The first year of official reintroduction of wolves to Colorado has had its ups and downs. The state-managed process is controversial. For years, the topic of facilitating the return of the species has had enthusiastic advocates and staunch opposition. Gray wolves, the species native to the central Rockies, were eradicated by humans by the 1940s […]
Environment
Posted inEnvironment
Washington range rider talks about ‘co-thriving’ with wolves
Daniel Curry named his organization, Project GRIPH, after his horse. “Griph is the first horse I rescued from slaughter,” said Curry. “He would have been dog food in 2009. Now he’s started this business with me and he’s been there with me the whole time.” GRIPH also stands for Guarding the Respective Interests of Predators […]
Posted inEducation
Waterman chronicles arctic climate change in new book
Jon Waterman — National Geographic photographer, rugged adventurer, award-winning author — is publishing a new book, “Into the Thaw: Witnessing Wonder Amid the Arctic Climate Crisis,” a firsthand account of climate change in the Arctic Circle.Waterman had the first winter ascent of Mt. Denali’s Cassin Ridge in 1982; he’s kayaked North America’s Northwest Passage; boated […]
Posted inEnvironment
Wilderness Workshop comments on BLM plans
Last month, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced finalized resource management plans (RMPs) for the state of Colorado. Two of the plans announced are for lands managed by the Colorado River Valley and Grand Junction field offices and will affect roughly two million acres on the Western Slope for the next 15 to 20 […]
Posted inEnvironment
GORP Act aims to protect watersheds and ecosystems
In late September, Colorado Senator Michael Bennet officially introduced the Gunnison Outdoor Resources Protection (GORP) Act to Congress. Per Bennet’s office, the proposed legislation is the largest public lands bill introduced in Colorado since the early 1990s. It proposes increased protections of over 730,000 acres of public land via designation changes and wilderness classification additions. […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Sopris Lodge artist in residence: Helen Oliver
This is the second feature in a short series highlighting artists living at Sopris Lodge Carbondale Senior Living. Sopris Lodge is home to many incredible artists and musicians who bring their unique mediums together for the sake of creativity and connection. One of these talented folks is 92-year-old Helen Oliver, a flutist and former congregational […]
Posted inEnvironment
Colorado public lands perspectives: Rick Knight on remembering humans in the equation
A reader response to the Sept. 11 article on Western Watersheds Project’s stance on public lands recommended discussing the topic with Dr. Rick Knight. This article takes that advice, presenting Knight’s academic perspectives as a conservation biologist. Knight is a professor emeritus at Colorado State University’s Warner College of Natural Resources. He started teaching there […]
Posted inBusiness
Local food knows no season (sort of)
“Vote for what you want with your dollars,” encouraged Matthew Kottenstette, co-founder of Farm Runners, a business based in Hotchkiss that transports local food year-round to restaurants and grocers in the Roaring Fork, Crystal, Gunnison and Grand valleys.Kottenstette and his wife, Emma, came to the North Fork Valley working for small farms and founded Farm […]
Posted inEnvironment
Colorado’s moose boom leaves an impact
On a brisk summer morning, many moons ago, I awoke to the sudden pelting of pebbles on my sleeping bag. Rubbing sleep from my eyes, I rolled over to see my friend pointing wildly across the meadow. Tracking her silent gesture, I witnessed a stunning display of wildlife: two great Alces alces shirasi, the Shiras […]
Posted inEnvironment
Colorado Wildland Fire Conference facilitates conversation and best practices
On Oct. 2-3, 251 attendees from across the American West converged on Snowmass Village for the 2024 Colorado Wildland Fire Conference (CWFC). The gathering, which was first held in the 1990s, occurs every 18 months. Host cities rotate around the State of Colorado to ground the conversation and the broad vulnerability to wildfires. Paul Cada […]