Tag: environment
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Colorado rancher donates 72,000 pounds of hay to ranchers affected by Lee fire
“We’re grateful that we can be a part of it. It’s the Western way.” The Lee fire burned more than 138,000 acres of grassland used by ranchers and wildlife in northwestern Colorado in August and September, affecting the livelihoods of dozens of ranchers and landowners on the Roan Plateau. The fire destroyed prime grazing lands…
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Rocky Mountain National Park at ‘tipping point’ with moose
Moose’s impact on one of Colorado’s most cherished landscapes has been a concern over the years. Now, Rocky Mountain National Park officials are launching an effort to address it. A recent webinar marked “the very beginning of this planning process,” Will Deacy – the park’s large mammal ecologist – emphasized to the virtual audience. This…
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Cheyenne Mountain Zoo panel on wolves focuses on solutions
Karin Vardaman thinks there are ways to prevent wolves from killing cattle in Colorado that don’t always involve lethal force. There is no perfect solution, she cautions. “We do believe it doesn’t have to be one or the other,” she said. Vardaman is the executive director of Working Circle, a group dedicated to mitigating livestock…
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After Colorado reintroduction, wild turkeys are a common urban encounter
Since moving into her neighborhood in 2017, Fountain resident Nicole Henderson has sighted her feathered neighbors like clockwork. She’s taken videos of them scratching at front lawns and bobbing their heads as they make meandering road crossings. “They are out every morning,” she said. After a successful reintroduction program, turkeys are now in the category…
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Recycling program cares for sheep, environment
When Bill Vogl started a homegrown fruits and veggies garden, he never imagined his tiny plot would one day lead to a recycling program where pumpkins are the star attraction. Vogl Homestead Farm, a regenerative agriculture farm located in Black Forest, raises sheep for grass-fed lamb and cultivates crops, focusing on permaculture to enhance soil…
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Final, hopeful journey is underway for Colorado tarantulas
Editor’s note: This story has been updated. Graduate student Spencer Poscente and adviser Cara Shillington from Eastern Michigan University are studying the tarantulas in southeast Colorado. A fact, fun or not depending on your reaction: like other nocturnal animals, some spiders have eyeshine. Tracking a flashlight around open prairie in the Comanche National Grassland just…
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Effort afoot to revive scenic lake in southwest Colorado
Early this summer in their home mountains of southwest Colorado, Tamara Gulde and Lynn Padgett were visiting a favorite scenic site that was not what it once was. Perched near 9,600 feet off the Million Dollar Highway above Ouray, Crystal Lake was significantly lower. “We saw a couple of fishermen up there. They were sitting…
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Link between wolves and aspen a point of debate beyond Colorado
For the past 15 years, Luke Painter has been traveling to the northern range of Yellowstone National Park, where mountains rise and tributaries carve valleys of sage, willows and trees. This includes aspen, the beloved tree of fall that glows around this time of year as the season turns, catching the eye of Painter from…
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A scenic site is restored in Colorado — but tensions linger
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Earlier this summer around a small body of water in a small Colorado village, locals gathered and celebrated. “It was a big celebration by Twin Lakes’ standards,” said one of those locals, Rick Akin. “I think there was 20 people and four dogs.” The occasion…
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A scenic site is restored in Colorado — but tensions linger
Earlier this summer around a small body of water in a small Colorado village, locals gathered and celebrated. “It was a big celebration by Twin Lakes’ standards,” said one of those locals, Rick Akin. “I think there was 20 people and four dogs.” The occasion was the return of that body of water. It’s been…