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Posted inThe Roundup

The Roundup | May 21, 2021 Edition

Curtis Wackerle by Curtis Wackerle May 21, 2021May 27, 2021
Aspen Journalism | Local. Non Profit. Investigative. Logo
The Roundup newsletter: A weekly roundup of Aspen Journalism’s original stories with a letter from the editor, Curtis Wackerle.
Crystal at Marble wetlands
The Crystal River near the town of Marble forms a wetland area. A Pitkin County group wants to designate this section of the Crystal as Wild & Scenic. CREDIT: CURTIS WACKERLE/ASPEN JOURNALISM Credit: Curtis Wackerle/Aspen Journalism

Recognized by our peers

More exciting news on Aspen Journalism from the awards front. Thursday afternoon, the Colorado Press Association announced the winners of the 2020 Colorado Better News Media contest, which are the most highly anticipated, and attract the strongest level of competition, among newspaper-industry awards in the Centennial State.

Our small, nonprofit news organization did quite well, competing in a class that includes larger outfits like the Durango Herald, the Boulder Daily Camera, the Aurora Sentinel and Pueblo Chieftain. 

You can read all the details below in Executive Director Brent Gardner-Smith’s post about the awards, but Aspen Journalism was honored in three categories. As editor, it was particularly gratifying to see work from multiple corners of the newsroom recognized. Our COVID-19 reporting got a first-place award in the Best Health Enterprise/Health Feature Story, quite the honor in this of all years. Work from the Connie Harvey Environment Desk — data journalist Laurine Lassalle’s coverage of the combined impacts of the pandemic scrambling the market for beef plus the drought — took home second place in the Best Business News/Feature Story. And the landmark investigation by Water Desk Editor Heather Sackett about the market for water rights on the Western Slope won a second-place award for Best Editorial Collaboration, as it was co-bylined by KUNC’s Colorado basin reporter Luke Runyon and produced as part of a series about water issues with The Nevada Independent and Phoenix public radio station KJZZ.

Outside of Thursday’s award announcement, we kept up our sustained coverage this week of the Marble OHV overuse situation as well as the long road ahead facing the idea of protecting the Crystal River with a federal Wild & Scenic designation. Catch up on all the news below, and thanks for your support of Aspen Journalism.

— Curtis Wackerle, editor

Aspen Journalism’s reporting wins three awards from the Colorado Press Association

By Brent Gardner-Smith | May 21, 2021

Our newsroom’s work covering nonresident COVID-19 cases, the market for western water rights and how ranchers fared in a difficult year was recognized by industry peers in the 2020 Colorado Better News Media Contest.
Continue reading…

Curtis Wackerle, editor, reporter
Curtis Wackerle
Heather Sackett, reporter
Heather Sackett
Laurine Lasalle
Support award-winning journalism
Credit: Curtis Wackerle/Aspen Journalism

OHV authorization will continue near Marble, but clock is ticking

By Curtis Wackerle | May 19, 2021

While the commissioners did not enact a de facto moratorium on OHV, ATV and UTV traffic on the county road leading to the Lead King Loop, the discovery a language error in a county resolution served to elevate the issue.
Continue reading…

Credit: Curtis Wackerle/Aspen Journalism

Crystal River Wild & Scenic advocates hope to learn from the past

By Heather Sackett | May 17, 2021

Experts say the main reason there is opposition from water managers to Wild & Scenic in Colorado is not fear of a federal land grab, but the shortage of water in an arid state that is only getting drier with climate change.
Continue reading…

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Curtis Wackerle

Curtis Wackerle

Curtis Wackerle is the editor and executive director of Aspen Journalism and the editor and reporter on the Connie Harvey Environment Desk. Curtis has also served as editor, managing editor, and reporter... More by Curtis Wackerle

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