Rivers running well below normal Local streams are flowing at 61-116% of normal in the Roaring Fork watershed as of Oct. 1, while the Colorado River is running at 48% of average at Dotsero and 62% near the Colorado-Utah stateline. Despite recent rainfall, the Roaring Fork River watershed is still experiencing exceptional drought, according to […]
Tag: Data Desk
Stories carrying the Data Desk tag were either produced directly by the Aspen Journalism Data Desk, led by Laurine Lassalle, or benefitted from the assistance of our Data Desk. This often takes the form of data analysis to aid in reporting, creating data visualizations, maps or other graphics, or research into data sets and/or public records.
Posted inLocal Public Data
Short-term rental market continues to shrink in Aspen and Pitkin County
Stricter short-term rental rules passed four years ago by Aspen and Pitkin County are achieving their stated aims of limiting the vacation-rental marketplace, while also raising questions about the programs’ fitness, adaptability and unintended consequences.
Posted inEnvironment
When oil and gas trump other uses
Colorado’s Roan Plateau, a favorite backcountry zone for hunters, anglers and hikers because of its high-quality wildlife habitat, is once being proposed for oil and gas development. The Bureau of Land Management, in accordance with direction from the Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act to hold lease sales in Colorado every quarter, has listed four leases on top of the plateau in its proposed December sale, with two additional leases nearby.
Posted inLocal Public Data
Alternate route into Aspen now included in traffic counts
An analysis of a calendar year’s worth of data confirms that the side-entrance traffic makes up a significant portion of total traffic, as drivers seek to beat the gridlock that typically chokes Highway 82 during the morning and afternoon peak periods. Added together, vehicle counts from Highway 82 and Power Plant Road through all of 2025 show last year’s traffic approaching a 1993 threshold established as a benchmark to stay below.
Posted inSocial justice
As data shows more detentions over 12 hours, Glenwood staff recommend upholding ICE facility’s permit before key P&Z meeting
Glenwood Springs officials are recommending that the city’s planning and zoning commission uphold a special use permit approved in 2003 for Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s short-term holding facility and administrative office near the Glenwood Meadows shopping area, despite data that shows ICE detained people for over 12 hours at the site, in violation of the conditions of its permit.
Posted inSocial justice
Law enforcement from Aspen to Silt considers changes to street-camera surveillance in response to immigration concerns
Data-privacy concerns raised about Glenwood Springs’ Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) cameras are widespread across the Roaring Fork and Colorado River valleys, an Aspen Journalism analysis found. Local jurisdictions are now revisiting their policies to ensure they align with local values and state laws that limit how and when local law enforcement can assist with federal immigration arrests.
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 inWater
December water forecast a sobering backdrop to Colorado River conference
The high-stakes fourth tool — which water managers across the basin are counting on to rescue reservoirs, set a new management paradigm and provide long-term stability to the system — is new guidelines for how the reservoirs will be operated and shortages shared after 2026.
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
Private ski area proposal near Steamboat divides community
As Routt County awaits the first public hearing on a proposal to develop a private ski resort and elite enclave 20 miles south of Steamboat Springs, there is widespread anxiety and divisions across the community are deepening. Reanna Sullivan, whose hillside home faces the prospective ski area, ticks off concerns associated with many new high-end […]