Advocating for healthy public lands and wildlife is at the heart of the Western Watersheds Project (WWP). The organization started in 1993, then the Idaho Watersheds Project, as a form of citizen protest to ranching practices in Lake Creek, Idaho. WWP’s work is done through a lens of maintaining and restoring ecosystem balance in places […]
Environment
Posted inEnvironment
Carbondale rancher Tai Jacober steps up to CPW Commission
On Friday, Aug. 16, Governor Jared Polis appointed Carbondale cattle rancher Tai Jacober to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) Commission. Selected to represent agricultural producers west of the Continental Divide, Jacober intends to bring the concerns of ranchers in the Roaring Fork Valley to Denver and find a balance between Colorado’s booming recreation economy […]
Posted inOpinion
Bear in mind
As a Colorado native, I have traditionally bristled at the comparison of nuisance bears to overgrown city rats. Nestled in the White River National Forest, I see myself more like Goldilocks living in the bears’ home. I estimate five bears are habitating around my one-acre lot that serves as a conduit to their water source: […]
Posted inEnvironment
Planned September roundup disappoints wild horse advocates, lawmakers
A wild horse roundup is scheduled for early September northeast of Grand Junction. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which oversees wild horses in the American West, says 202 mustangs roam the 36,000-acre Little Book Cliffs Range (LBC), based on a census earlier this year, and the range can’t handle that many.But advocates, lawmakers and […]
Posted inEnvironment
Fire protection agencies focus on mitigation to confront increasing threats
With wildfires breaking records for acreage and destruction and insurance prices steadily climbing in recent years, firefighters are shifting their approach to fire management. These days, it’s normal to see regular headlines about small lightning-sparked or other accidental wildfires being allowed to burn. Firefighters are present and active when this happens. Still, instead of smothering […]
Posted inEnvironment
Crystal River update: Wild and Scenic
By Michael Gorman, Lea Linse and Hattie Johnson The upper Crystal River is one of the last “free-flowing” rivers in the state of Colorado — unrestrained and connected to its headwaters, without dams or out-of-basin diversions. As with all water issues in the West, it’s easy to find conflict, but communities along the Crystal River […]
Posted inNews
Conservation easement a ‘moral choice’ for prime habitat
Imagine a swarm of ecologists, birders, soil scientists, climate scientists, teachers and students descending upon a landscape for several days. Toting equipment and personal hydration systems, they peer into magnifying glasses at insects and plants, take soil samples, identify birds, wildlife and water sources, and take photos of everything – all to figure out what […]
Posted inEducation
Wading into the Arctic from Carbondale
For Sarah Johnson of Wild Rose Education, an environmental education program based in Carbondale, switching between the microcosm of the Roaring Fork Valley and the global scope of climate science can be perplexing. “It’s kind of incredible,” Johnson told The Sopris Sun. “I sit here in my office in the Third Street Center and I’ll […]
Posted inEnvironment
Valley avian trends reflect warming climate
For many, if birds and climate change are mentioned in the same sentence, it conjures an image of the canary in the coal mine. These delicate, beautiful creatures are sensitive to ecosystem changes and respond to differences more quickly than we large, heavy bipeds do. These days, mining in the Roaring Fork Valley is minimal […]
Posted inEducation
Downvalley schools see early enthusiasm for hands-on learning models
Introductory-level environmental education has become a staple for Valley elementary schools. Each year, Basalt Elementary, Crystal River Elementary and Aspen Elementary welcome full-time educators from Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES). This program, which started at the Aspen schools in 1975, is a cherished facet of elementary education for many local children and adults who […]