Save Our Saint Vrain Valley, Inc.

Background Statement

Save Our St. Vrain Valley (SOSVV) has spent seven relentless years fighting to preserve the beauty, health, and integrity of Boulder County’s lands against industrial mining giants. Our grassroots organization has taken on powerful corporations, including Martin Marietta and Cemex, through legal battles, community organizing, and advocacy—earning landmark victories along the way.

In 2021, SOSVV prevailed at the Colorado Court of Appeals, setting a historic precedent for upholding the expiration of special uses, more intensive by nature, based on the Five Year Lapse provision in the Land Use Code–by successfully challenging Martin Marietta's attempt to activate a 1998 Special Use Permit to gravel mine over 800 acres. Alongside this, we fought off Cemex’s bid to extend its mining operations at Dowe Flats for 25 years and stopped a proposed 15-year mining expansion in 2022. These wins protect open space, public health, and wildlife, but they did not come easily.

Now, the fight continues. Martin Marietta has appealed to reinstate their 1998 permit and Colorado Court of Appeal ruling is pending. If successful, it could rezone hundreds of acres into an industrial mining site, paving the way for Cemex—Boulder County’s top CO2 polluter and one of Colorado’s largest emitters—to operate its outdated cement plant indefinitely. This would undo years of hard-fought progress.

SOSVV advocates for the closure of Cemex's vintage plant, Lyons, built in the 1960’s by Martin Marietta, since our advocacy ensured that Cemex's Dowe Flats special mining use expiration was upheld–and new permit application denied in 2022 through epic grassroots campaigns and litigation when necessary.

Please help us cross the finish line and close Cemex Lyons plant!

Your support is critical to ensure we can continue this fight. SOSVV depends on your contributions to fund ongoing litigation, advocate for sustainable land use, and protect hundreds of acres of open space for residents, visitors, and future generations.

Help us defend Northern Boulder County from becoming an industrial wasteland. Your Colorado Gives Day donation and recurring contribution make a lasting impact conserving and protecting the environment. Together, we have protected the St. Vrain Valley– our track record of environmental advocacy includes defeating mining permits from Martin Marietta's SU 96-18; Aggregate Industries' SU-94-0022, SU-94-0023 & SU-94-0024 'Fredstrom mine'; and Cemex’s Dowe Flats mine SU-93-14 and SU-22-0003–

Together, we’ve set legal precedent for upholding the expiration of special uses and conserved thousands of acres of public land from heavy industrial uses, protecting the environment, wildlife and public health. Colorado Gives Day is when we come together to power the work ahead.