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Outdoor gear legend visits Montrose.
OLD DAM - The original Skyrocket diversion dam was replaced in 2010 with an engineered steel and concrete structure. (Photo by Samantha Wright)
An ongoing legal battle between property developers and the City of Ouray seeks to determine who should pay for environmental mitigation posed by the 80-year-old Skyrocket Creek diversion.
BENEATH THE LAKE – An aerial photograph from 1975 shows the Uncompahgre River Valley and old Hwy 550 looking south (upstream) from above the dam location, Log Hill Mesa on the right. Log Hill residents Jack and Barbara Rairden are writing a history of the ranches inundated when the reservoir was filled. Anyone with stories or photos is encouraged to contact the Rairdens at 249-0464; rairden@montrose.net. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation)
A Log Hill couple is seeking help – stories, photos, documents – in telling the story of the ranches inundated by the Ridgway dam and reservoir.
Proposed rate increases would be SMPA’s first since April 2009.
Law enforcement authorities grapple with a crime spree in Ouray County.
Searching through Ouray County’s commissioner minutes from the late 1800s wasn’t too exciting – until assistant San Miguel County attorney Becky King found what she was looking for.
Montrose City Councilors approved staff recommendations on April 2 to reject outside proposals submitted for providing such services.
SUSTAINABLE SIGNAGE – Telluride Ski Patroller Jim Green installed a new wood sign near lift 5 last week (above). A dumpster-full of discarded trail signs that need to be replaced every five years or so. (Photos by Brett Schreckngost)
Telluride ski patroller Jim Greene’s “green” signs will soon replace all fiberglass signs on the Telluride Ski Resort, setting a new paradigm for ski resort sustainability.
House Bill 1258, now being considered by the Colorado Legislature, would deregulate the commercial sale of electricity for electric vehicles, opening the way for refueling stations across the state.
Critics allege Rep. Coram’s HB 1119 seeks to help mining companies evade fines. Coram counters that mining is specifically exempt from the latest version of his bill.
The restriction, backed by stiff penalties for violaters, also applies to the weeks prior to the opening of the 2012-13 ski season.
Spurred by a letter from Senator Mark Udall, the BLM extended public comment on North Fork natural gas leases for another 14 days.
The latest ruling in the JetAway case could bring the battle to an end, pending the outcome of one more appeal.
TALK ABOUT ADVENTURE – John Turk and Erik Boomer, “The Honey Badger of Kayaking,” will bring the story of their 1,500-mile circumnavigation of Ellesmere Island to Mountainfilm 2012. (Courtesy photos)
Mountainfilm 2012 answers the question: Has the festival abandoned its roots in adventure filmmaking?
Joe Ryan has applied for a permit to allow his plan to move forward, and has been denied by local USFS officials, three previous times over the past three years.
OURAY BREWING Co. brewmeister James Walton surveys his expansive new domain at the BIOTA building north of Ouray. (Photo by Samantha Wright)
The Ouray Brewing Co. has expanded its operations to include a new brewing, bottling and canning plant and tap room in the old BIOTA building in the North Ouray Corridor.
Montrose gets two new councilors, but no new Recreation District.
While Tuesday’s work session did not result in a formal decision on whether or not to move forward with planning in the Lift 7 subarea, the work session did, once again, offer to keep the conversat...

Stage 1: Durango to Telluride – Monday, Aug. 20 (Courtesy image)
Starting in Durango, the route will take the riders through more mountain passes than any other race of its kind, with five topping out at a minimum of 10,000 feet.
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RATS’ NEST – A rack of demo bikes at last year’s Ridgway Area Trails (RAT) Festival in Hartwell Park. This year’s 3rd annual will again feature trail building and skills clinics, along with a new Friday beer-and-shorts film night at the Sherbino Theater. (Courtesy photo)
VOLUNTEER Linda Granzow worked twine through spent round casings at the Welcome Home Montrose Warrior Resource Center last week. (Photo by William Woody)
WARRIOR WIND CHIMES – Welcome Home Montrose staff Emily Smith painted ceramic part of wind chimes at the Welcome Home Montrose Warrior Resource Center last week. (Photo by William Woody)
BACK HOME IN TELLURIDE – members of Telluride’s Volunteer Fire Department helped move the Galloping Goose No. 4 back to its home next to the San Miguel County Courthouse on May 16. The railbus spent the last four years in Ridgway while it was refurbished. (Photo by Brett Schreckengost)

ROBERT JUSTIS (Courtesy photo)
