The CWCB’s decision was a blow to Front Range water providers, who objected to the River District’s having a say over how to manage the water rights, even though they supported the overall goal of protecting flows for the environment.
Archive
Posted inEnvironment
Cutting up the commons
As generous and readily available as local land grants were, the Roaring Fork Valley was small potatoes compared with enormous public land grants that mark vast Western landscapes today and could foreshadow a similar trend if the political powers that be in Washington take on the directives and intentions of the current Trump administration.
Posted inWater
No deal on Colorado River
Over the past few months, the positions of two of the states — Colorado and Arizona — have emerged as one of the main sources of disagreement.
Posted inWater
Protecting the peak on the Crystal
A “peaking” instream-flow water right would keep in the stream all of the water not claimed by someone else during years with high spring runoff, thereby maintaining these periodic floods, which are essential for growing new cottonwoods.
Posted inSocial justice
Politicized issues, out-of-state funds and partisan support divide RFSD board race
Despite being a nonpartisan race where candidates’ party labels are not displayed on the ballot, the candidates have expressed opposing views on politicized issues such as a rise in school shootings, declining enrollment, and the merits of DEI and anti-racism policies and gender-inclusive sex education.
Posted inEnvironment
Snowmass Village’s wilderness water source poses unique wildfire risk
“There are some quite vulnerable systems in the Roaring Fork Valley — Snowmass being at the very top of that list — that really need some advance planning,” said a senior hydrologist with Wright Water Engineers.
Posted inWater
Boaters, anglers want clarity around public access to Colorado’s streams
The issue of stream access highlights a basic tension in Colorado’s laws and values: Are rivers just another category of property that can be privately owned and fenced off?
Posted inSocial justice
New data confirms rising immigration arrests, and a changing profile of who gets detained
As the Trump administration carries out its promise to ramp up Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, recently released data confirms that a growing number of people have been arrested in Pitkin, Eagle and Garfield counties.
Posted inNoticias en Español
Nuevos datos confirman el aumento de las detenciones de inmigrantes y un cambio en el perfil de las personas detenidas
Los nuevos datos confirman el aumento de las detenciones por parte del ICE, y las leyes más estrictas hacen que permanecer en el país sea una “batalla cuesta arriba”
Posted inEnvironment
When the insurance company sends a fire crew
“The fire department’s job is to put the fire out. We come in with a different mandate — to protect the home or commercial building. We apply our skills appropriately, adding to what the fire department is doing.”