Far bigger chunks of pristine public lands would be walled off from extraction, as federal land managers are ordered to consider climate impacts of activities on land spanning Eagle, Mesa and Pitkin counties
Wilderness Workshop
Posted inNews
White River National Forest approves access road to proposed 19-home Berlaimont Estates community above Eagle River Valley
In his final decision, Forest Supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams said federal laws require “adequate access” for “reasonable use” of private land despite “long-term impacts to wildlife habitat and recreation” from the road to the controversial Berlaimont Estates.
Posted inClimate, Energy, Environment, News
Federal judge blocks plan for 35 gas wells on national forest land in western Colorado
A U.S. District Court judge blocked a plan approved by federal agencies for 35 fracked gas wells across 30,000 acres of U.S. Forest Service land between Gunnison and the Grand Mesa, handing a victory to environmental groups suing the government for failing to take climate change into account in approving new drilling. U.S. District for […]
Posted inColoradans, Environment, News, Outdoors
An abandoned coal mine near Aspen has become a mountain biking park for the masses
Gary Tennenbaum remembers the first time he first spoke with the new owners of a long-dormant coal mine up the Crystal River Valley, near Redstone. It was a few years ago and the owners, grandsons of Walmart founder Sam Walton, offered a plan unlike any other to the longtime director of Pitkin County Open Space […]
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White River forest chief sticks with controversial route for road to future mansions despite wildfire, wildlife concerns
White River National Forest Supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams is sticking with his earlier decision on a road climbing from the Eagle River to a parcel of private property above Edwards where developers envision a community of luxury homes. The developers of Berlaimont Estates wanted a straighter road through Forest Service land that reached the middle of […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, Growth, News, Outdoors
Aurora, Colorado Springs get federal OK to test if controversial reservoir in Eagle County wilderness is feasible
White River National Forest officials on Monday said Aurora Water and Colorado Springs Utilities can move ahead with test drilling to determine whether a controversial dam on Homestake Creek in Eagle County is technically feasible. The decision to let the Front Range water utilities move forward in taking more Western Slope water is only one […]
Posted inBusiness, Crime and Courts, Energy, Environment, News
A federal court ruled a coal company couldn’t build a road on public land near Paonia. The company did it anyway.
Mountain Coal Company has bulldozed about a mile of new road into the Gunnison National Forest’s Sunset Roadless Area barely two months after a federal court ruling that banned the mining company from building new roads or methane-venting drill sites in the protected forest near Paonia. A flurry of legal filings by conservation groups last […]
Posted inEnvironment, News, Outdoors, Politics and Government
Electric-powered bikes are now allowed on BLM and National Park trails — and not everyone is happy about it
EAGLE — The cyclist climbing Boneyard zoomed up the steepest section of the singletrack trail with an effortless ease, passing a panting pedaler in a blink. Here they come. Electric bikes, propelled by both pedal and throttle, will be more common on Colorado’s Bureau of Land Management trails after an order issued by Interior Secretary […]