Currently viewing the tag: "Conservation"

The Denver Post just reported that the Forest Service approved a controversial land swap with Texas developer Red McCombs that would provide access to his proposed 1,700 unit “Village at Wolf Creek” development. The swap connects his parcel to HWY 160, eliminating the need to build a road through the National Forest and greatly increasing usable land.

Below are links to the Denver Post and Pagosa Sun article. Also below is a playlist of videos I recorded of Ryan Bidwell of Colorado Wild who spoke in opposition of the land swap in October 2009. The Village at Wolf Creek representative refused to allow me record him.

From the Denver Post:  Feds OK land swap to access proposed 1,711 unit Village at Wolf Creek
From the Pagosa Sun:  Village at Wolf Creek: Land exchange receives tentative approval
From Rocky Mountain Wild:   Opponents of Wolf Creek Village Slam Forest Service Approval 
From the Durango Herald:  Feds Pave Way for Village at Wolf Creek
From the Forest Service:  Draft Record of Decision Village at Wolf Creek Access Project Final Environmental Impact Statement
From Colorado Public Radio:  To Build — Or Not To Build — At Wolf Creek

The current view of the proposed site
Existing-Conditions-e-alert1

After build-out:
Maximum-Density-Development-e-alert

Land Exchange Proposal:
exchangeA

 

Current Land Ownership
NoExchangeLarge

Proposed Build-out Ownership:
WithExchangeLarge

Background & Feasibility Analysis Village at Wolf Creek Land Exchange Proposal
Village at Wolf Creek Website
Colorado Wild Website
No Village at Wolf Creek Website
Friends of Wolf Creek

 

From the Pagosa Area Water & Sanitation District:

On Monday, March 15, PAWSD, the Southwest Organization for Sustainability and the Pagosa Brewing Company will co-sponsor a FREE movie at the Liberty Theater titled Blue Gold. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the movie begins at 7.


Read Full Article →

From Pagosa.com:

After many months of collaboration with the Town of Pagosa Springs, the Geothermal Greenhouse Project team is pleased to announce the signing of the Project’s Land Lease and Geothermal Tap Use Agreements.  The signing of these agreements clears the way for the next phase of the Project, which was supported by resolution of the Town Council last year.  Since the passage of that resolution, important steps have been taken to ensure fulfillment of the Project’s mission and the interests of the community as a whole.

Special thanks to Pagosa’s Growing Spaces!

At a Town Council meeting in October of 2009, members of the Geothermal Greenhouse Project Committee outlined an operational model designed to increase broad-based community participation in the Project.  In that model, one large greenhouse will be devoted to education. Private and public school educators Mark DeVoti, Sally High and Guseppi Margiotta have expressed interest in developing an Agricultural Curriculum for students in grades K-12. Liz Parker, Prevention Education Coordinator for the Archuleta County Victim Assistance Program, is excited about the therapeutic value of programs for at-risk youth. Bill Nobles sees applications for participants in educational programs sponsored by the Archuleta County Extension Office and the Dean of Agricultural Science at the University of Colorado in Ft. Collins has suggested that graduate students travel to Pagosa Springs to study the application of renewable energy in the project.

The second large greenhouse will be for testing commercial production of vegetables, increasing the availability of year-round fresh produce to citizens, local businesses, schools and visitors. It will serve as a prototype business model, which could be expanded to other venues, and provide internship opportunities to high school students preparing for a career in agriculture.

The Committee envisions the third large Dome as a Community Garden. It, as well as many of the outdoor beds surrounding the geo-thermally heated structures, will involve the largest number of local, small growers possible. Additional proposed facilities include a visitor’s center, public rest rooms, a cold-storage facility and a permanent site for the Farmers Market.  Gardeners currently cultivating plots in Centennial Park, members of the High Mountain Gardeners Club, the Farmers Market Committee and Southwest Organization for Sustainability have all offered valuable suggestions and enthusiastic support.

As currently envisioned, the management of Geothermal Greenhouse production will rest with those using the Domes.  Those using each greenhouse will organize what they believe to be the best use of space, through consensus and/or democratic governance.  A non-profit Board will oversee the entire Project and will include representatives working in each area of the Project: education, commercial production and community garden.  Over the next few weeks, meetings will be held to discuss and refine this model of operation for possible incorporation into the Project’s Operations and Business Plans.  Anyone interested in participating is invited to contact committee member Ilene Haykus at 731-0553.

Also featured in the Pagosa Daily PostPagosa Sun

La Plata Electric Association (LPEA) offers a variety of rebates for their members to improve the efficiency of their homes/facilities. Rebates are available for a variety of Energy Star appliances, the recycling of a refrigerator or freezer, electric water heaters, permanent electric heat, energy efficient motors, and heat pumps.

The Energy Star Appliance and Refrigerator Recycling Program offers rebates for clothes washers, dishwashers, refrigerators, and refrigerator/freezer recycling. Customers have 180 days from date of purchase to apply for the rebate. Following purchase, customers must submit an original proof-of-purchase along with the completed rebate form to the LPEA office in either Durango or Pagosa Springs. The rebates will be credited to LPEA customers’ electric bills within the following billing cycle.

The Energy Efficiency Credits program offers rebates for water heaters, domestic solar water heaters, electric thermal storage heaters, resistive heat systems, electric motors, air-source heat pumps, and geothermal heat pumps. Equipment must meet certain efficiency standards listed on the program website. For these incentives, customers are required to provide LPEA an itemized receipt and/or work order as evidence of purchase before receiving the check/bill credit.

Additional Rebates & Credits From LaPlata Electric