Buena Vista Real Estate » Colorado

Environmental issues in Colorado

Mal Sillars — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 22:26:34 +0000

The time has come for me to dig in. A few years ago, I wrote the text for the Water Class that is part of the GRI program for Realtors in Colorado. Water is a huge concern…and business…in Colorado. My colleague, Kirk Goble, developed an impressive Power Point presentation to go with the book and the two of us thought that we had developed a really top notch class. Of course we would…and I think student response would support that. The GRI program has been reorganized a bit, but the Water Class is still a requirement for the Colorado GRI.

The revised GRI program has now added an Environmental Class to the Colorado Requirements and again Kirk and I have weighed in on this. My situation now is that the text and Power Point have not yet been released and I teach that class in three weeks. Now I have a pretty good idea what I am going to cover…but as the days drift by…I’m thinking “gee, I’d like to see that final product soon.” After all, one can not be too prepared!

Spring snow

Mal Sillars — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:16:17 +0000

The big spring snowstorm is cranking up and Colorado is going to get dumped on. Buena Vista…somewhat protected on all sides…may get a foot, but the higher mountains are looking for a good three feet.. In Colorado, these March and April storms can bring major amounts of water and Coloradans expect and love these storms. When this was mentioned to a relative back east, the response was why would you love a dump of snow after spring has gotten underway?

The reason is that Colorado depends on the mountain snow pack for its water. At our elevation everything flows away from us, not toward us. Without a big snow pack, we run low on water by summer and when severe, irrigation of crops can be stopped at great loss to growers! Another aspect of Colorado’s problem is that since out rivers run into other states, those states also rely on our water and by agreement we must deliver it…and we get what is left and often that is not enough.
So even though some of the ski areas have closed and spring here…snow delivery is always welcome!

Springtime in the Rockies

Mal Sillars — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:51:40 +0000

I was in the weather business for 30 years. I love keeping track of the weather. Here in Colorado, water is always an issue since our water comes from the winter snow pack.

The has been a dry winter and we are behind in mountain snow all across the state. But now it is Spring and today Colorado is getting hammered with a major snow storm and everyone seems to be excited. The mountains will end up with a couple of feet of new snow and the valleys with perhaps a foot. March and April are the months when we do this and we all hope for it. And in a couple of days, snow at lower elevations will melt, the sky will be blue, the high peaks bright white and today a memory. I can not think of a better place to live.