SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM
NEWS: Curious case of cold in Gunnison, A8
SUBSCRIBE NOW
VOL. 144 NO. 3 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2025 | $1.00
Proposed Starview development near CB South draws criticism NIMBY or not? Abby Harrison Times Staff Writer
A LITTLE HELP FROM FRIENDS: Gunnison Middle School principal Lance Betts helps Amina Farid onto the Poma ski lift at Cranor Hill on Jan. 11. Cranor opened to the public on Jan. 3, and while the snow still lingers, skiers and snowboarders of all levels will race down the hill. For more, see A9. (Photo by Mariel Wiley)
INSIDE
TODAY PHOTOS: Moonlight ski at VanTuyl, A14
COMMUNITY: How to train a Zamboni, B1
OBITUARIES A2 OPINION A4 CLASSIFIEDS A11-A13 SPORTS B4 ONLINE GUNNISONTIMES.COM
Starview A6
Crowding causes hunters to reconsider unlimited elk tag sales Gunnison Wildlife Association launches survey Bella Biondini Times Editor
SPORTS: Cowboy basketball survives Bruins, B4
The community’s perennial dispute over the “right” balance between new development and rural character was on display last month during a meeting for a proposed housing project near Crested Butte South. Starview is in nascent stages of development, but has already proven controversial for many of its neighbors. Starview is planned for a parcel off Hwy. 135, just south of the road that leads into CB
South, Cement Creek Road. The owners, Oklahoma-based HGC Holdings LLC, purchased the lot in 2019 for $2.5 million. HGC is looking to subdivide the 96-acre parcel into 129 residential lots, which could house hundreds of people. The homes are intended to be various sizes and designs, including some that are deed-restricted. For comparison, the planned Whetstone neighborhood to the north will add 252 residential units on just 15 acres. At least 70 people showed up in person to critique the project at a Dec. 21 Gunnison County
As the Gunnison County backcountry becomes more congested, elk hunters have begun to ask themselves: Is it worth more to be guaranteed a hunt each year, or to enter a lottery system, which is likely to offer a better wilderness experience? Limiting the number of bull licenses, or “tags,” available for the northern portion of the Gunnison Basin has been
a recurring point of discussion among hunters, outfitters and ranchers. Hunter crowding, paired with the rising pressure on elk herds from habitat loss and an unpredictable climate, has reignited the conversation locally and at the state level. According to wildlife experts, capping the number of tags Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) doles out each season would allow the agency to more precisely manage elk population numbers, and spread hunters across the landscape. But limiting licenses also reduces the revenue brought in from the sportsmen and women that helps prop up the economies of rural towns like Gunnison. Over the past couple of years, the nonprofit Gunnison Wildlife Association (GWA) has strongly supported limiting elk9hunting Hunting A5
The Gunnison Wildlife Association hosted an open house about elk tag license limits at the Gunnison County Library on Jan. 9. (Photo by Mariel Wiley)