Attention OURAY COUNTY TAXPAYERS

All unpaid REAL, MOBILE HOME and PERSONAL PROPERTY taxes for the tax year 2021 are now DELINQUENT and notice of such delinquency will be mailed to each taxpayer the week of JUNE 16, 2022

The Delinquent MOBILE HOME and PERSONAL PROPERTY tax list will be PUBLISHED in the Ouray County Plaindealer on September 8, 2022

The Delinquent REAL, MOBILE AND MINING Property Tax list will be PUBLISHED in the Ouray County Plaindealer on October 6, 13 and 20, 2022

To avoid additional publication and penalties, taxpayers should remit Certified Funds before September 29, 2022 to OURAY COUNTY TREASURER PO Box 149, Ouray, CO 81427

NO personal checks will be accepted for ANY tax payments after September 22, 2022 Certified Funds ONLY!

The Published Delinquent list will be available on our website at: www.ouraycountyco.gov

TAX LIEN SALE WILL BE HELD AS AN INTERNET AUCTION THURSDAY OCTOBER 27, 2022 3:00 PM THRU WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 2, 2022 4:00 PM

(NO tax payments will be accepted after October 26, 2022 or during the tax lien

sale auction)

Jill Mihelich, Ouray County Treasurer

Visit Treasurer/Public Trustee Office Website

Vegetation Management Weed of the Month

-Meadow Knapweed-

How to Identify: 

· Single purple flowers with brown “papery” bracts under the flower head.

Seeds about the size of a nickel.

· Basal leaves are blue green and linear at beginning of season and grow more

oval shaped as plant grows

· Leaves opposite

· Is a perennial (grows back year after year)

· Peak bud production May through September

· Seeds viable about 10 years, reproduces through seed

· Seeds are spread through wind, animals, rivers and contaminated hay

· Mature plants develop a cluster of roots below the crown

Ouray County Vegetation Management urges all county residents to manage any Meadow Knapweed infestations, with elimination in mind. Weed control is a community effort! Please do your part.

In the environment Meadow Knapweed causes these effects.

· Grows vigorously once established, requires extensive control efforts

· Reduces forage and wildlife habitat

· Out-competes native vegetation

· Competes with grasses, and is highly invasive

· Leads to declines in native plants, and declines in native animals

· Produces toxins in its roots which inhibits the growth of other desirable plants

Meadow Knapweed is found in Ouray County! Location near Cow Creek. Please help eradicate this species, and report sightings to the Ouray County Vegetation Manger.

See the Ouray County Vegetation Management website for an identification tool, to help you identify all weeds of concern in the county.

To reach our Vegetation Management Office, please call

970-626-9775

Updates to Wildfire Mitigation Regulations

The Board of County Commissioners recently adopted revised regulations pertaining to Section 16 - Wildfire Mitigation Regulations! These new regulations went into effect on May 1, 2022.  

The original wildfire Code section was adopted in 1997.  On January 28, 2020, the Ouray County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) adopted significant revisions to the County’s Wildfire Mitigation Regulations, which become effective May 1, 2020. Those regulations were then subsequently revised again by the BOCC and those changes were effective on May 1 , 2022. These regulations were developed in cooperation between Ouray County (Planning Commission, and Land Use Staff, BOCC), local fire departments / fire districts, the Colorado State Forest Service, and the West Region Wildfire Council (WRWC). 

The revised regulations were developed using current wildfire science and takes into consideration recent scientific studies on wildfire and the "Wildland Urban Interface" or "WUI." Wildland Urban Interface is commonly defined as "a zone of transition between wildland or unoccupied land and human development."

Ouray County’s revised Wildfire Mitigation Regulations will likely have an effect on most future building projects and will also require additional information to be submitted with the building permit application, including, including, but not limited to:

• Description of Roofing Material - Must be "Class-A", ignition resistant
• Description of all siding materials - Defensible space required if combustible 
• Details on flashing and skirting/materials
• Identification of proper vent / gable screens - 1/8" or smaller required!
• Spark Arrestor - Required and must be clearly called out on plan detail
• 5-Foot Hardened Zone - Required and must be clearly delineated on site plan
• Doors - Must be ignition-resistant and called out on plan detail
• Driveway Design - plans clearly show: driving surface width, interior radii, driveway opening, grade (not to exceed 12%), site distance, etc. 
• Gutters - description of materials if proposed, no vinyl 
• Defensible Space - Required if combustible siding is being proposed
• New: If Defensible Space is necessary, you will be required to sign an "Affidavit of Compliance with Ouray County Wildfire Mitigation Regulations" and submit a refundable deposit totaling 1% of the estimated project valuation. If the defensible space plan is executed within 1 year from the date of the issuance of your Certificate of Occupancy, your deposit will be refunded.
• Decking and Fence Material - May require non-combustible composite materials
• Eaves, Overhangs, Structure Projections - May require ignition-resistant materials 
• Windows - Glazing, tempering, low-e, metal framed may be required

To learn more, please visit the Land Use & Planning Department webpage. 

Saving the Idarado Houses

Have you ever wondered about the white colored houses on the tight-S curve at milepost 82 on U.S. 550/Red Mountain Pass?

They are known as the Idarado Houses, and they were originally built before 1920 for miners and their families in the now-abandoned ghost town of Eureka, Colorado, northeast of present day Silverton. In 1948, ten of the forty houses were hauled one at a time over a dirt-road on Red Mountain Pass to the Treasury Tunnel complex of the Idarado Mining Company, where they were utilized for offices, an infirmary and miners housing until the Idarado shut down mining operations in 1978. Of those ten, only four remain today. 

On behalf of Ouray County, and in partnership with the Ouray County Historical Society, TLR is currently undertaking a two-year program of stabilization, restoration and preservation activities designed to assure that the Houses will continue to be a focus of historic interest and a major part of the US 550/Million Dollar Highway/SanJuan Skyway- Scenic and Historic Byway for generations to come. 

Watch the Trust for Land Restoration Project Video

Ouray County is Hiring!

We offer competitive salaries, full health benefits, retirement, paid time off and a 4 day work-week. Check out our current job postings and let your friends and family know!