He also pointed out that requiring the upper basin, where most of the river’s flows originate as snowpack, to contribute the same fixed amount each year despite declining flows means that the upper basin is unfairly bearing the brunt of climate change.
Tag: 2022 Society of Professional Journalists Award
Posted inLocal Public Data
A growing toll from bike and e-bike accidents
“It’s definitely higher than it ever has been,” said Dr. Christopher Roseberry, AVH’s trauma medical director. “The e-bikes are so popular, and e-bike rentals are so popular among visitors. We went into the season fully expecting to see more e-bike injuries, and that’s what we ended up seeing.”
Posted inWater
Streamflows in southern half of upper Colorado River basin declining faster
Another question is: If there is a compact call, how would state engineers administer it so that already water-short basins aren’t forced to cut back even more?
Posted inEnvironment
In Coal Basin, a hidden source of climate pollution
A coalition is pushing land managers to deal with the methane leaks by authorizing a project to capture the methane and either use it somehow or destroy it. To do that, they’ll have to surmount a host of bureaucratic challenges.
Posted inLocal Public Data
2020 census data highlights the relationship between resort communities and downvalley locales
The population in Eagle, Garfield and Pitkin counties is expanding and becoming more diverse, with the Latino population growing faster than the white population between 2010 and 2020, according to data published last month by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Posted inEnvironment
More intense backside land use a sticking point for Pandora’s
SkiCo officials have taken the position that broader character and use concerns on the backside should not hinder the review of their ski area proposal. County planning staffers disagree.
Posted inWater
Blue Mesa Reservoir releases to prop up Lake Powell impacting recreation
The three reservoirs are part of the Colorado River Storage Project, and their primary purpose is to control the flows of the Colorado River; flatwater recreation has always been incidental. But the releases at Blue Mesa illustrate the risks of building an outdoor-recreation economy around a highly engineered river system that is now beginning to falter amid a climate change-fueled drought.
Posted inWater
Demand management discussions continue amid worsening Colorado River crisis
Some have expressed frustration with what they say is the state’s slow pace of a program rollout and want to begin pilot projects to test the program’s feasibility.
Posted inWater
Kremmling bird count studies how birds use irrigated agriculture
As the state of Colorado grapples with whether to implement a demand-management program, which would pay irrigators to temporarily dry up fields in an effort to send more water downstream, there could be unintended consequences for the animals that use irrigated agriculture for their habitat.
Posted inEnvironment
Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness overnight overuse continues to increase
Total overnight visitors accessing the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness via the 10 most popular trailheads reached a new record in 2020, with 18,324 entering the backcountry to camp, according to data collected by the Forest Service.