GMUG NF Forest Supervisor Signs Decision Memo for Mt. Emmons Land Exchange

July 8, 2024 – For Immediate Release

Contact – Jon Hare, Advocacy Director 970-349-7104 

The Forest Supervisor for the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forest has signed the Decision Memo for the Mt. Emmons Land Exchange to authorize the exchange of over one thousand acres of private and federal lands in Gunnison and Saguache Counties. The land exchange swaps four undeveloped parcels of private land owned by Mt. Emmons Mining Company (MEMC) in exchange for 550 acres of land (with mining impacts) on Mt. Emmons. The purpose of the exchange is to trade ownership of specific lands and make boundary adjustments that are in the public benefit, while at the same time streamlining reclamation e[orts for past mining activities on Mt. Emmons (otherwise known as Red Lady).

Crested Butte Town Mayor Ian Billick said, “After nearly 50 years of committed work by High Country Conservation Advocates (HCCA), numerous Red Ladies, and engaged citizens, the land exchange is a critical step in the community fully realizing our community’s intention to transition from mining to tourism and recreation. The underlying analyses by the federal government supporting the recent Red Lady decisions are unique in that they clearly articulate that the economic importance of tourism and biodiversity supported by our natural ecosystems outweighs the value of mining. Through decades of work on protecting Red Lady, HCCA has helped Crested Butte define both our future and who we are as a community!”

Once the exchange documents are signed, MEMC will receive ownership of lands that have been impacted by past mining and have operating water treatment infrastructure. This will streamline MEMC’s ability to operate, repair, and replace a water treatment plant, as well as reclaim areas that were once federal land. MEMC activities will still be permitted by the State of Colorado for water quality controls with additional oversight by the Town of Crested Butte and Gunnison County. In exchange, the federal government obtains properties with valuable resources such as wetlands, trails, and wildlife habitat. These federal parcels will be included in the National Forest and managed by the US Forest Service moving forward.

“What an incredible moment in time for our community and our public lands. This decision from the United States Forest Service will allow for the land exchange to be finalized along with the agreements to extinguish new mining on Red Lady forever. We can all take ownership of this monumental victory. We would have never reached this point without the decades of steadfast, Gunnison Valley messaging that we don't want a large-scale mine at the headwaters of our community. At closing this fall we’ll finally be able to celebrate a protected Red Lady!” said Julie Nania, the Red Lady Director for HCCA.

The Decision Memo lists three pages of public benefits realized by the land exchange. Named benefits include: limiting federal liability for mining infrastructure; acquiring Gunnison Sage-Grouse and critical big game habitat as future public lands; acquiring 42 acres of high-quality wetlands; adding legal public access point for the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail and other existing National Forest roads and trails; and improved management of all public lands by removing inholdings of private property.

The Land Exchange Decision also includes requirements for conservation easements through the Crested Butte Land Trust (CBLT) which will prohibit any industrial or residential development on the private land on Mt. Emmons, while simultaneously providing legal public recreational access to traditional ski and hiking routes that cross the mine-owned private lands.

“Though many of us have summited Red Lady, the conservation easements that are included in the land exchange will finally allow all of us to hike and ski the peak on traditional routes without fear of trespass,” said Jon Hare, Advocacy Director for HCCA. “Additionally, through the conservation easements, MEMC is preventing future mining or any development on this property. Those are huge protections this community has worked to secure for almost fifty years.”

The third significant piece of the Mt. Emmons Land Exchange is that MEMC will sign a Mineral Extinguishment Agreement with CBLT for the permanent relinquishment and extinguishment of mineral rights on their private land on Mt. Emmons. MEMC has also agreed to relinquish over 1200 unpatented mining claims on federal lands in Gunnison County upon completion of the exchange.

The final conservation easements and mineral extinguishment agreement for the private lands owned by MEMC on Mt. Emmons are scheduled to be executed in early September 2024.