The first weekend in May,  CVEPA emailed a Call to Action to our members and friends. The email urged people to contact the Gunnison County Commissioners. An amendment to the County resolution proposed expanding the length of road allowed to Off Highway Vehicles (OHVs) in Marble. (See article on Lead King Loop/ OHV in the Summer 2021 CVEPA Crystal Clear newsletter). The amendment was announced on a Saturday with only several days notice. The issue was not open to public comment and was allotted 5 minutes on the agenda. CVEPA and residents critical of the documented overuse by OHVs have been working with the county and the Marble Town Council for many months to find some relief to this problem. We believed this amendment warranted serious discussion. 

Gunnison County cited a barrage of public input received via email over that weekend ! Due to overwhelming citizen requests the County Commissioners opened the amendment to the resolution to public comment and devoted a substantial amount of time to the issue. Our elected officials were clearly impressed with the concern shown by respondents. 

During my almost 15 years with CVEPA I don’t ever remember our organization sending such an alert. You, our membership and many other concerned citizens, can take the credit for showing elected officials how important the public process that determines the health, safety and well-being of people and the environment in the Crystal Valley is to us !

Such an alert would not have been possible until recently. Behind the scenes, our information technology specialist, Denny Meredith-Orr, has improved CVEPA’s communication capability and created a website that gains immediate interest. I would encourage all members to share their email addresses with CVEPA. You can now receive the Crystal Clear via email (saving CVEPA about $10 a year per recipient) and also be in the loop if such an emergency call to action is needed. CVEPA will use this tool with the utmost discretion and we will never pass your information on to anyone else. 

In recent years CVEPA has worked closely with well-respected Aspen Journalism (AJ). CVEPA and AJ broke the story of the Marble Quarry’s unpermitted burial and relocation of Yule Creek. Investigative reporter Heather Sackett’s exhaustive research and articles on Colorado water, the Marble Quarry and Wild and Scenic Designation informs thousands of citizens in our watershed. Curtis Wackerle has delved deep into the Lead King Loop OHV issue and has also reported on the newest wetlands conservative initiative in Marble. This vital information is free to the public and to local news agencies.  It is not without expense. Please consider giving your financial support to Aspen Journalism at aspenjournalism.org now. Don’t forget who supports our community in Carbondale, the Sopris Sun newspaper at soprissun.com and in Redstone and Marble, The Crystal Valley Echo and Marble Times at thecrystalvalleyecho.com We need and rely on each other. Without these dedicated news outlets CVEPA would be operating in a vacuum. Give them your support.