Zone 1 Pass Required for Town Park?

[AnythingAtAll]

I truly hope this is not the case.  If anyone contacts PB and this is the case, this is a logistical disaster in the making.  Immediately before the festival, most all sites are occupied by Festivarians anyway. 

The email does reference 8am for Zone1, then 2pm later in the day for the rest of the campground.  If they leave ABGATers in place, this could stagger load-in and not be so bad.  If they do this, my only constructive suggestion would be to be flexible on rest of campground (2pm) load-in time IF ALL NON-FESTIVAL CAMPERS have checked out.  It would be nice if the campground and PB could work some flexibility, so a bunch of people aren't waiting around because of nothing (or lawyers) to get set up and settled.

[MeetMeAtTheCreek]

One thing we need Planet Bluegrass to clarify is whether folks with a campsite in the regular campground and primitive area for Friday night, June 10, will have to move out on the morning of Saturday June 11 and get back in line for the 2pm land rush.  The email simply notes "More info to come" so perhaps this question will get answered before next Thursday.

If that's the case then it's going to be pretty busy on Saturday and some of the established camps that are usually all set up the week before Bear Creek land rush have some planning to do as well.

Beuller?  Anyone?

The email says the checkout time for "non-festival campers" which makes me think festival campers can stay... But then right under it it says there's a new lottery system to make things fair... Which makes me think they can't stay? But then it also says if you have questions then we can ask, so I guess maybe one of us should ask LOL! Basically it's as clear as mud 

[ToddG]

I've put a lot of thought into this change in TP landrush, and I feel none of it makes any sense.

I agree wholeheartedly that plant life needs protection. And that regenerative concepts work, and even though it's not convenient, I think protecting areas from the devastating effects of camping is important.

However, that can be simply accomplished by roping/flagging the areas where camping will not be allowed. No need to put a numbered amount of how many ticketed persons can camp in these areas, and no need to sell, lottery, or create coveted passes for these camping areas. The amount of space available dictates exactly how many tents/campers can fit in any area. What if all 400 Zone 1 folks also have 2 kids under 12? Coming up with a numbered amount doesn't work. The large camps that typically choose to be in these areas, easily could work the space out on their own, and manage without any issues.

Having these "extra" ticket s to deal with will not only be a further hassle for Planet Bluegrass, and volunteers, but also a major hassle and worry for festivarians, who already are in the packing and planning phases of TBF.

Changing the over-all TP vehicle and primitive area to 2pm also is a mistake. As all the campers in Town Park that Friday night June 10th will be Bluegrass Festivarians who, may have been there for several days/weeks. There's no point waiting till 2pm, as these spots will all be taken by Festival ticket holders.

Having another lottery at the point of entry for spots seems pointless. There's never been a need for it in the past. Everyone gets along well. And the process though simple and primitive, works. No need to change horses midstream!

So I think it should be left exactly how the 8am Saturday landrush has always been, the only changes would be the roped areas with no camping!

 Listening to: bird loose in the house.

[alexbarbosa42]

To keep in mind... Bear Creek Preserve has been closed for over 2 years now for the reveg. w/ minimal camping (was even completely closed during TBF '21, both wks)

Via publicly available documents thru town's site, you can see PB's application to town to request camping in BCP this year. This is from a meeting back in January '22. Every major and minor festival w/ camping has to submit an application for town re: camping in BCP.

"There are few events that can claim they have been in existence as long as the Telluride Bluegrass
Festival. As the 49th Annual festival looms, the number of stakeholders that make such a feat possible
comes to the forefront. The festival, which remains a fixture in the Town of Telluride could not have
found such success without widespread support from our host community. The Telluride Bluegrass experience is like none other, in part because of the unique venue we have the privilege of calling the festival’s home. For many of our lucky patrons, camping in Town Park is what
makes everything so special. From themed nights at one of the historical campsites to late night jam
circles with friends new and old, camping in Town Park can prove to be a journey in and of itself.
Our Town Park camping family is acutely aware of the utopic paradise they get to share, and we know
they want to work with us to take care of it for the next 50 years of Festivarians to enjoy. The Zone 1
preserve is a cornerstone of the Town Park Camping experience and our team, as well as our patrons,
are motivated to find a sustainable solution to festival camping in this area that doesn’t involve
restricted access or a separate ticket. We see a clear path to this, through a mix of rotating
revegetation closures, fostering a culture of Festivarian Stewardship, and the creation of a fund
dedicated to repairs necessitated by use of the space.

The following document details the requested use period for the 2022 Telluride Bluegrass Festival and
discusses the implementation of the aforementioned management strategies for sustainable use of the
Zone 1 preserve. Planet Bluegrass is guided by our definition of Sustainable Festivation, with the goal to create an
environmentally conscious, socially responsible community centered around a love of music,
unwavering respect for the planet, an appreciation of the human experience, and thoughtful
consideration of our intertwined futures. We strive to be partners with the Telluride Open Space
Commission in the care and protection of this treasured land for years to come.
Thank you for your consideration.

Telluride Bluegrass Festival, PBC d/b/a Planet Bluegrass


Historical Use
The Telluride Bluegrass Festival has historically treated areas within the Town Park Campground
proper, Primitive, and Zone 1 as a single camping area, referred to as Town Park Camping. Tickets to
Town Park Camping require the purchase of a 4-day festival pass, and are sold as a bundled package.
We do not sell camping in “sites”, but instead we sell camping passes per person. We traditionally sell
1,200 Town Park Camping passes which allow patrons to set up camp anywhere within Town Park
Campground proper, the primitive area, or the Zone 1 preserve.

Due to our treatment of the Town Park Campground, Primitive, and Zone 1 as a single camping area,
we do not have a clear picture of how many Festivarians are camped in each individual area on any
given year. We have found, however, that selling 1,200 camping tickets to the space as a whole seems
to be the perfect number. This number allows for the high energy, community fostering experience of
having tents packed close to each other that our Festivarians know and love, without it being too
crowded for everyone to find space. Attendees naturally spread out throughout the camping areas,
and most have been camping in Town Park for years and years in the same exact spot.

Proposed Use for 2022
Proposed Use Dates:
• Campground Setup (Run Boundary Tape, Hang Signs): Wednesday, June 8th, 2022
• Campground Waste Management Services & Fencing Placed: Friday, June 10th, 2022
• Campground Opens: Saturday, June 11th, 2022 at 8am
• Campground Closes: Monday, June 20th, 2022 at Noon
• All Festival Infrastructure Removed by 8pm on Monday, June 20th, 2022

Setting up the campground early helps our Operations Team stay on schedule, as things get busy closer
to the weekend. Furthermore, it allows us to walk through the park after setup with Town staff and
gives patrons the opportunity to see closed off areas and read signs prior to the rush to claim their
campsite.

By opening camping on the Saturday before the Festival, we are able to spread out the arrival of
campers through the days leading up to it. This serves to reduce crowding and impacts on Town Park
and its daily users.


Proposed Capacity & Management
Total capacity for combined Town Park Campground, Primitive, and Zone1: 1,150 People
We are requesting approval for fifty fewer campers than in the past to allow for some of our impact
mitigation strategies discussed below in this document. We are seeking to continue to maintain all
three areas as one big campground with no special ticket requirements between them.

Impact Mitigation Strategies
Our team would like to employ the following impact mitigation strategies in order to maintain our
requested capacity and not manage Zone 1 as a separate space. We believe that proper
implementation of these strategies will lead to more sustainable use of the land in the long term than
an arbitrary reduction in capacity for a specific area. These strategies allow us to continue to sell our
tickets like normal and not introduce disruptive changes that may degrade the Town Park camping
experience.

#1 – Rotating Revegetation Closures
Before setup of the campground begins, Telluride Bluegrass Festival Staff will meet with Open Space
Staff in Zone 1 to identify key areas to protect for revegetation. These areas will be marked off using
green boundary tape that our patrons are trained to look for. Festival staff will watch these areas
throughout the event to make sure they remain untouched.
While we recognize that the size of these revegetation areas might vary based on actual needs each
year, our hope would be to limit the closed spaces to less than 5,000sqft total.
This strategy allows us to target specific areas that need protection instead of hoping they remain
untouched under normal operations.

#2 – Camper Education and Buy In
Our patrons know their ability to camp in Zone 1 is precious and can be our greatest partners in
protecting this space. Once tickets go on sale, we will begin an aggressive education campaign with our
ticket holders, rallying them together to take care of the property so that we can continue to use it.
Our staff will also share this message to campers on-site and can distribute written copies of this
information as well.
We would love input from the Open Space commission on the content of this education campaign,
especially related to key problems that have been experienced in the past and important preservation
goals. We plan to share Leave No Trace Principles and reminders about being a responsible Festivarian.

# 3 – Open Space Reclamation Fund
We will add a $2.50 fee to every camping ticket for Town Park and direct 100% of these monies to a
fund for the Open Space Commission to use at their discretion to reclaim or repair the Zone 1 property
from any festival related impacts. These funds will be given to the Open Space Commission by March
1 st each year so they can be used for pre-event impact prevention measures or post event reclamation.
If approved for our requested capacity, we anticipate adding $2,875 to this fund every year.

Conclusion
We feel that the best way to manage Festival use of the Zone 1 property is through targeted action and
stakeholder buy-in. Attempting to separate Zone 1 from the rest of Town Park and manage it as its
own campground with a reduced capacity places unnecessary restrictions on attendance and overall
Town Park Camping experience. Instead, by identifying key revegetation areas each year and blocking
them off, we can make sure the important areas are taken care of and measure our success. We can
also rally our campers to take extra good care of the preserve through a concerted messaging
campaign focused on Leave No Trace principles and key concerns. Finally, if all else fails, the Open
Space Commission will have money set aside each year to repair any impacts or increase sustainability
of the site.

Our team would like to commit to pre and post event walkthroughs with Open Space staff to gauge
success of these strategies and identify key areas of focus for the future. Our coalition of campers and
staff can be an excellent partner for the protection of Zone 1 for years of Telluride Bluegrass to come.
If there are concerns about this area that are not adequately addressed in this document, please let us
know and we can collaborate on a solution. We appreciate the years of use of this space and seek
nothing more than a sustainable plan for the future that is beneficial to all stakeholders. "

[erndog]

I've put a lot of thought into this change in TP landrush, and I feel none of it makes any sense.

I agree wholeheartedly that plant life needs protection. And that regenerative concepts work, and even though it's not convenient, I think protecting areas from the devastating effects of camping is important.

Having these "extra" ticket s to deal with will not only be a further hassle for Planet Bluegrass, and volunteers, but also a major hassle and worry for festivarians, who already are in the packing and planning phases of TBF.

So I think it should be left exactly how the 8am Saturday landrush has always been, the only changes would be the roped areas with no camping!

I don't think the Planet has much choice in how to handle the "Zone 1" area for camping as it's the Town of Telluride driving that decision. 

What I don't understand is that this area hasn't been used for camping for the last 2 1/2 years - last being the Brews & Blues fest in Sept. 2019.

If it hasn't 'revegetated' in the last 2 1/2 years, doubt it's gonna 'revegetate' much more in the next 12 months . . .

[AnythingAtAll]

I don't think the Planet has much choice in how to handle the "Zone 1" area for camping as it's the Town of Telluride driving that decision. 

Yeah, there are plenty of great common-sense points to be made.  Alex's post above pretty much shows PB "gets it" regarding Zone 1.  Unfortunately, this decision has the distinct fragrance of a rule by a committee.   

The great thing is I think the community will play whatever hand we're dealt with grace, understanding and accommodation for each other.

[FaceOnMars]

Simply to provide what might be a larger context:  the first 1/4 mile of Bear Creek (starting from the waterfall in TP moving upstream ... "as the water flows") has been getting overrun by people over the past 2-4 years.  I haven't been paying close attention to the official discussions and proceedings related to mitigation measures, but I have noticed efforts over the past year or so in order to block "bandit trails" (leading into BC over this first 1/4 mile corridor) that have been getting hammered by the masses.

I think a big part of the problem regarding the big influx of people emerged from "little HI" getting geotagged ... and going viral on the internet.

So, if I had to make an educated guess, I suspect the mouth of the creek (starting at the area immediately nearby the waterfall in TP) was included within this larger rehabilitation / reveg effort.

[BluegrassNat]

Hey Friends,

Thanks for all of the great conversation here! It seems that the hint at updated load-in procedures for the Town Park Campground may have generated more questions than answers, so we wanted to clarify a few things:

1) The checkout time for anyone who has paid the Town to camp on Friday (6/10) night is moving from 11am to 2pm. This means that we can't load in Town Park Proper until after 2pm.

2) If you have reserved a site from the Town on Friday night, you can remain in the site through Bluegrass takeover and will not have to participate in the load in.  However - you will need to remain inside your site's reasonable boundary, and you won't be able to move to new space without participating in the load in process.

3) We are still finalizing our load in process, but it will likely involve randomization. The goal will be to make it easier on everyone to spend Friday night in Montrose, Ridgeway, Ouray, etc, where camping is more plentiful, without needing to be in Telluride super early to secure a spot in line. More details to come!

 Listening to: River's Rising - Leftover Salmon

[erndog]

Much needed clarification - thank you !

[jessk]

Can someone clarify for me.  If my boyfriend gets a zone 1 ticket and I don’t but we share a tent, are we still allowed to camp in zone 1? 

Thanks
 

[MeetMeAtTheCreek]

Can someone clarify for me.  If my boyfriend gets a zone 1 ticket and I don’t but we share a tent, are we still allowed to camp in zone 1? 

Thanks
 

Do you have a town park pass too?

[MeetMeAtTheCreek]

Hey Friends,

Thanks for all of the great conversation here! It seems that the hint at updated load-in procedures for the Town Park Campground may have generated more questions than answers, so we wanted to clarify a few things:

1) The checkout time for anyone who has paid the Town to camp on Friday (6/10) night is moving from 11am to 2pm. This means that we can't load in Town Park Proper until after 2pm.

2) If you have reserved a site from the Town on Friday night, you can remain in the site through Bluegrass takeover and will not have to participate in the load in.  However - you will need to remain inside your site's reasonable boundary, and you won't be able to move to new space without participating in the load in process.

3) We are still finalizing our load in process, but it will likely involve randomization. The goal will be to make it easier on everyone to spend Friday night in Montrose, Ridgeway, Ouray, etc, where camping is more plentiful, without needing to be in Telluride super early to secure a spot in line. More details to come!

thank you so much for the information! Can't wait for bluegrass

[Bevin]

ABGAT'ers! Start your engines!

[erndog]

Can someone clarify for me.  If my boyfriend gets a zone 1 ticket and I don’t but we share a tent, are we still allowed to camp in zone 1? 

Thanks
 

Hi JessK -
If am not mistaken - the Bear Creek/Zone 1 area is limited to 400 people, not 400 tents
So, ~technically~ you'd need a add-on wrist band, but if you ~happened~ to fall down and fall asleep by accident at what is your boyfriend's tent, you'd be operating in somewhat of a grey area perhaps . . . but if you both have Town Park tickets, you both have access to the ~free~ Zone 1 passes being offered tomorrow at 10:00 mdt through See Tickets - check your e-mail from the Planet

[jessk]

Can someone clarify for me.  If my boyfriend gets a zone 1 ticket and I don’t but we share a tent, are we still allowed to camp in zone 1? 

Thanks
 

Do you have a town park pass too?

Yes we both have town park tickets.