{"id":27511,"date":"2019-06-10T16:06:57","date_gmt":"2019-06-10T16:06:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vailvalleypartnership.com\/?p=27511"},"modified":"2019-06-29T22:55:44","modified_gmt":"2019-06-29T22:55:44","slug":"27511","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vailvalleypartnership.com\/2019\/06\/27511\/","title":{"rendered":"Save the East Vail sheep \u00a9"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The best way to “save the East Vail sheep”\u00a0\u00a9<\/strong> is to mitigate and develop the East Vail workforce housing subdivision<\/h3>\n

Fast facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  • Bighorn sheep winter range is 1,800 acres.<\/li>\n
  • Development will occur on 0.2% of sheep range.<\/li>\n
  • Managing bighorn habitat<\/a> to restore, enhance, or maintain vegetative openness is key to survival (and this plan provides for appropriate mitigation). The development proposes to permanently set aside and enhance 18 acres of private property for wildlife.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Neighbors have opposed<\/a> bighorn sheep habitat enhancement efforts dating back 20+ years<\/li>\n
  • The East Vail parcel is private property designated as a housing zone district and is the only<\/u> undeveloped Housing parcel in the Town of Vail<\/span>.<\/li>\n
  • No variances to town code are proposed.<\/li>\n
  • 2018 housing needs assessment<\/a> shows need for 4,000 units.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    The East Vail workforce housing parcel supports important wildlife habitat and is closely surrounded by habitats and wildlife uses that are unique in the Gore Creek Valley. Development and human habitation of this site without designing it around the wildlife community, without safeguards, and without habitat enhancement would result in impacts that would be unacceptable to the local community.<\/p>\n

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    The East Vail Workforce Housing project has enlightened the Vail community about the bighorn sheep herd and has become a catalyst prompting the Town of Vail and resource agencies (the US Forest Service and Colorado Parks & Wildlife) to again consider broad scale habitat enhancement, the real key to maintaining this herd. Most of the habitat within the 1,800-acre sheep winter range polygon is in need of some type of enhancement to restore and reinvigorate the mountain shrub community that is normally maintained by periodic wildfires.<\/p>\n

    “Save the East Vail sheep” is a copyright of Vail Valley Partnership<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    O\u2019Connor: East Vail development a positive for housing \u2014 and wildlife<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n