Recently at Aspen Journalism, we published Water Desk Editor Heather Sackett’s report on the conclusion of two studies looking at backup-water-supply options for the Crystal River, where late-summer low stream flows threaten water availability for some residential subdivisions with junior water rights.
Author Archives: Curtis Wackerle
Curtis Wackerle is the Editor and Executive Director of Aspen Journalism, where he guides the nonprofit’s mission to deliver in-depth, independent reporting on environmental and community issues in Colorado’s mountain regions. He has extensive experience in journalism and editorial leadership, including 14 years at Aspen Daily News, where he covered city hall and, from 2016 until joining Aspen Journalism in 2020, served as editor in chief. Under his direction, Aspen Journalism has grown as a trusted source for nuanced coverage of water, land use, public policy and socioeconomic issues in the West. He grew up in Portland, has a journalism degree from the University of Montana, and lives in Woody Creek.
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The Roundup | A disturbing origin story
A three-part series on the history of the Northern Utes, this region’s indigenous peoples, from Aspen-based history writer Tim Cooney.
![Signees of the 1873 Brunot Agreement in Washington, D.C. ront row, left to right: Guero, Chipeta, Ouray and Piah; second row: Uriah M. Curtis, James B. Thompson, Charles Adams and Otto Mears; back row: Washington, Susan (Ouray’s sister), Johnson [Canavish], Jack [Nicaagat] and John.](https://i0.wp.com/aspenjournalism.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/19-Brunot-Treaty-1873.Major-players-2-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
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The Roundup | Injustice, broken promises and brutality
As someone who has lived my entire life in the American West — between a childhood in Portland, college years in Montana, and the time since in the Roaring Fork Valley — I’ve grown to be shocked and saddened over how little we as a society understand and acknowledge the extent of what took place […]
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The Roundup | When it all comes together
Why are water managers, whose operational lives are now dominated by making and planning for adaptations in response to climate change, so notably absent from climate-action discussions?
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The Roundup | The potential ripple effects of a business dispute
Since our last edition of The Roundup last week, we’ve published three stories at Aspen Journalism. Included in the mix is the debut of a new reporting partnership with longtime local journalist Rick Carroll, now the managing editor of Aspen Daily News, who’s working with Aspen Journalism on a freelance basis. The idea is that […]
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The Roundup | Addressing amenity loads is key to climate goals
Recently at Aspen Journalism, we brought you a story (“The outsized impact of REMP residences,” May 27) born of Data Editor Laurine Lassalle’s curiosity about what could be learned by examining permit data for homes subject to the city of Aspen and Pitkin County’s Renewable Energy Mitigation Program, or REMP. For more than two decades, […]
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Six Top of the Rockies awards and a new window into short-term rentals
Putting together our announcement post, linked below, was a great trip down memory lane, revisiting the stories and reflecting on all that went into each of them. See which of AJ’s stories from last year the judges from SPJ chapters in Chicago and Ohio chose as among the best journalism in a four-state region.
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The Roundup | Crystal River protections, robust runoff forecasts and a drought task force
Water Desk Editor Heather Sackett has been on a roll lately, with her three most recent stories taking you to distinct corners of the beat. Sackett posted breaking news in recent weeks on basin-by-basin runoff forecasts, which are looking strong; a bill up for debate in the state legislature that would establish a task force […]
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The Roundup | Is it a water, environment or social justice story?
Aspen Journalism’s work since our last edition of The Roundup highlights something I’ve been thinking about regarding our structure of providing coverage under a series of “desks,” or focus areas. Since AJ’s first story in spring of 2011, we’ve categorized our reporting using more than a dozen such desks. That list has included wealth and […]
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The Roundup | Tracking the Curve will cease; reporting on SCP applications will not
Three years after the first COVID-19 case was reported in Colorado and Pitkin County, this week’s update of “Tracking the Curve” will be the last. Over the past few months, the data has become less reliable as people rely more on at-home testing, resulting in fewer cases and positive tests being reported to the state […]
