Upstream rivers running above normal Local streams are flowing at 77-242% of normal in the Roaring Fork watershed as of March 24, while the Colorado River is running at 73% of average at Dotsero and 64% near the Colorado-Utah stateline. At Stillwater, located upstream of Aspen, the Roaring Fork River ran at 39.5 cfs on […]
Author Archives: Laurine Lassalle
Laurine Lassalle is Aspen Journalism’s data desk editor, where she works to catalog and analyze local public data. She has a master’s degree in data and investigative journalism from UC Berkeley with an emphasis on environmental reporting.
Posted inLocal Public Data
Record high temperatures compound low-snowpack problems
Temperature and precipitation data in the Roaring Fork Valley shows that most of this winter has experienced above-average temperatures with below-average precipitation, making this season one of the hottest and driest on record.
Posted inLocal Public Data
Real time snowpack in the Roaring Fork basin
SNOTEL sites in the Roaring Fork basin show that snowpack has never been this low at this point in the season, breaking the previous record low of 6.1 inches measured on Jan. 29, 1990.
Posted inThe second coming of Albert Schweitzer
French book highlights Aspen’s efforts to elevate Albert Schweitzer legacy
Local efforts to recenter the philosophies of French-German humanist Albert Schweitzer as morally and culturally imperative in modern Aspen have been recognized in a French book written by authors from his home region.
Posted inEnvironment
As e-bike use grows, so do accidents
More than 60% of the bike and e-bike accidents on Pitkin County OST’s properties involved an e-bike, as they become increasingly popular among locals and visitors.
Posted inEnvironment
Transportation coalition seeks consensus on high-occupancy toll, congestion-pricing recommendations
The Transportation Coalition for the 21st Century has narrowed down its potential recommendations for relieving traffic congestion in the Roaring Fork Valley to two scenarios: congestion pricing or a hybrid plan that would start with a high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane and work toward congestion pricing. Both scenarios include carpooling and public-transit incentives.
Posted inEnvironment
RFTA to study how Rio Grande Trail’s railroad corridor can be used for mass transit
The Roaring Fork Transportation Authority will consider new ways to use its railroad corridor, which extends from Glenwood Springs to Woody Creek and includes the popular Rio Grande Trail, to alleviate traffic on Highway 82 and respond to the valley’s transportation needs.
Posted inEnvironment
Carrots won’t cut upper-valley congestion without sticks
The preferred alternative is projected to have a negligible impact on congestion, and in some cases makes it worse. “If that’s all we do, we’re stuck with an hour and seven minutes from Brush Creek to the S-curve basically, and that is not a happy picture,” said John Bennett, a former Aspen mayor and a coalition co-founder.
Posted inWealth and Property
The Aspen 80
There have never been more billionaires in the world—3,028, by Forbes’ count, crossing the 3,000 threshold for the first time in 2025. It stands to reason that there also have never been more billionaires in Aspen, their collective influence shaping the community’s social fabric.
Posted inEnvironment
Once in doubt, the E175 will fly to Aspen this summer
Tomcich told Aspen Journalism via email that he would be surprised if the E175 does not face weight restrictions during the summer months — just as nearly all aircraft, including the CRJ700, do in the summer at ASE.