On May 10, the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released the highly anticipated, final environmental assessment for the Ridgway Travel Management Plan. By releasing the assessment, the way is finally clear for the Ridgway Area Trails group (RAT) to begin construction on an inter-connected system of single track mountain biking trails northeast of Ridgway. The assessment was released just in time for RAT to take advantage of the incoming trail building labor force that will be in the area for the June 7-8 RAT Fest.

Ouray Police Chief Leo Rasmusson. Ouray County Plaindealer file photo.

By Sheridan Block
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Ouray’s Police Chief Leo Rasmusson II and officer Tony Schmidt resigned from their positions on Tuesday.

Chief Rasmusson resigned on Tuesday while Officer Schmidt gave his notice on Monday to be effective next Wednesday, according to city administrator Patrick Rondinelli.

Their resignation follows a recent assessment of the department and a schedule change which police officers were not pleased with; however, the reason for either’s leave is not known. Neither Rasmusson nor Schmidt could be reached for comment before print.

By Sheridan Block
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It was clear skies with the occasional mud shower at this year’s Ouray County Mud Fest.
Organized by the Ouray Chamber Resort Association and the Ridgway Area Chamber of Commerce, the second annual event brought in about 2,500 visitors from all over the Western Slope, a good leap from the 1,400 that attended last year.
What started as a one-day “shoulder event” to draw in guests during the county’s usually slow season expanded into an entire weekend in an effort to have guests stay longer. According to OCRA president and Mud Fest committee chair Tamara Gulde, the event was such a success because attendees did just that.