Snowmass Capitol Creek Caucus

ACES in February

Friday, 03 February 2012 14:26

Community Calls at RBR

The Community Calls Speaker and Workshop Series at Rock Bottom Ranch aims to enrich and inform Roaring Fork Valley residents. The Speaker Series invites experts to discuss local issues. The Workshop Series offers hands-on opportunities to improve practical skills. Whether participating in a discussion or learning a new community-building skill, this series calls you to action!

Speaker Series, 7pm, FREE

2/7 The Economics of a Sustainable Community - Jock Jacober

2/21 What is a "Sustainable Lifestyle?" - Michael Thompson

3/6 Managing Local Meat Production - Tai Jacober

3/20 The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil - Film Showing

Workshop Series

2/14 A Beginner's Knitting Class: Spend Valentine's Day
developing a new passion - RBR staff
6 - 8pm, $5/$10 Members/Non-members

2/28 Bread Baking - Michael Thompson
5 - 8pm, $30/$40 Members/Non-members

3/13 Worm Farm Building - RBR staff
6 - 8pm, $5/$10 Members/Non-Members

3/27 Dreaming up a Garden - RBR staff
6 - 8pm, $5/$10 Members/Non-members

Rock Bottom Ranch, 2001 Hooks Spur Rd. Basalt, CO

An exciting end to the year at ACES!

Thursday, 29 December 2011 10:14

The Aspen Center for Environmental Studies would like to thank our members and supporters for such a successful 2011. We invite you to enjoy a slideshow of our favorite images from throughout the year. Our work to build a community of knowledgeable, motivated and capable environmental stewards would not be possible without your generosity and support.

In other exciting news, the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES) and For The Forest (FTF) announced yesterday that FTF is joining and becoming part of ACES. Much time, thought and discussion has been devoted over the past few months to the conjoining of our organizations' missions, events, programs, and futures. Through this combination, we can have a larger impact on the environmental issues effecting us both locally and nationally, offer a greater scope of environmental education for children and adults in our valley, and use financial resources more efficiently.

All ACES programs will continue, as will our operations at our four sites. FTF's programs regarding forest health, management and restoration, symposia, and other field research will continue as ACES programs. To read more, please follow this link to our December 27th press release. ACES' board and staff are excited about the incredible opportunities that this decision brings to our veteran organization.

On behalf of the ACES' board and staff we wish you a happy New Year and hope to see you at our four remarkable sites in 2012!

Click the link below to start the slideshow
End of the Year Slide Show

ACES: New Staff and Coming Changes

Meet the New Staff at ACES

This fall, as the bears and the birds make their "coming of winter" preparations, the team at the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies has also made ready. We are ready, not for a coming of winter, but for a changing of the ACES 'seasons'. A transition that, we are sure, brings bright opportunity to a veteran organization.

Maybe you caught Executive Director Tom Cardamone's announcement of his changing roles in the Aspen Daily News, September 14th edition. In any case, after almost 36 years, ACES' founding employee, Tom Cardamone, will transition out of his role of Executive Director into the position of a Lead Ecologist. He sees this role as an opportunity to "remain fully engaged with ACES, handing off the day-to-day management in favor of developing the educational and stewardship potential of our four remarkable sites." As the search for a new Executive Director continues ACES finds itself in the capable hands of a cohesive, able team.

Over the past 36 years, with Tom at the reins, ACES created a "strong team." The staff at ACES has most noticeably undergone changes in the past couple of months, in anticipation of a new Executive Director coming on board. This team, with its recent additions, will continue to work hard, with utmost dedication, for the organization that has brought so much to our community. The new Executive Director (a search for him/her is underway) will find a committed group of support staff who are more prepared then ever to bring its mission to the next level. We are pleased to introduce to you the welcome additions to our seasoned ACES staff:

Christy Mahon, Development Director: A Colorado native, Christy says she was initially drawn to the Aspen area because of its easy access to the mountains and its beautiful environment. Eventually however, Christy says that "The notion of mind, body, and spirit really spoke to me and I fell in love with the valley." Christy joined us this past August because in her words, "The opportunity to combine your personal passion and a career is really a dream." In her spare time Christy loves to be outside. She has climbed and skied all of Colorado's 54 14ers with her husband Ted! Even with this incredible achievement under her belt she still feels that "there are still so many things I want to do and places in the valley I want to visit. The list of outdoor adventures seems to just get longer the more time you live here. It's great to live in a community that not only values and respects our environment, but also is motivated to protect it and make it better."

Katie Schwoerer, Business Manager: Hailing from the southeast, Katie embodies the typical Aspen transfer: "I came to Aspen for the ski season and (fill in the blank) years later, here I am!" ...Katie left the DC area ten years ago, and here she is. She married a local and is "still enjoying the natural beauty, recreational opportunities and calm of Colorado!" Katie joined the ACES team this past summer and she "is excited about the future of ACES and my role in it." When not at work you can find Katie hanging out with her dog or mountain biking with her husband, Anders.

Eliza Greenman, Marketing Coordinator: Eliza started at ACES as a Naturalist in the summer of 2009. This past spring she rejoined the staff as the Community Outreach and Development Associate. Her excitement for being a part of the ACES team is evident and she says "My heart feels a little lighter every morning that I walk down the ACES path and head to work, on a nature preserve, doing something that engages me." Eliza's love for the natural world stems from a close connection to her island hometown of Middletown, RI. Although she is a "beach kid" living in Colorado, she says "there is something so powerful and magical about living in the mountains. It is certainly a special place were you can open your door and walk to the chair lift or go adventuring in any number of protected, wild places in your backyard." In her spare time you can find Eliza hiking, biking around town, snowboarding or coaching lacrosse for the Aspen girls rec league.

And so as Autumn falls on Aspen, ACES find itself ready for what is to come. The ACES support staff is excited about the future of the organization, which has grown hand in hand with Aspen community for over four decades of change. Shakespeare would agree that our preparedness is not in vain: "All things are ready, if our minds be so."

ACES - Summer Events Update

THANK YOU for a great summer! We hope that you have been able to enjoy our classes and programs this summer - be it a class for your child or grandchild at Hallam Lake or Rock Bottom Ranch, a hike with one of our naturalists, or an in-depth adult Naturalist Field School class like Mushrooms and Lichens of Colorado... We enjoyed spending time and sharing our passion for the natural world with each and every one of you! We hope to see you again soon!

Click here for the Summer 2011 highlights slideshow! Enjoy!

We'd love to hear from you - did your kids say anything great, funny, or thoughtful about the ACES programs? Do you have any comments or suggestions about our summer classes? Please let us know by e-mailing your feedback to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Bike Board Results

THANK YOU dedicated bikers and walkers, and bus riders, too! We love our dedicated ACES and RBR kids and adults who have decided that it's worth riding their bikes to our programs whenever possible! Thank you also, to the City of Aspen for the TOP grant which helps us give away some cool prizes!

HALLAM LAKE
This summer we've had 65 participants on our bike board (and we think a few more who didn't put their names on it) who made around 300 trips to ACES at Hallam Lake! That means a lot less driving!

Each participant at Hallam Lake received a "bike card" on which they wrote their name and age and hung it on the Bike Board. Each time they rode to Hallam Lake they received a sticker and put it onto their "bike card." This year we had lots of WALKERS who put their stickers onto their "walk cards."

ULTIMATE WINNERS:
Walkers: James (6yrs) and Paul (8yrs) Fouts, 18 stickerseach
   Prize: $50 (each) ACES gift certificate towards any ACES classes in 2012
Bikers: Henry (10 yrs) and George (7yrs) Morrison, 10 stickerseach
   Prize: Camelback hydration backpack for each

CAR FREE FAMILIES

Based on the bike board cards and stickers it seems that there are a few families who probably never drove to ACES!! Congratulations! Please let us know if we oversaw somebody.

     Fouts Family - Paul (8 yrs, 18 stickers) and James (6 yrs, 18 stickers)
     Young Family - Bayard 8 yrs, 15 stickers) and Graham (5 yrs, 9 stickers)
     Morrison Family - Henry (10 yrs, 10 stickers) and George (7yrs, 10 stickers)
         Prize: Each family receives a $100 gift certificate to Ute Mountaineer!

HONORABLE MENTION:
CONGRATULATIONS Rebecca Weiss, ACES naturalist who rode her bike in early mornings (before 6am!!) to teach Morning Birding at ACES - yeah staff! Rebecca receives a $50 gift certificate to Ute Mountaineer.

2010-2011 Report of SnowCap Caucus Board

The Mission of the Snowmass Capitol Creek Caucus is to preserve the rural character of our unique valleys, to protect our ecosystems, and to foster communication and participation with in the community.

During the past 18 months the Caucus Board has actively pursued its mission.

Preserving the rural character

The Caucus Board has spearheaded an initiative with Pitkin County to revise the existing Land Use Code as it relates to agricultural buildings. The Board’s recommendations have received a favorable first reading by Pitkin County. Should the recommendations receive a favorable second reading the County’s land use code would be revised to permit an increase in barn height for function and esthetics; to exempt hay storage buildings from floor area measurements; to exempt animal shelters from floor area measurements; to exempt equipment storage buildings of up to 990 square feet from floor area measurements for properties of 20 to 160 acres; and to exempt barns from floor area measurements according to a sliding scale based on property acreage.
Further, a citizen Advisory Agricultural Review Committees would be formed to assist the Community Development Department of Pitkin County in the review of agricultural building permits to determine if the proposed building is designed to support an agricultural operation.
The Caucus Board is also working with the County on the formulation of new land use codes regarding the installation of Solar Thermal and Photo Voltaic Arrays. The Board encourages the use of solar arrays in our valley, but has made a number of recommendations to the County to ensure that the installations are neighbor friendly. These recommendations are expected to be adopted after the second reading of Pitkin County’s new solar land use code.
At the County’s request, the Caucus Board in the past year has recommendations on eight different land use issues. These issues were as diverse as lot line adjustments, a site plan review for a solar array, a construction management plan, a subdivision of a large ranch, several house plan reviews, and whether to locate medical marijuana growth facilities in the caucus area. The recommendations of the caucus are made in an advisory capacity with the final decision remaining with the County.
Read more: 2010-2011 Report of SnowCap Caucus Board

Habitat For Humanity ReStore

About Habitat for Humanity ReStore

The Habitat for Humanity ReStore is a resale store selling a variety of household items at 50-70% off the retail price. The money is used to help families right here in our community build homes.

Store Hours: We are open Monday through Saturday from 10am to 5pm.

We offer free pick up service for donations- 5 days a week. We have also just added delivery service for those large purchases that don't easily fit in your car.

Directions:
We are located right off of Hwy 82 in the Cattle Creek Center strip mall with CapCo Tile and Little Bear Antiques.

Call 963-8555 for more information.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
Have a great day,
Habitat ReStore Team

Monastery Mass Schedule

The liturgy schedule for St. Benedict's Monastery is as follows:

Sunday Mass is at 8:15 AM
From Monday thru Saturday mass is at 7:30 AM except on Thursdays when it is at 7 PM
Monday thru Saturday Vespers (Evening Prayer) is at 7 PM

For special liturgies on bigger feasts such as Christmas, etc, please dial our monastery phone number 927-3311 and press #8 when the welcoming message starts to be given the times for the special liturgies.

Cordially,
Fr. Joseph

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