It turned out, wetlands were a touchy topic in the community. Silverton is in desperate need of housing and some believe that preserving certain wetlands could complicate that need.<\/p>\n
At a trustee meeting in November 2022, advocates for the two sides spoke.<\/p>\n
Brandon Gibson, a Shrine Hill property owner who wanted to build a single family home, told the trustees the Army Corps of Engineers had determined wetlands on his property did not fall under federal purview.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is some concern that this might be because of budget cuts or administration changes,\u201d he said during the meeting. \u201cBut I\u2019ve done, I think, four or five studies on the site in the last five years and all of them have come up saying this is nonjurisdictional wetlands,\u201d meaning it does not fall under federal wetlands regulation.<\/p>\n
But Jake Kurzweil, a hydrologist and associate director of water programs at the Mountain Studies Institute, who was representing \u201csolely\u201d himself and not the not-for-profit institute that focuses on sustainability in the San Juan Mountains, said the land Gibson wanted to build on was a wetland, even if it wasn\u2019t federally protected. He suggested the board \u201cprotect and preserve wetlands while also trying to develop lands, whether it\u2019s for affordable housing or not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both wetlands and at least one peatland lie within Silverton\u2019s town limits and are \u201ccritically important\u201d for everything from habitat to hydrology to cleaning water of phosphorus and other metals in the watershed resulting from things like mining, explains Rodney Chimner, professor of wetland ecology in the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science at Michigan Tech, who has done extensive restoration work in Silverton and the Animas River watershed.<\/p>\n
They also act as \u201ccarbon sinks\u201d which absorb more carbon than they release, and are therefore key to slowing the acceleration of climate change, Chimner told The Sun. They can act as fire breaks. They also store snowmelt or rainwater and slowly release water during the summer that maintains streams, which is good for fish habitat.\u201d And they support everything from moose to elk to birds and amphibians as \u201csmall keystone ecosystems that have a huge impact on habitat,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A 2021 housing needs assessment illuminated Silverton\u2019s dire need for more lodging.<\/p>\n
Studies showed nearly half the housing stock was used solely for seasonal or vacation use and the top three ways employees were adjusting to lack of housing were camping, living in housing \u201cin poor condition\u201d and tolerating long commutes. Employers said housing in Silverton was unavailable to all job candidates. And the report concluded that at a minimum, to accommodate job growth projected by Region 9 Economic Development, Silverton would need 22 new units for permanent residents and 14 beds for seasonal surge capacity by 2024.<\/p>\n
By 2023, some of the board members had been studying wetlands and discovered their importance. \u201cFour months ago, when we had the two properties on the hill, I didn\u2019t realize how important wetlands were to the environment and the ecosystem,\u201d trustee Tyler George said at a July 10, 2023, board of trustees meeting. \u201cI think it\u2019s in our best interest to do everything we can to protect them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia \u201cLiv\u201d Cella-Edwards, another trustee, added that even wetlands excluded from Clean Water Act protections were \u201cstill true wetlands with ecological functions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The board had realized it needed to take official measures to address the issue. So it drafted an emergency ordinance for the \u201cPreservation of Health, Peace, and Safety\u201d of Silverton residents, that amended the municipal code to establish wetland disturbance standards associated with building permitting and regulations.<\/p>\n
The ordinance was meant to give the trustees something in the code \u201cto help mitigate impacts of development of wetlands,\u201d it said. The town also needed a clearer idea of what kind of wetlands it had, so it drafted another ordinance that imposed a six-month moratorium on issuing construction permits to allow a consultant to survey unmapped wetlands, evaluate previously mapped wetlands that may have been affected by the Sackett ruling and to evaluate previously mapped wetlands that were likely to be under federal jurisdiction. Then, based on what they found, the town could decide how to move forward.<\/p>\n
One option before them is to join cities like Boulder in establishing their own wetlands regulations and policies. The more the better, says Chimner, because in the last 200 years, the United States has lost over half of its wetlands and all but 4% of its peatlands, the latter of which store 30% of all carbon released from the biggest polluters and are 8,000 to 10,000 years old in San Juan County alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne other thing,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can modify the designs (of developments) to not impact wetlands. Telluride built roads differently. In Minnesota, developers backfilled roads with rocks to allow subsurface drainage. Silverton can make these decisions. They have an opportunity if they agree to do the right thing for the wetlands.\u201d<\/p>\n
The debate continued.<\/p>\n
Although trustees remained split on how to protect and preserve wetlands while also trying to develop lands, they voted to enact both of the ordinances. In July 2023 Ironwood Consulting began its wetland inventory and mapping project.<\/p>\n
On Jan. 8, Ironwood presented the board with its preliminary findings.<\/p>\n
On Jan. 22, while still debating the issue, the trustees decided to let the emergency ordinance expire by directing town staff to \u201ctake no further action.\u201d<\/p>\n
Afterward, \u201cFolks in town were saying, \u2018What the hell just happened? What the hell happened?\u2019\u201d Harper said.<\/p>\n
But it wasn\u2019t over.<\/p>\n
On Feb. 26, amid more debate, the trustees directed staff to draft another moratorium ordinance, Town Administrator Gloria Kaasch-Beurger said. Nothing happened immediately, because \u201cpolicy has to follow our town code with regards to noticing and process review requirements,\u201d she added. \u201cThis issue is still going on and an update will be provided at the March 11 regular meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Colorado lawmakers, looking to oversee hundreds of streams and wetlands left unprotected by Sackett v. EPA, are debating new protections in the 2024 legislative session.<\/p>\n
One option would give the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment regulating power, which it could use to cover a broad class of Colorado waters, including wetlands and peatlands, Alex Funk, director of water resources at the Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, told The Sun.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a real opportunity (this session) for Colorado to provide some clarity once and for all with a program that is inclusive of all stakeholders,\u201d Funk said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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