ARTICLES Open Space Board of Trustees September 17, 2015 Meeting Plaza One Meeting Room 530 E. Main St., Aspen North Star Herron Newspaper Articles / Letters to Editor / Public Comment / Press Releases Wheatley Open Space Management Plan Press Release: Wheatley Open Space plan open to public input Stein Bridge Press Release: Stein Bridge to close for construction Stein Bridge to close for fall construction; 9/04/15 – Aspen Daily News East of Aspen Trail Press Release: East of Aspen boardwalk to close for repairs Burlingame Connector Trail New recreational trails may unlock options for additional connectivity; 9/4/15 – Aspen Daily News Verena Mallory Trail Judge denies restraining order in Aspen trail dispute; 9/2/15 – Aspen Times Injunction sought in Aspen trail dispute; 9/5/15 – Aspen Times Windstar CE Letter: County to Windstar hikers and equestrians: We don’t care; 9/3/15 – Aspen Times Windstar parking lot purchase scrapped; 9/10/15 – Aspen Daily News Windstar easement a go, but parking isn’t; 9/10/15 – Aspen Times Letter: Don’t blame new buyer for losing Windstar; 9/11/15 – Aspen Times Town of Snowmass Village Snowmass moves ahead on $47,000 trail signage effort; 9/05/15 – Aspen Daily News Water - Healthy Rivers Streams Board Project aims to restore Roaring Fork flow levels; 8/31/15 – Aspen Daily News County land acquisition opens door for planned kayak park in Basalt; 8/31/15 – Aspen Daily News Whitewater park proposal in Basalt moves conditional step ahead; 9/2/15 – Aspen Times Ruedi water flow downstream for endangered fish; 9/3/15 – Aspen Journalism - Aspen Times Reservoir work led to elevated levels of metals in river; 9/9/15 – Aspen Daily News Reservoir discharge exceeded state limits; 9/9/15 – Aspen Times Forest Service Activists greet Forest Service, industry at proposed Divide well site; 9/1/15 – Post Independent Firefighting chews up funds from Aspen-area forest; 9/4/15 – Aspen Times Miscellaneous CDOT, Pitkin County talk roads and highways; 9/2/15 – Aspen Times For artists in residence, wilderness is setting and subject; 9/6/15 – Aspen Times Letter: Let’s build more trails; 9/01/15 – Aspen Times Wheatley Open Space plan open to public input ASPEN – Public comment is now being accepted on a draft management plan for Wheatley Open Space, a 105-acre property in lower Snowmass Canyon. The draft plan was presented Sept. 1 to the Pitkin County Open Space and Trails Board. It will be open to public comment through Oct. 16. Interested citizens can find the plan, and an online comment form, at www.pitkinostprojects.com (click on the Wheatley link). The property was purchased as open space with the goal of preserving wildlife habitat, local agriculture and scenic quality, and providing recreational access. The property is easily visible from Highway 82 at the entrance to Snowmass Canyon in Old Snowmass. The Rio Grande Trail, Lower River Road and the Roaring Fork River cross through the parcel. The property encompasses roughly 2,900 feet of river frontage. The land also offers hiking access to Wheatley Gulch, which leads to Bureau of Land Management property to the north. The draft management plan proposes little change to existing conditions and uses of the open space. Seasonal closures are proposed for wildlife. As proposed, public access is limited to Wheatley Gulch, paths to the river on either side of Highway 82, and a rocky beach area. Recreation is also accommodated on the Rio Grande Trail, though the trail corridor is not part of the open space. About 24 acres of Wheatley Open Space are irrigated; they will be incorporated into the county’s agricultural lease program. Aspen Valley Land Trust holds a conservation easement over the open space. Contact: Lindsey Utter, Senior Environmental Planner Pitkin County Open Space and Trails 970-920-5224 or [email protected] 9/17/2015 Collected Articles Page 1 of 46 Stein Bridge to close for construction ASPEN –Stein Bridge and its trail connections in the Roaring Fork Gorge will be closed to traffic starting next week to allow replacement of the span’s aging abutments. The bridge will also be raised by 3 feet to better accommodate boating on the Roaring Fork River at high water. Pitkin County Open Space and Trails has contracted with Mueller Construction Services, of Glenwood Springs, for the roughly $250,000 project. The work will also include new approaches to the bridge and improvements to Stein Trail linking the bridge and the Rio Grande Trail. The contractor will mobilize at the site on Sept. 8 and the bridge will be closed to traffic, blocking access to the Rio Grande Trail from population centers on the west side of the river. The span connects the Rio Grande to the side of the river where the Aspen Business Center and Burlingame Ranch are located. The Cemetery Lane bridge, also known as Slaughterhouse Bridge, located closer to Aspen, is the closest alternative to reach the Rio Grande Trail from the west side of the river. The project is expected to continue through November, but the inconvenience can’t be helped, according to Lindsey Utter, senior environmental planner with Pitkin County Open Space and Trails. “This project has been in the works for a while. The abutments need to be replaced and the fall-offseason seems to be the best option to get it done,” she said. “We didn’t want to interrupt the summer boating season.” The late Henry L. Stein moved the span from Basalt to its current spot over the river and conveyed it to Pitkin County for a dollar. It was dedicated on Dec. 31, 1973. A plaque on the bridge reads: “This bridge was originally built in 1890, across the Roaring Fork River in Basalt, Colorado. It was moved here in October, 1973, by Henry Stein, John Rodriguez, Mike Weiley, Kelly Jamison, Billy Jamison.” The bridge was installed after Stein lost his office space in Aspen and relocated to the business center. He wanted to ride his horse between his Stein Ranch on the hillside opposite the river to his new office. Various pieces of the Stein Ranch are now open space parcels that help make up what is collectively referred to as the Roaring Fork Gorge. The new abutments will raise up the bridge, requiring a reworking of the approaches on either side of the span. Private and commercial boaters have voiced support for more head room between the bridge and the river when the water is running high in the spring and early summer. High water can halt boating beneath 9/17/2015 Collected Articles Page 2 of 46 the span altogether, and it’s not unusual to see whitewater rafters ducking to get beneath it. The bridge is located downstream from the popular Slaughterhouse Falls rapid on the Roaring Fork. Contact: Lindsey Utter Senior environmental planner, Pitkin County Open Space and Trails 970-920-5224 or [email protected] 9/17/2015 Collected Articles Page 3 of 46 Published on Aspen Daily News Online (http://www.aspendailynews.com) Stein Bridge to close for fall construction Work expected to continue into November The Stein Bridge across the Roaring Fork River will close beginning Sept. 8 as crews replace the span’s aging abutments and raise it to better accommodate boaters during high water. The bridge is located downstream from the Slaughterhouse Falls rapid. The replacement project is expected to continue into November, according to Lindsey Utter, senior environmental planner with Pitkin County Open Space and Trails. The bridge span connects the Rio Grande Trail to the side of the river where the Aspen Business Center and Burlingame Ranch are located. Utter characterized the timing as “totally unfortunate,” considering the opening of a Burlingame connector trail. But staff also didn’t want to interrupt the summer boating season to make improvements that will ultimately improve their experience. The bridge will be raised three feet higher than where it’s currently situated over the river. “It’s not unusual for boaters to have to lay down when they get to the bridge” during high water, Utter said on Wednesday. “This project has been in the works for a while,” she further stated in a release. “The abutments need to be replaced and the fall offseason seems to be the best option to get it done.” The project comes with a price tag of approximately $250,000. Pitkin County Open Space and Trails has contracted with Mueller Construction Services of Glenwood Springs on the work, which also includes new approaches to the bridge and improvements between the Stein Trail and the Rio Grande Trail. First constructed as a span across the Roaring Fork River in Basalt back in 1890, the bridge was moved to Pitkin County and dedicated here in 1973 by Henry Stein, John Rodriguez, Mike Weiley, Kelly Jamison and Billy Jamison, according to a plaque attached to the bridge. The bridge was installed after Stein lost his office space in Aspen and relocated to the ABC. “He wanted to ride his horse between his Stein Ranch on the hillside opposite the river to his new office,” according to Pitkin County Open Space and Trails. “Various pieces of the Stein Ranch are now open space parcels that help make up what is collectively referred to as the Roaring Fork Gorge.” The bridge was conveyed to Pitkin County for just one dollar, according to county records. archive_date: 1 day 9/17/2015 Collected Articles Page 4 of 46 East of Aspen boardwalk to close for repairs ASPEN – The boardwalk portion of the East of Aspen Trail will be closed Sept.