Colorado’s system governing water use predates the state itself — the oldest water rights in Colorado date to the 1850s. And it is so closely linked to the state that, even when it is used elsewhere, it is often called the “Colorado Doctrine.” But can it survive perhaps the greatest challenge in its history — […]
Outdoors
Posted inEnvironment, Growth, Health, News, Outdoors, Politics and Government
Three years after the Gold King Mine spill there’s no fix to leaky abandoned mines. What’s the holdup?
CLEAR CREEK COUNTY — When the Gold King Mine spill sent a plume of yellow sludge cascading down the Animas River in southwest Colorado three years ago, environmentalists and conservationists saw an opportunity to educate the public about a problem that’s been around for decades. They also saw it as a way to draw new […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, Crime and Courts, News, Outdoors
Colorado Ski Safety Act tested in two trials involving in-bounds avalanches
EAGLE — Every skier in central Colorado was fired up when the snow finally arrived that fourth Sunday in January six years ago. It had been a cold, dry season with too few powder days. By the end of the day, inbounds avalanches had killed two skiers, marking one of the darkest days in Colorado […]
Posted inEnvironment, News, Outdoors
Colorado fish are catching the brunt of continuing drought, wildfire runoff
In the midst of a drought-choked summer, Joe Lewandowski stood on the bank of the Animas River near Durango and watched the fish die. Mountain runoff after a mid-July rain scraped the burn scar of the 416 fire, which raged for two months about 10 miles north of the city. That clouded the water with […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News, Outdoors
New owner fighting to restrict access to private Cielo Vista Ranch by 5,000 descendants of the San Luis Valley’s earliest settlers
Colorado’s longest-running civil litigation is back in court as the latest billionaire owner of the storied Cielo Vista Ranch fights to restrict historic access claimed by heirs of the San Luis Valley’s original settlers. Houston’s William Bruce Harrison, a 31-year-old scion to one of Texas’ biggest oil fortunes, bought the 83,000-acre Cielo Vista Ranch a […]
Posted inBusiness, Outdoors
At the height of the ski pass war, Wolf Creek — with its $70 lift ticket — remains defiantly independent
WOLF CREEK — As the first flakes frost the highest peaks, the Colorado-sparked season pass war is ablaze. It’s a new world for skiers, with resorts across the U.S. aligning into two distinct camps. In one corner, the nascent Alterra Mountain Company this week fired off a list of new partners for the Ikon Pass, which offers unlimited […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, News, Outdoors, Politics and Government
The $44.2 million pitch: What Grand Junction is doing to land BLM’s headquarters — and what the chances are it will work
The Bureau of Land Management appears closer than ever to relocating its headquarters and some 300 jobs to the West from Washington, D.C. — closer to the nearly 250 million acres of land it manages. Colorado’s congressional delegation has been busy pitching the Centennial State, and Grand Junction in particular, as the best new home address for the agency. […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, News, Outdoors
From “This is not Vail” to Vail Resorts ownership: Crested Butte owners bid farewell after 20-year rollercoaster ride with Colorado
MOUNT CRESTED BUTTE — They dreamed big in Colorado, the Mueller clan. Hoping to mirror their dizzying success at Vermont’s Okemo ski area, Tim and Diane Mueller pursued plans for a major resort outside Steamboat, bid to operate Denver’s Winter Park, came within an hour of owning Steamboat ski area and labored through the Great Recession […]
Posted inEnvironment, News, Outdoors
CSU calls off plan to help BLM sterilize wild horses in the field by removing their ovaries
Colorado State University is withdrawing from a controversial research project with the Bureau of Land Management that called for rounding up wild horses by helicopter and then removing their ovaries. The university’s vice president for research made the announcement via email Wednesday, about a week after the end of a 30-day public comment period. It […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Health, News, Outdoors
Eight states — including Colorado — sign “Confluence Accords” pledging ethical recreation as a path to economic prosperity
The outdoor recreation industry celebrated its transition to adulthood last week as governor-selected chieftains from eight states signed a first-ever proclamation promising to follow a shared ethic championing outdoor recreation as a path to prosperity. The Confluence Accords outlined a roadmap for the states to promote conservation and stewardship of lands, support environmental education and […]