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Krabloonik kennel manager Ethan Marsh wants to reopen a dog sledding operation on the land that a settlement with the Town of Snowmass Village ordered Krabloonik to vacate by June 1.
The dog sledding operation and restaurant has been a Snowmass fixture since 1976. But after a long legal battle between Krabloonik and its landlord, the town, the two parties reached a settlement in July 2023 that allowed Krabloonik one last winter operating in Snowmass before being required to leave the property by June 1.
Krabloonik has long caught the ire of animal activists for mistreatment of the more than 150 Alaskan huskies that run the operation. It first entered into a legal battle with Snowmass for violating the best practices portion of the lease concerning the treatment of dogs. The town began an eviction process before reaching a settlement with Krabloonik.
After a final dog sledding season this winter, Krabloonik adopted out nearly all of its huskies to dog sanctuaries, other dog sled operations, and independent owners across the country. But Marsh wants to keep the operation alive, with a scaled-down operation that would better meet the needs of the town’s lease, he said.
“It feels wrong to push out all of these dogs that have known this place for so long as their home, the only home that they’ve had,” he said.
Marsh presented a proposal to Snowmass Town Manager Clint Kinney that prioritized the welfare of the dogs, he said. He proposed having no more than 75 dogs — but ideally 50 — to keep the operation manageable and less crowded. He also proposed keeping the dogs untethered.
At the start of Krabloonik’s final season, it had 150 sled dogs, which at times became unmanageable, Marsh said.
“Keeping a cap at 50 dogs would definitely help increase the quality of care for the dogs,” Marsh said. “It gets a lot more personal … it’s a little bit harder to build personal relationships with the dogs when there’s so many.”
Marsh also proposed establishing adoption and spay and neuter programs at the site to keep the dog population smaller.
“I think what went wrong with this place is they had too many dogs,” he said.
The town first formally discussed new land use plans for the Krabloonik land in November, as the dog sledding operation geared up for its final season. At the forefront of the conversation was the potential development of affordable housing units on the 2.44 acres of land owned by the town.
But any discussions to repurpose the land would need to include the Snowmass Divide Homeowners Association, which controls the land. The current planned unit development (PUD) for the land allows only for the operation of a restaurant, an open space, or a single-family home, and the town would need to go through the process of changing the PUD.
The town has been in discussions with the Divide HOA for months, and the HOA is “well aware of the land use requirements for the property,” Kinney said. Changing the land use would require a potentially arduous PUD amendment process.
The town has received a few proposals for the Krabloonik land, including a brew pub and dog park, and Marsh’s dog sledding operation proposal, Kinney said. But the town is focusing on making sure Krabloonik vacates the property by June 1 before it decides to move forward with plans for the land.
The timeline of opening a new dog sledding operation is unclear, and it would require approval by the Snowmass Town Council. Two current Krabloonik employees have indicated they would be on board to help start a new operation, Marsh said.
Some of the dogs adopted out of Krabloonik could be returned to Marsh at the end of the summer, he said. About 20 dogs that were brought to Alaska to join other dog sledding operations could be brought back to Snowmass if the plan is approved. He also has friends with large plots of land who are fostering several Krabloonik huskies, which could be brought back to the operation, Marsh said.
Kinney said the town does not have a timeline to address the space after June 1. Any changes to the land would require Town Council approval because the town owns the property.
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