6 environmental groups want regulators to toughen rules to consider regional and climate impacts of increased drilling activity in Colorado.
Delta County
Posted inClimate, Energy, News
Delta County thought solar panels were a baaaaad idea. But what if there were 1,000 sheep grazing under them?
The question before the Delta County Commission this month is whether 1,000 sheep can forge a path for dozens of solar panels — after the commissioners rejected a solar project citing concerns about losing farmland. In March, the commission, on a 2-1 vote, rejected an 80-megawatt solar project covering 475 acres just outside of Delta, […]
Posted inEnvironment, News, Outsider
A 120-year-old water tunnel beneath the mountains is the Uncompahgre Valley’s lifeline. We went inside.
MONTROSE — After more than a half-hour splashing through the dank dark of one of the world’s longest irrigation tunnels, Dennis Veo grins in the sunshine showering the cliffs of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River. “The guys who did this were dang sharp,” says Veo, the operations manager of the Uncompahgre Valley Water […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, Economy, Environment, Growth, News, Outdoors
Off-highway vehicles are revving up locals (in a bad way) in Colorado’s remote mountain towns
When Teri Havens bought two acres tucked in a thick stand of aspen on a hill south of Marble in 1995, it was her bit of backcountry nirvana. Yes, it sat along a popular jeeping trail ̶ a county road leading to the historic Lead King Loop. But she could live with four-wheel-drive vehicles jouncing […]
Posted inCOVID, Health, News, Politics and Government
State-border jumpers can get vaccinated in Colorado — even if no one’s happy about it
Colorado officials say an address is not required to book a vaccine appointment, but counties say they’d rather prioritize their own full-time residents
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
In Colorado’s hard-to-count communities, census outreach and coronavirus support are one and the same
To say that 2020 has not been a normal year to take a national census — well, it doesn’t quite capture the full extent of the situation. The Census Bureau’s normally nonpartisan operations have been repeatedly undercut, whether it’s in the form of chronic underfunding, the federal administration’s fear-stoking attempt in 2019 to add a […]
Posted inCOVID, Environment, Health, News, Outdoors, Politics and Government
Warnings are working (for now) to keep visitors out of Colorado’s high country. But tickets, legal battles loom.
Police in Colorado’s mountain communities are doing a lot of educating and even issuing written warnings to violators of local and state health orders designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. But if mask mandates, closures, restrictions and locals-only access rules linger for months, warnings will soon turn to tickets. And that worries Western […]
Posted inNews
Pilot dies after small plane crashes in western Colorado
One person is dead after a small plane crashed on Sunday morning while trying to land at an airport in western Colorado . The crash happened about 11:15 a.m. at Delta’s Blake Field Airport. The Delta County Sheriff’s Office said the plane — a single-engine, propellor Rans S-12 — crashed on the airport’s property. The […]
Posted inBusiness, News
A $60,000 solar project, with no money down: A Colorado program helps businesses finance renewable energy projects
Delta County farmer Steve Ela saved a minimum of $1,000 per month on utility bills last year after installing solar panels at his 100-acre organic farm where he grows mostly tree fruits – peaches, plums, pears, sweet cherries and apples. Ela financed 100% of the $60,000 solar project, with no money down, thanks to Colorado […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, Environment, News, Outdoors, Politics and Government
Trump’s “energy dominance” push changing plans for 3 million acres of Colorado land, local stewards say
Federal land managers are about to close the door on public input to decade-long resource management plans for sweeping swaths of public land in Colorado that now reflect the Trump Administration’s focus on boosting domestic energy production. That focus conflicts with new state laws aimed at protecting wildlife and improving air quality, which has united […]