Last month, Coloradans rose in solidarity against a proposed section of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. While the bulk of the controversial legislation ultimately passed with a tie-breaking vote by Vice President J.D. Vance on July 1, the final draft of the bill removed text regarding public lands sales. Senator Mike Lee of Utah […]
public lands
Posted inLocal Government
Garco Report: Fireworks ban, budget pre-kick off, public lands letter
High fire danger is behind the Garfield County Commissioners (BOCC) decision Monday to prohibit the use, sale and possession of fireworks in unincorporated Garfield County. Emergency Manager Chris Bornholdt told the BOCC that sagebrush fuel moisture “is at or below 100%.” Piñon pine and juniper fuel moisture is at 72% and is expected to dry […]
Posted inNews
Scuttlebutt & Calendar
Roadless Rule rescinded The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday it is rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule, stating the “outdated” rule impedes the ability of the Forest Service to responsibly manage forests and grasslands. Removing the rule will allow for road construction opening nearly 69 million acres for timber harvest, “30% of National Forest System lands.” […]
Posted inColumns
CVEPA Views: Herald Filoha
What cause to rejoice! The long overdue end to the illegal closure of a Pitkin County right of way and road has come to a settlement. The Rock Creek Wagon Road between Redstone and Filoha Meadows Nature Preserve, colloquially known as Dorais Way, will reopen in time for the Preserve’s summer season. This dirt road […]
Posted inEnvironment
Earth Day panel discusses policy implications
On Monday, April 21, a near-capacity crowd gathered at the Third Street Center for a panel discussion titled, “How Environmental Policies in D.C. and Denver are Affecting the Roaring Fork Valley.” The event was sponsored by Wilderness Workshop (WW) and Mtn Bio, a community-based, climate-centered educational nonprofit; both are Carbondale-based. Beth Shoemaker, founder of Mtn […]
Posted inNews
Spring Gulch vandalism causes thousands of dollars in damage
This past winter, there were at least four incidents of cars driving on and damaging ski trails in the Spring Gulch system on the Thompson Divide. The area has also been a hot spot for unauthorized parties, and many of those parties have left significant debris. The weekend of March 7-9, partiers set fire to […]
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
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 inEnvironment
Teamwork makes the dream work
As of April 3, after two decades of sweat and tears, the Thompson Divide was guaranteed protection from future mineral leasing — well, at least for the next 20 years.“The Biden-Harris administration today [April 3] took action to finalize protections for the Thompson Divide area in central Colorado, one of the state’s most cherished landscapes, […]
Posted inOpinion
Wildlife McCarthyism, impact credits and the humility necessary to share Earth’s beauty
Early in my career, I clerked at the Environmental Defense Fund trying to help negotiate changes in California’s massive irrigation system, trying to stave off the extinction of the Sacramento River winter run of Chinook salmon. The irrigation system, known as the Central Valley Project, irrigates a good share of the fruits and nuts produced […]