This is from the Telluride Daily Planet, July 27. Just thought I'd post this in case Josh or other 14-er hikers didn't know this was going on.

TPL bargains for Wilson access

Published: Thursday, July 26, 2007 9:34 PM CDT
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New grant gives Trust for Public Land more money to negotiate

By Elizabeth Guest

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) is negotiating with Silver Pick Basin landowner Rusty Nichols to buy his property and renew access to Wilson Peak.


A recent Special Initiative Grant from the Telluride Foundation contributed $150,000 to the effort, which could speed up a deal.

“It’s a key gift in allowing us to move forward,” said Jason Corzine, TPL’s project manager, who expects to close on the property in late October.

A private conservation group, TPL will put the grant money toward the purchase of Nichols’ 220-acre parcel by Wilson Peak, including land near the summit. The purchase will also ensure an end to any potential mining on the land.



“It is certainly good for us to have the Foundation’s support on the project. “Corzine said. “We want that broad-based community support as we move toward our final negotiation.”

Before they can close on the land, TPL must pursue due diligence — environmental tests, surveys and appraisals — which are taking place this summer.

“It’s basically so we know that we’re not taking ownership of anything too nasty — that’s what we call due diligence,” Corzine said. “Our board requires it on every transaction. We have a short time frame to get it done — July, August and a little of September — before the snow starts to fly, so we really have to buckle down and focus.”



Negotiating since the beginning of the year, TPL has established an option agreement with this limited window of time to complete the purchase

“As it stands right now we’re still under option with the landowner,” Corzine said. “He’s been very willing to work with us.”

The Silver Pick Basin route is the safest and most common way to summit the 14,017-foot peak, as well as access the other two 14,000-foot peaks nearby. Only problem is, it crosses private land.



The closure — in effect for more than three years — has created significant public outcry, one of the reasons for the Foundation’s grant.

According to a Telluride Foundation press release:

“Over 500,000 people climb on Colorado’s 54 “14ers” annually. Restoring safe and easy access to three of the most popular 14,000-foot peaks in the nation will meet a need to protect a much-loved recreational resource that draws thousands of people to the area.”



In addition to the Telluride Foundation grant, TPL receives financial backing from fundraising in the community, private donations and internal funds.

The Telluride Foundation valued the property at $3 million. But Corzine couldn’t comment on the price until a final closure on the property when it becomes public record.

“We have to honor the confidentiality of the landowner,” he said.



Nichols, who resides permanently in Texas, lives part time in a cabin along Silver Pick Road. Last summer, Nichols charged a $100 access fee for hikers walking through his property. This summer, with negotiations underway, he has completely shut off access from Silver Pick.

“Due to the fact that we are actively trying to purchase the property and going through with due diligence the landowner has pulled paid access as well,” Corzine said. “[Nichols] very much wants to see this happen, and he’s given TPL the right to really move forward with the transaction from a conservation standpoint.”

The other routes for Wilson Peak are longer and more difficult.



“People have been going up from Bilk Creek and Navaho Basin,” said Tor Anderson of the Telluride Mountain Club. “And some people ignore the closure, although [Nichols] has been there and will hassle people.”

Anderson’s been involved in the access issue since it started. The Mountain Club tries to keep lands that were public, then turned private, open to mountain adventurers.

“It’s been good since the Trust for Public Land got involved since they’re a bigger group and they have the money to buy the land,” said Anderson.



Another reason for the purchase is to restrict future mining on the land, an added purpose for the Foundation’s grant. Prior to TPL’s involvement, Nichols had been seeking permits from the U.S. Forest Service to mine the land, already obtaining the necessary state permits.

“We appreciate mining history, but we feel this is one of those iconic properties that cannot be mined,” Corzine said. “This project is about restoring the natural beauty of Silver Pick Basin and restoring access to the fourteener.”

Corzine couldn’t comment on logistics like Nichols’ cabin or subsurface mining rights.



“All those issues we still have to dial in on,” he said.

TPL buys environmentally sensitive land and typically hands it over to local governments or agencies for safekeeping. It bought the Kentucky Placer next to Town Park, just closed on a piece of the Galloping Goose Trail near Ophir and is working on the federal appropriation of Ophir Valley.

If and when TPL purchases the Mt. Wilson-Silver Pick property, they plan to hand it over to the U.S. Forest Service for permanent conservation and public access, preventing mineral development and restoring access to Mt. Wilson, Wilson Peak, and El Diente.


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Lisa formerly of OK, now Lisa in Telly
MountainsRule.com
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Public Access to Silver Pick Basin Could Come in October

Hiker Access to Wilson Peak Becoming a Reality

By Gus Jarvis
Thursday, August 9, 2007 5:25 PM MDT


SAN MIGUEL COUNTY, Aug. 9, 4:56 p.m. – If a tentative agreement between Trust for Public Land and Silver Pick Basin landowner Rusty Nichols is completed, hikers will once again have access to the safest route leading to the summit of Wilson Peak – one of Colorado’s most famed 14ers.

“I would say we are scheduled to close on the property at the end of October,” said Jason Corzine, senior project manager for the Trust for Public Land, in an interview Wednesday. “The current status of the property is it is still owned by Mr. Nichols and we are still very much in the process of moving forward toward the acquisition of the property. We are in the due diligence phase right now. As of today, everything looks positive.”

For the past three years, the Trust for Public Land has been in negotiations with Nichols, who owns 220 acres of mining claims in the Silver Pick Basin area. The historically popular trail that leads to the summit of Mt. Wilson, Wilson Peak and El Diente runs directly through Nichols’s property. Access through the property has been very limited – to the point that at one time Nichols charged hikers a fee to pass through his land.

The planned land acquisition will restore hiking access and put a stop to any future mining in the area. According to a Telluride Foundation press release, Nichols at one point sought permits from the U.S. Forest Service to mine the land. He also was interested in exchanging the property for $75 million worth of public land.

“We are acquiring all surface and subsurface rights,” Corzine said. “It’s a two-fold endeavor. One is to open access to Wilson Peak. The other is to prevent mining. This transaction will take care of both of those and is an effective way to achieve conservation.”

For hikers, the land acquisition is welcome news. After the deal goes through, the Trust for Public Land will turn the land over to the U.S. Forest Service to manage.

“It will be really nice to be able to dance between the basins,” said Steve Johnson, a member and past president of Telluride Mountain Club. “This is all very encouraging. Apparently this [agreement] will acquire the claims that will not only break up the bottleneck of Silver Pick Basin but will also stop any future mining as well.”

“Legal access through Silver Pick has been denied,” Corzine said. “People have been accessing the area through Bilk Creek, which is lengthy and technically complicated. The route through Silver Pick is historically the most popular and really the safest route. It allows for a fairly approachable climb in one day, which is especially good for search and rescue missions.”

The Trust for Public Land was awarded a $150,000 grant from the Telluride Foundation to help with the purchase of the Silver Pick Basin land. The trust, a nonprofit land conservation organization, has been acquiring and conserving land in the San Juans for several years now and land purchases like the pending Silver Pick Basin one rely on support from the public.

“TPL has been acquiring mining properties in the San Juans for seven years now,” said Corzine. “We have sort of created a niche in mining claim acquisition. Financially, [besides the Telluride Foundation] we haven’t turned over too many rocks in capital. We are very much trying to raise the necessary funds to acquire the property. The Telluride Foundation grant helped us considerably in our public and private fundraising endeavor.”

For more information on ways to donate to the Trust for Public Land or information on other projects across Colorado and the nation, visit www.tpl.org.
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Lisa formerly of OK, now Lisa in Telly

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