Forest Service

• Locations: News By James Steindler Published Jan. 11, 2023

  Uphilling at ASC ain't free but remains affordable

  Art by Sofie Koski

  The four mountains — Aspen (Ajax), Buttermilk, Highlands and Snowmass — attract droves of locals and tourists every year and — sans global warming — the appeal will not likely diminish anytime soon. Some people prefer to bypass the chairlifts and opt for the more time-consuming, yet less expensive option… read more →

• Locations: News By Amy Hadden Marsh Published Dec. 14, 2022

  Uinta Basin Railway meets opposition in Glenwood Springs

  Photo by Raleigh Burleigh

  Oil producers want to quadruple the amount of fracked waxy crude that comes out of Utah’s Uinta Basin. Between 80,000 and 90,000 barrels per day are currently trucked to refineries in Salt Lake City, but refinery production there is capped due to air pollution on the Wasatch Front.… read more →

• Locations: News By Ken Pletcher Published Oct. 12, 2022

  Forest Service to hold El Jebel property open house

  Site map of the U.S. Forest Service land (outlined in red) that is proposed for sale or lease in El Jebel. Courtesy image

  The U.S. Forest Service will hold an open house on Wednesday, Oct. 19, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., at the El Jebel Community Center, 20 Eagle County Rd., El Jebel. The purpose of the event is to give the public the opportunity to obtain more information on the… read more →

• Locations: News By Jeanne Souldern Published Jul. 13, 2022

  Responsible recreation begins with education

  

  National Forest Week (July 11-17) was started four years ago by the National Forest Foundation to “celebrate our incredible 193-million-acre National Forest System and all the benefits it provides to the public.”

  How do we responsibly celebrate our surroundings?

  Sam Massman, White River National Forest recreation program manager, said educating… read more →

• Locations: News By Will Sardinsky Published May. 25, 2022

  Part 1: If an aspen grove falls…

  Photo by Will Sardinsky

  Since February 14, 2022, the popular backcountry recreation area Williams Peak, located along Four Mile Road, has undergone a transformation. A 90-acre “treatment area,” as it’s referred to by the Forest Service, sees a forest once so dense it required bush whacking to navigate, turning into a field… read more →

• Locations: News By Raleigh Burleigh Published Mar. 16, 2022

  Proposed Forest Service conveyance advances

  Ute ladies'-tresses, Spiranthes diluvialis, is a native orchid found in the wetlands managed by the Forest Service in El Jebel. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

  Perhaps you’re familiar, perhaps not, but the Forest Service administrative site on Valley Road, east of El Jebel and Crown Mountain Park, is bracing for change. Thirty acres of the 70-acre site, which has been used for Forest Service employee housing for decades, is slated for conveyance and its future… read more →

• Locations: News By James Steindler Published Feb. 2, 2022

  Input sought for Sweetwater management

  Sweetwater Lake. Photo courtesy of Eagle Valley Wild

  Although it’s over the hill and through the woods, Sweetwater Lake is still part of Garfield County and of particular interest to outdoor enthusiasts. 

  For decades, the acreage has fluctuated between private landowners but was recently sold, yet again, to the most attractive bidder: the… read more →

• Locations: News By Raleigh Burleigh Published Dec. 8, 2021

  Defiende's new director continues old traditions

  Omar Sarabia, director of Defiende Nuestra Tierra, assists a family with placing a Forest Service permit on a freshly-picked Christmas tree. Photo by Osbaldo Castillo/Blue Diamond Production

  To bring a piece of foliage indoors during the darkest days of the year; it’s a tradition that has taken many forms over millennia. 

  What we call Christmas trees today signal back to pre-Christianity, with the Celts, Vikings and Egyptians all honoring evergreens — symbols of eternal life —… read more →