Owner says Piney River Ranch still working on long-term lease deal even as closing day looms

There’s apparently still a flicker of hope, according to Piney River Ranch owner and partner Bob Shafer, who addressed the Vail Town Council during public comment on Tuesday. “We’d love to continue to maintain and operate Piney River Ranch like we’ve done for the past 16 years. Denver Water relinquished all of its water rights associated with Piney Lake as part of a 2007 legal settlement with Western Slope water interests. Shafer, whose Piney River Ranch LLC is at the end of 15-year lease with Denver Water (for which it pays $30,000 a year), said long-term continuity is critical moving forward. It’d be a great public property for somebody, for the county or somebody’s to get, but we’ll see.”