Mountain Towns 2030 recently hosted a webinar to address climate change in the West, current conditions and what that means for ski economies. The webinar included meteorologists speaking on climate change and its economic impacts.
A Jan. 19 press release said leading climate scientists “warned that this ‘missing winter’ is not an anomaly but a preview of a new climate reality.”
The release stated that economic disruptions were seen in Park City, Utah, where ski-dependent businesses such as gear rentals saw noticeable declines in business.
Chaffee County Commissioner P.T. Wood said that although Chaffee County hadn’t seen its December tax receipts as of Jan. 19, and he therefore could not speak exactly on the economic impact to the county, he would agree that anecdotally downtown Salida hasn’t been as busy for as many daylight hours as seen historically.
“Although, I will say, looking on the north side of the river, trail use has been very busy. So, I don’t know exactly where that balances out,” Wood said. “What I will say for us is we have a lot of other things to lean on. So, unlike most of the traditional mountain ski towns where if there isn’t skiing that’s kind of it, we have (other outdoor recreation). River fishing is great right now, the trails are in really good shape, people can come hang out downtown because the weather is beautiful. We have those other pillars to lean into, and I don’t know how it’s working out yet, but I think that’s important to talk about.”
Tom Waters, Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Areas parks manager said the area also offers snowshoeing, bird-watching, hiking, snowmobiling, fat-tire biking and ice fishing, but he stressed that it’s important to always check ice conditions prior to stepping onto the ice.
He said fly fishing this year is excellent, and there’s been an average number of winter kayakers this season enjoying the river.
“I don’t know if we’ve had more or less recreators visiting the area,” Waters said, “… the city seems busier.”
“Based on how the season is developing, any recreation visitors should consider calling us, the chamber or any outfitter for an update on conditions to best plan their trip. Our number is 719-539-7289,” Waters said.