NEWS: City hosts Lazy K lottery, A9
SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM SUBSCRIBE NOW
VOL. 142. NO. 20 | THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2023 | $1.00
City reviews water treatment plant site proposal Future of VanTuyl Ranch in question Bella Biondini Times Editor
Ag-venturing with animals
Jacob Spetzler
Earlier this week, the Gunnison Valley Cattlewomen hosted its annual Ag Venture Day, an event that has taken place in Gunnison for over 60 years. Students grades 2-5 were welcomed to tour educational booths and learn about western history and local agriculture. The Gunnison chapter of Future Farmers of America volunteered at the event, sending 22 kids to man the animal stalls and help educate younger attendees about what the animals are used for.
INSIDE
TODAY NEWS: Little Blue construction end date moved to fall, A8
VanTuyl A3
Final wolf reintroduction plan approved Adequate funding and pending 10(j) rule still worry local ranchers Bella Biondini Times Editor
COMMUNITY: Hard work in the pool, B1
Gunnison’s VanTuyl Ranch has been caught square in the middle of a fight between improving the city’s water security and the community’s desire to preserve the character of the open space.
Although Greg Peterson’s cows lingered near the ranch house, they would soon roam the rolling sagebrush hills once the snow melted away. The small patch of grass exposed
signaled the end of a long winter season as calves and their mothers wandered through the pasture. The fields that stretched into the distance, far beyond the house, are the frontier, Peterson said. During calving season, he keeps an eye out for coyotes at dawn and then again at dusk when the light fades. But in the coming years, Peterson may have to train his eyes for a larger predator. Looking out over his land, he recognizes this may be the open space where his cattle and the gray wolf will mix in the near future. On May 3, the Colorado
Parks and Wildlife Commission approved a final draft of the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan at a meeting in Glenwood Springs following more than two years of extensive discussion and public outreach across the state. The adoption of the plan, which was steered by more than 4,000 comments from residents, will guide CPW biologists and wildlife managers as the agency prepares to begin reintroducing wolves west of the Continental Divide by the Dec. 31, 2023 deadline. “This would not have been possible without the tireless
work of CPW staff and the Parks and Wildlife Commission, the members of both our advisory boards and the citizens and stakeholders who engaged and weighed in to make our wolf management plan the best for Coloradans and for wolves who will once again grace our Colorado landscapes,” Dan Gibbs, executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources said in a press release. Local ranchers and agricultural organizations have continuously expressed their disWolves A6
RTA places transit center on pause SPORTS: Girls track and field takes second in the league, B6
OBITUARIES A2 OPINION A4-A5 CLASSIFIEDS A15-A17 SPORTS B6 ONLINE GUNNISONTIMES.COM
Authority withdraws funding requests
Abby Harrison Times Staff Writer
After the City of Gunnison declined a proposal to locate a new multi-modal transit center on city property next to the Gunnison Rec Center, the Gunnison Valley Rural Transportation Authority (RTA)
has begun exploring next steps for the project. At a regular RTA board meeting on May 5, Executive Director Scott Truex offered the board a few ways to move forward after the initiative failed to pass city leadership. The $3.5 million center was meant to serve the community with restrooms and information kiosks and offer a connection point for bus lines like the popular Denver-toCrested Butte Bustang route. The 2,000 square foot building would have been situated on
Jacob Spetzler
RTA A7
The transit center would have been located on the southeast side of the Rec Center, next to the Spencer Avenue bus stop.