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November 2007 - Table of Contents |
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Colorado Connections |
Biodiesel production facility breaks groundSan Juan Biodiesel LLC broke ground in September on a 5 million-gallon annual oil-crush and biodiesel production facility at the Weber Industrial Park in Dove Creek, Colo. The company contracted with 41 farmers in 2007 for 10,600 acres of sunflower crops stretching from Alamosa, Colo., to Price, Utah, with most of the production centered in Colorado’s Dolores County and Utah’s Montezuma County. In 2006, 2,660 acres of sunflowers were harvested, and 20 growers participated. University, community, and state supportColorado State University has assisted with the development of the facility since 2004, working to establish a grower base and ensure the business park could handle a major processing facility, said Dan Fernandez, director of CSU’s Dolores County Extension. The Colorado State University Agricultural Experiment Station's Southwestern Colorado Research Center, located in Yellow Jacket, Colo., retooled its research planting program in 2005 to include sunflower-variety testing for yield and oil-seed quality. Fernandez helped coordinate a series of informational meetings and workshops for government agencies, funders, legislators, growers, and the general public to explain the project and keep the project moving forward. In early 2006, and after competing with several other cities, the Weber Business Park in Dolores County was chosen as the site of the new biodiesel plant. Funding and constructionSan Juan Biodiesel has surpassed its 90 percent mark in raising the finances to construct the facility and purchase this year's crop. The company began construction this fall, said general manager Jeff Berman. "This would not have been possible without the assistance of so many farmers, investors, lenders, local governments, ski resorts, and others that have participated in the process," Berman said. For more information contact Dan Fernandez, (970) 677-2283, or danfern@ext.colostate.edu, or access www.sanjuanbiodiesel.com. |
Putting a price on Colorado’s peaksColorado's 54 fourteeners – peaks that rise 14,000 feet or higher above sea level and long-time destinations for climbers – can have an economic impact, say Colorado State University researchers. Researchers examined the potential boon to local economies when three private peaks, Mount Democrat, Mount Lincoln, and Mount Bross, which have been closed to public access since 2005, will be officially opened for climbing. Opening the peaks has the potential to generate $1 million and 25 jobs for Park and Summit counties, say Catherine Keske and John Loomis, researchers in CSU’s Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. An additional $900,000 and 20 jobs toward the state economy could also be generated, according to the researchers. 14,000-foot valueRecreational climbing provides off-ski season destination spots and generates additional revenue beyond traditional, natural resource-based industries such as mining, logging, and livestock grazing, say the researchers. "The consumer data indicates that, indeed, hikers place a high value on the fourteeners of Colorado," Keske said. According to the study, hikers drove an average of 152 miles one-way to reach a 14,000-footer, the average length of hiking trips was about a day and a half, and the median time spent hiking was about six hours. Climbers spent about $107 per day and the average group spent $246 per trip. Unique to Colorado"There aren't many other states with fourteeners, and Colorado has 54 of them. That provides a tremendous economic boost to the state's economy each year," Loomis said. In March 2006, Colorado House Bill 1049 was signed into law, providing limited liability protection to landowners who allow public recreation and indemnifying them from lawsuits related to potential injuries occurring at old mine sites. |
Forest Service awards $1 million for restoration projectsThe Colorado State Forest Service will award $1 million in grants to fund 12 forest restoration projects that protect critical water supplies and forests in Colorado. The funds were made available through the Colorado Community Forest Restoration grant program established by the Colorado General Assembly through House Bill 07-1130. The Colorado State Forest Service is an agency of Colorado State University. The grant program encourages local stakeholders to work together to develop projects such as wildfire risk reduction, community protection, ecological restoration, and woody biomass utilization. Legislation"Colorado's forests and watersheds are among our state's most important resources, and we should do all we can to protect them," said Colorado Sen. Joan Fitz-Gerald, a sponsor of HB-1130. The number of grant applications received this year is an indication of the value that Coloradans place on our natural resources, Fitz-Gerald said. Colorado Rep. Dan Gibbs introduced the legislation to fund projects that reduce the fire threat from dense stands of trees – especially those that have been killed by the ravaging bark beetle. "The funding for these projects is just a drop-in-the-bucket in relation to the vast needs to reduce the fire threat from the bark beetle epidemic," said Gibbs. "However, it does show how the state can come to the table and leverage funding in partnership with local and federal funding to help address this issue." ProjectsLandowners and those with legal contracts to work on project-proposed properties were eligible to apply for grants. The projects must be associated with a completed Community Wildfire Protection Plan approved by the Colorado State Forest Service. The state’s share of the total project cost will not exceed 60 percent per project. Grant recipients are required to match up to 40 percent of the total project cost through cash, stumpage (standing timber or its value if cut), in-kind contributions, or federal funds. |