pro-development where everything is viewed through the Land Developer's Lens - while those who are trying to assess landscapes for their own intrinsic values are rejected as valueless and ignored despite their own statutory mandates.

Though the article is ten years old, nothing has changed about the value of that wetlands, just as it is, nor about the inevitability of any development in Alberta Park at ±10,300' causing irreparable damage who's cascading consequences will negatively impact the entire watershed and the interstate international Rio Grande River plus it's stakeholders!

The fact that LMJV is moving the project a few hundred yards and slightly uphill and closer to the highway will not mitigate the unavoidable destruction.

Think before digging!

Reprinted with permission from The Durango Telegraph 
and posted here to information the interested.
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The Durango Telegraph

» December-29-2005 » Wetlands heat up Wolf Creek debate more at: http://no-villageatwolfcreek.blogspot.com/2012/05/durango-telegraph-village-at-wolf-creek.html Wetlands heat up Wolf Creek debate Agencies clash over mapping of ‘old-growth’ fens Skiers and snowboarders meander through the base area of Wolf Creek on Monday.  The Village at Wolf Creek, proposed not far from the current base area, is continuing  to stir up controversy. The Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental  Protection agency are currently at odds over wetlands regulation. /Photo by Todd Newcomer.  by Adam Howell   Wetlands are currently boiling with controversy in the vicinity of Wolf Creek Ski Area. According to recently obtained e-mails, two agencies are throwing jabs in a recent bout over the regulation of wetlands as they relate to the proposed Village at Wolf Creek. According to the exchange, the Army Corps of Engineers’ Albuquerque District has prevented the Environmental Protection Agency from verifying the locations of wetlands at the site of the proposed developed.

Final decision released for Village at Wolf Creek Access Project, May 21, 2015

I'm mirroring today's RGNF/USDA press release unaltered and free of comment:


RIO GRANDE NATIONAL FOREST
MONTE VISTA, CO 81144

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  May 21, 2015

Contact: Mike Blakeman,

mblakeman@fs.fed.us

Final decision released for Village at Wolf Creek Access Project

MONTE VISTA, Colo. – Rio Grande National Forest Supervisor Dan Dallas has approved the proposed land exchange between the United States and Leavell-McCombs Joint Venture (LMJV). The land exchange proposal, which was Alternative 2 in the Village at Wolf Creek Access Project analysis, will provide the opportunity for LMJV to develop year-round access to their property.

“I have signed the final record of decision approving the land exchange between the U.S. Forest Service and Leavell-McCombs Joint Venture,” said Dallas. “I believe this is the best decision to minimize disturbance to public land while meeting the agency’s legal obligation to provide access to the private property.”

Alternative 2 conveys approximately 177 acres of privately held land to the Rio Grande National Forest in exchange for approximately 205 acres of National Forest System land managed by the RGNF. The land exchange creates a private land parcel of approximately 325 acres extending to U.S. Highway 160 and will accommodate year-round vehicular access.

The existing Tranquility Road will be extended east across NFS land to the private land. This road will provide restricted seasonal access between Wolf Creek Ski Area and the private land.

The primary benefits of the land exchange proposal over the previous right of way proposal include relocation of most of the proposed private land development to an area farther away from the ski area and Forest Service acquisition of a net gain of 40 acres of wetlands and more than 8,600 linear feet of perennial stream.

LMJV previously sought a right of way access across RGNF from U.S. Highway 160 to their private land. Since their private land is within the boundaries of the National Forest System, the Forest Service is obligated by federal statute to provide LMJV with such access as the Forest Service determines is adequate to secure reasonable use and enjoyment of their property.

For more information about the Village at Wolf Creek Access Project, visit the Rio Grande National Forest website at www.fs.usda.gov/riogrande.

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Further information resources:

June 20th, 2015 at Wolf Creek Ski Area

Friends of Wolf Creek is planning an informative 

and inspiring art opportunity this summer, 

honoring Wolf Creek Pass. 

Artists of all disciplines will converge at the 

Wolf Creek Ski Area on Saturday June 20, 2015 

to spend the day in the creative process. 

http://www.planetexperts.com/art-for-the-endangered-landscape-honoring-wolf-creek/

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Celebrating Alberta Park and Honoring Wolf Creek
http://no-villageatwolfcreek.blogspot.com/2015/05/honoring-wolf-creek.html

Rejecting the Village At Wolf Creek, list of go-to info and resources
http://no-villageatwolfcreek.blogspot.com/2015/05/rejecting-villageat-wolfcreek.html

http://friendsofwolfcreek.org

http://sanjuancitizens.org

http://www.slvec.org
(San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council)

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Rio Grande National Forest: Village at Wolf Creek Access Project

http://www.fs.usda.gov/projects/riogrande/landmanagement/projects

The Rio Grande National Forest is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement to analyze the effects of the proposed Village at Wolf Creek land exchange.

Location Summary

The federal and non-federal parcels to be considered are entirely within Mineral County, Colorado

District: Divide Ranger District

Project Documents

Date Published

1. Scoping

1. VWC Final Scoping Notice (PDF 57kb)
2. Scoping Letter for the Village at Wolf Creek Land Exchange Proposal
3. Fig1 (PDF 993kb)
4. Figure showing the current private parcel surrounded by the Rio Grande National Forest
5. Fig2 (PDF 1007kb)
6. Figure showing the proposed land exchange Federal and non-Federal parcels
7. Fig3 (PDF 998kb)
8. Figure showing potential access location from U.S. Highway 160
9. 20110419VWCNOI (PDF 53kb)
10. Notice of Intent to prepare and Environmental Impact Statement for the Village at Wolf Creek Land Exchange Proposal