Latest news with #EagleCounty
CBS News
18-07-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Drought gets much worse in Aspen and Glenwood Springs as dry conditions persist across western half of Colorado
Colorado's drought situation is taking a turn for the worse, according to the latest data from the U.S. Drought Monitor. Extreme, severe, and moderate drought levels have all increased. Severe drought conditions rose by about 2%, but it's the nearly 8% spike in extreme drought that's most concerning. The worst of these worsening conditions are now centered in Pitkin and Eagle counties, where the drought status intensified from severe to extreme in just the past week. Currently, more than half of Colorado is experiencing some level of drought, highlighting the ongoing impact of a dry summer season across much of the western half of the state. The Western Slope saw particularly dry weather this past week, further deepening existing drought concerns in the region. However, there was a glimmer of improvement on the Eastern Plains — with Yuma and Kit Carson counties seeing enough moisture to ease conditions slightly, shifting from moderate drought to abnormally dry.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Officials investigate unexpected death of apex predator after long-awaited return to national park: 'It's heartbreaking'
A female gray wolf died in Rocky Mountain National Park just months after being reintroduced to Colorado as part of the state's restoration effort, reported The Sacramento Bee. The wolf, known as 2514-BC, was found dead on April 20 after biologists received a mortality alert from her radio collar. She was part of a group of 15 gray wolves brought from British Columbia and released in Eagle and Pitkin counties in January. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating the death because gray wolves have federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. State officials have not determined the cause of death pending the investigation and necropsy. This marks at least the sixth death among Colorado's reintroduced wolves. Previous deaths have been linked to natural causes and intentional killings, including federal officials killing a Colorado wolf in Wyoming in March after it killed sheep. "Wolf survival in Colorado is within normal margins for a wolf population in the Rocky Mountains," the state wildlife agency stated. On average, gray wolves in the Rocky Mountains live three to four years. These deaths threaten the success of Colorado's historic wolf restoration program. Wolves are a keystone species. They help maintain healthy ecosystems by controlling deer and elk populations, which prevents overgrazing and allows vegetation to recover. Losing female wolves is particularly troubling, as they play a crucial role in expanding the population. Colorado voters approved wolf reintroduction in 2020, but the program's success depends on wolves surviving long enough to establish stable packs. Wolves disappeared from Colorado by the 1940s after settlers hunted their prey and then targeted the wolves themselves when they turned to livestock. Their absence disrupted natural ecosystems for decades. "It's heartbreaking to learn about the passing of this Colorado wolf, one of the precious few reintroduced female wolves," Alli Henderson from the Center for Biological Diversity told The Colorado Sun. Do you think America has a plastic waste problem? Definitely Only in some areas Not really I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Colorado Parks and Wildlife factored wolf mortality into its restoration plan and continues working to establish a sustainable population. The state has already completed two releases, bringing wolves from British Columbia to help rebuild Colorado's population. Wildlife officials expected wolves to naturally return to places like Rocky Mountain National Park once they were reintroduced to the state. Last summer, a reintroduced wolf from Oregon spent time in the park, marking the first documented wolf presence there in 109 years. If you support wildlife conservation, contact your representatives and voice your support for policies that protect reintroduced species. You can also help organizations working on wolf restoration through donations or volunteer work. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
CBS News
26-06-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Several wildfires in western Colorado shut down westbound Interstate 70; Pre-evacuations in Garfield County
Wildfires across western Colorado are causing significant impacts to travel along Interstate 70. Those fires were reported in Garfield, Eagle, and Moffat Counties, and pre-evacuation orders are in place in Garfield County. The westbound lanes of I-70 are closed at the 140 westbound exit in Gypsum and Motorists are being detoured onto Highway 6, according to the Eagle County Sheriff's Office. The eastbound lanes were open as of 3:45 p.m. There were also numerous fires with heavy smoke visible near Dotsero. The fire in Garfield County, which is being called the Hilltop Fire, was reported just after 3:30 p.m. and the Garfield County Emergency Communications Authority said a pre-evacuation order was sent to residences more than 1 mile and within 2 miles of the intersection of County Road 320 and County Road 309. "All evacuated residents EAST of the fire should evacuate to the Garfield County Fairgrounds in Rifle. All evacuated residents WEST of the fire should evacuate to the Cottonwood Park/Parachute Fairgrounds," the prder said. And just before 2 p.m., a fire was reported on Highway 40 near milepost 25 in Moffat County near the town of Dinosaur, just east of the Colorado-Utah state line. Aretesia Fire, Moffat County Sheriff's Office, and the Bureau of Land Management were responding to that fire. People are being asked to avoid the areas of all these fires and should expect a large police and fire rescue presence.
CBS News
11-06-2025
- Automotive
- CBS News
Colorado Department of Transportation crews show off skills in Truck Rodeo
Colorado Department of Transportation crews showed off equipment operating skills in Truck Rodeo Colorado Department of Transportation crews showed off equipment operating skills in Truck Rodeo Colorado Department of Transportation crews showed off equipment operating skills in Truck Rodeo Colorado Department of Transportation crews showed off their equipment and operating skills at the Truck Rodeo this week. Drivers hit the obstacle course at the Eagle County Fairgrounds on Tuesday. Colorado Department of Transportation crews showed off their skills in the Truck Rodeo at the Eagle County Fairgrounds. CBS A total of 82 competitors got behind the wheel or jumped into the driver's seat of heavy equipment used for winter maintenance and road work. That includes snowplows, graders, loaders and skid steers. CDOT crews competed in the Truck Rodeo at the Eagle County Fairgrounds. CBS The fun competition is designed to highlight and reward excellent operators for their skills. The top two finishers of each category move on to statewide finals in August.
Bloomberg
31-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
The Supreme Court Got the Environmental Policy Act Case Right
There's an old Hollywood joke where a screenwriter goes to pitch a romantic comedy, and the producer listens in silence, then exclaims, 'Sounds great! Throw in a couple of car chases, and you've got a movie!' The joke has endless variants: the screenwriter is pitching a zombie thriller, or a period biopic — whatever the writer pitches, the producer's punch line remains the same. That humoresque comes to mind in light of Thursday's decision by the US Supreme Court in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, which is being described, correctly, as sharply circumscribing the ability of litigants to use the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to stack new review requirements on projects already approved by federal agencies. Because if you ask anybody who's trying to build, say, new infrastructure to support the power needs of AI — or just the growth of the digital world generally — the worry isn't having to get agency approval to break ground. It's all those car chases that the courts might insist they've got to add in before they've 'got a movie.'
