The Roundup | Local efforts affected by federal decisions

Happy Tuesday and welcome back to the Roundup, sharing the latest original, in-depth reporting from the Roaring Fork Valley’s only nonprofit online investigative news outlet, with stories of impact stretching far beyond Aspen. Our journalists have been taking a hard look at drought, wildfire and infrastructure concerns that are coming to the fore as we see the first glimpses of spring. Their reporting is full of reminders about the interconnected nature of our communities and spheres of influence across local, state and regional platforms.   

Trump administration funding freeze halts Upper Basin drought resilience projects

The Trump administration funding freeze is hitting $151 million worth of water conservation and drought resilience projects on the Western Slope, Heather Sackett reports for our water desk. Uncertainty looms for the projects, among 42 across the Colorado River’s Upper Basin that were awarded federal funding under the Inflation Reduction Act in the final days of the Biden administration but had not received payment when Trump returned to power and signed a day-one executive order blocking further disbursements authorized by the 2022 law. Water managers say they are awaiting further guidance from the Bureau of Reclamation, which is still lacking an appointed commissioner. “We’ve got some great projects that are just hanging in the air waiting for a decision,” said one official from an environmental group working on two projects in the Grand Valley. Among the 17 in Colorado affected by the funding freeze are an effort to pipe a crumbling irrigation ditch, convert wastewater lagoons into wetlands and secure the Colorado River District’s purchase of the Shoshone water right.

Agencies work together to mitigate fire risk

With the threat of wildfire emerging as a larger community focus, Elizabeth Stewart-Severy checks in with two stories from our Connie Harvey Environment Desk on local fire mitigation efforts. Recognizing that wildfire is both an ecological necessity and a threat to communities, multiple agencies, with support from the upstart nonprofit Roaring Fork Valley Wildfire Collaborative, are employing a collaborative approach to prioritize and fund work that can help mitigate the danger of wildfire. Among seven projects the collaborative is currently involved with is an effort to create a better firebreak that crews could use to help stop what has been identified as one of the watershed’s most frightening wildfire scenarios, where a blaze ignited in the lower Crystal River Valley could be carried by prevailing winds to Snowmass Village within 12 hours. Another high profile project is a prescribed burn set for this spring across 900 acres on Red Mountain near Aspen’s Sunnyside trail that is intended to improve wildlife habitat and reduce dry, aging vegetation that could fuel a potentially catastrophic wildfire. Those recently cut lines that suggest an ill-advised south facing ski chute and sketchy traverse coming out of the Starwood neighborhood are actually control lines that crews cut last fall to contain the fire.

Water managers request monthly meeting with feds to monitor drought conditions

Water managers are concerned that hydrologic conditions this spring and summer could resemble 2021, when drought and dry soils caused a good-but-not-great snowpack that peaked at 93% of average across the Upper Basin to translate into just a 36% of average inflow into Lake Powell. That summer, as the crucial desert reservoir was sliding down toward record low levels, the Bureau of Reclamation implemented short-notice emergency releases from upstream reservoirs from July through October. With Upper Basin snowpack at 94% as of mid February and parched soil-moisture conditions going into the winter, Upper Basin officials don’t want to be caught off guard if similar releases are again needed and are asking for monthly meetings with federal officials to monitor drought conditions. Check out the visualizations created for Sackett’s story by AJ data editor Laurine Lassalle comparing the 2025 versus 2021 snowpack and Lake Powell water levels.

Now more than ever, this local, independent, investigative journalism is an essential public service. As we approach the 14th anniversary of our first story, we ask you to consider supporting Aspen Journalism. Thank you for your consideration and as always, thank you for reading this work.

– Curtis Wackerle
Editor and Executive Director
Aspen Journalism

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