A proposal from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) could significantly expand where electric mountain bikes are allowed on public trails across the central Colorado River Valley — and the idea is drawing strong reactions from local trail users. At a public meeting in Eagle on March 11, staff from the BLM’s Colorado River Valley […]
March 2026
Posted inEnvironment
Public lands and greenhouse gas regulations threatened by D.C.
Only three months into 2026, the nomination of a new Bureau of Land Management (BLM) director and the repeal of the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2009 Endangerment Finding, which regulates greenhouse gas emissions, pose new threats to Western Slope public lands, as well as public health. On Wednesday, March 4, former New Mexico Congressman Steve Pearce […]
Posted inEnvironment
One year after founder’s tragic death, Seed Peace and Wild Mountain Seeds continue strong
Casey Piscura took his life on Feb. 2, 2025 — a Sunday. That week the news broke slowly, then quickly rippled through the community, opening a chasm of grief shared among the people who knew and admired this seemingly unstoppable farmer. Several memorials were held in the weeks that followed, including a gathering of hundreds […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Mark Winters makes his Steve’s debut
Singer-songwriter Mark Winters left a career in engineering to pursue music. This is a fairly-new endeavor for the Sugarland, Texas-based artist, who has a background in aerospace engineering, applied physics, mathematics and computational fluid dynamics. However, he describes art as one of the greatest potentiators in his life, which always served to enhance a myriad […]
Posted inObituaries
Brackett (Baer) Denniston
March 27, 1983 – March 7, 2026 Our beloved son, brother, uncle and friend, Baer, passed away on March 7, 2026, after a brief battle with cancer. Baer spent his final days surrounded by love with his family and friends. Baer, of Carbondale, was born March 27, 1983. He was the son of Brackett and […]
Posted inColumns
Got cows?
I am occasionally asked how many cows I have, or where my cows are, or something along those lines. It occurs to me that such folks are trying to be smartasses, implying that I shouldn’t be wearing a cowboy hat if I don’t have cows — which they, apparently, consider necessary to be a cowboy. […]
Posted inLocal Government
Carbondale candidate questions
Ballots are in the mail for Carbondale’s municipal election. These are due back by April 7 and can be dropped off anytime at the ballot box outside Town Hall. Two candidates are running for the mayor’s seat and four are running for three open trustee seats. Join The Sopris Sun and KDNK News for a […]
Posted inLocal Government
GarCo Planning recommends denial of Harvest Village
On Wednesday, March 11, the Garfield County Planning Commission voted 6-1 to recommend denying the application for a proposed 1,500-unit development in unincorporated Garfield County, between Carbondale and Glenwood Springs. The commission denied the application at nearly 11:30pm, after hundreds of citizens came to the meeting in opposition to the project. Much of the time […]
Posted inColumns
Libraries explore mill levy extension
A famous Wyoming bumper sticker reads: “Lord, Please Give Me One More Boom — This Time I Promise Not To P*ss It Away.” Boom and bust defines the West. Some of us get caught on the wrong side of each end of the cycle. The smarter ones learn from it. They hedge their bets. They […]
Posted inNews
Scuttlebutt
Drought Task ForceGovernor Jared Polis activated Colorado’s Drought Task Force and Phase 2 of the state’s Drought Response Plan on March 17 given record-breaking warm temperatures and low snowpack. As reported by Aspen Journalism, snowpack in the Roaring Fork River Basin is at 65% of normal as of March 13 and 75% of days from […]