On Jan. 6, hundreds of Roaring Fork Valley residents gathered remotely, and in person at Carbondale’s Third Street Center, to voice concerns about Harvest Roaring Fork, a proposed 1,500-unit residential community on roughly 283 acres of open space near the confluence of Cattle Creek and the Roaring Fork River. Hosted by a citizen-led opposition group […]
Environment
Posted inEnvironment
Former Forest supervisor warns of ‘deliberate dismantling of the public lands system’
Last year, Scott Fitzwilliams retired from his position as supervisor of the White River National Forest. He had been in the role for 15 years, nearly half of his 35-year career with the U.S. Forest Service. His previous locations with the agency included northern Wyoming, Alaska and parts of the Pacific Northwest. The newly inaugurated […]
Posted inEnvironment
Roaring Fork Watershed faces ‘exceptional’ drought
January 2026 began with a drought that persisted through 2025. Signs were already apparent last winter, which saw the lowest average snowpack in a decade. Despite rains in September and October, for much of last year, all of Colorado was experiencing drought conditions. Both November and December saw less precipitation than average, and warmer temperatures […]
Posted inEnvironment
West Slope wildlife finds care at PSSWF
It’s wintertime at the Pauline S. Schneegas Wildlife Foundation (PSSWF) in rural Garfield County, and as the season sets in, educational visits and wildlife caretaking shift toward repairs, ruminations over a challenging year and meditations on the future of its operations. When Nanci Limbach founded the wildlife rehabilitation center over 40 years ago, it began […]
Posted inEnvironment
CPW seeks public input on beaver conservation and management strategy
In mid-November, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) released the draft of its “Beaver Management and Conservation Strategy” (“Beaver Strategy”) study and invited the public to review and comment on it. As stated in the document’s Executive Summary, the strategy’s purpose “is to increase and sustain the prevalence of beaver and beaver-influenced wetlands in suitable habitats […]
Posted inEnvironment
Treasure Mountain Ranch land use change still pending
On Nov. 20, the Gunnison County Planning Commission held a public hearing on a land-use application from Treasure Mountain Ranch, Inc. (TMR), the company that owns significant acreage in and around the historic townsite of Crystal. The application seeks a Minor Impact Land Use Change to consolidate parcels and cluster new development in the Crystal […]
Posted inNews
As winter hits Carbondale, residents stoke their fireplaces
Cathy Britt sliced apples on her kitchen counter and looked at an ironcast wood stove in an adjoining living room. It’s a Norwegian-made Jotul. The kind with a nostalgic swinging door and a black stove pipe. “We can’t imagine not having it,” she said. “It’s just so part of the house.” Cathy, a former Carbondale […]
Posted inEnvironment
Ute traditions inform water conservation in the Shining Mountains
“If we take care of that water, we know that water is going to take care of us,” stated Lorelei Cloud, who has spent a lifetime advocating for water conservation and access. Cloud, a former vice chairman of the Southern Ute tribe, was also the first tribal member on record to serve on the Colorado […]
Posted inNonprofits
Staying Sustainable
It’s official! Sustainable Settings is off the market. The 244-acre biodynamic ranch nonprofit was listed back in April of 2022 for over $24 million with the price increasing weekly. It topped out at $33,333,333.33 and is now deemed “priceless.” According to co-founder Brooke LeVan, the sale was always a publicity stunt. When we think of […]
Posted inEnvironment
Federal shutdown placed public lands strain on local governments, nonprofits
As of Nov. 11, the federal government had been shut down for over 42 consecutive days. While some employees in various agencies remained at work with or without pay, many were furloughed or otherwise suspended via reduction in force orders. These limitations strained public lands management throughout the country. Colorado, as the state with the […]