Our Vision #25: Pika Research

Research being done in the Great Basin of California and Nevada indicates that mine tailings are an ideal environment for pikas, sustaining these small creatures when other habitats at similar altitudes and climates cannot.  The opportunity to study this phenomenon in a controlled environment could be a valuable function for the piles of waste rock at the Ute Ulay and an opportunity to better understand an indicator species.  

The World's Largest Pika

Our Vision #21: Old Mill Ruins / Gathering Space

The site of the original mill (no longer present) could become an outdoor gathering space, with the foundation creating natural walls around the concrete platform.  A screen could be hung from the hydropower structure, facilitating films, talks, and other events.  

I think they're watching 'Lucky Texan'

Our Vision #20: Tailings Pile

The largest mine tailings pile at the Ute-Ulay mill site has been estimated at 4,000 cubic yards in volume. Nearly a century ago, the pile was considerably larger. The pile may contain metals and other poisons that are lifting into the air, creating dust, and entering storm-water runoff. Sealing the tailings is the only practical way to reduce leaching and the threat of respiratory illness in visitors. We suggest using a powerful polymer emulsion that will retain the form of the pile. The sealant will bond the surface dust and aggregate together and "cement" it to the base to create a hard, dust-free, water-resistant, and resilient surface. This remediation technique will essentially freeze the tailings pile in time, establishing a memorial-like feature, a tribute to the work that took place at the site.

A monument to hard work

Our Vision #18: Audio Tours

Visitors to the Ute Ulay site may have the choice of various audio tours featuring the voices and knowledge of local residents. 

Julia enjoying an audio tour

For example, one could choose to take the poetry audio tour and listen to regional poets reading work evocative of the landscape or mining.  Someone else might choose the ghost tour, and listen to the voice of local miner George Hurd or historian Grant Houston telling stories about the mine and Lake City.  Yet another visitor might choose to listen to the voice of Matt Ingram describe what it was like to work at the mill.

Our Vision #9: Hostel & Cabins [1/2]

This is the first element within STAGE II

miner’s boardinghouse

 The miner’s boardinghouse and the two cabins will be a revenue-generating hostel, reflecting the buildings’ original use.  Structures will undergo a deep energy retrofit to preserve historic character while becoming energy efficient.  Thoughtful interior decoration could interpret the site’s history. 

Winterization will be self-contained in the boardinghouse, with cabins for summer use.  The main structure will include private and group bedrooms, hot showers, plumbing, gathering space, and a communal kitchen.  Other amenities could include interpretive resources, educational programming, and a small-scale farming endeavor with chickens or alpacas.  A live-in site caretaker, potentially a VISTA volunteer or artist-in-residence, could handle online reservations, light housekeeping, and greeting duties. 

Marketing would target ice climbers, backpackers, corporate retreats, family reunions, and student groups.  A price spectrum could be implemented to include a special rate for locals and work-trades for low-income visitors; one or both cabins may be renovated into more private, rustic luxury accommodations. 

Creative interior and exterior wallpapering, drawing on the structure’s original wallpaper and Victorian patterns, could emphasize the hidden history of domesticity within the mining landscape.  

hostel or cabin interior

Our Vision #5: Early Art Integration [1/4]

Roof Tarps

Many of the buildings on the town site and mill site are currently degrading due to inadequate roofing, and the community has considered installing tarps as a short-term solution. This presents an opportunity to embellish the site with creative tarps in lieu of plain blue ones.

Protective vinyl tarps could be printed with images or information related to future creative enhancements of the site. For example, one tarp may showcase how the water storage tank may be transformed into a camera obscura. Alternatively, tarps could display historical imagery of miners who once worked at the Ute Ulay. This imagery could be provided by the historical society or created by an arts group or class. After the tarps are used, they can be transformed into tote bags as a fundraiser.

protective and decorative tarps