Latest news with #TomHarrington
CBS News
a day ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Colorado's gray wolf reintroduction plan costs $2.2 million more than expected, agency says
Colorado Parks and Wildlife told an interim legislative committee it's spent about $3 million to relocate 30 wolves to the state over the last two years. That's more than double what voters were told it would cost when they approved wolf reintroduction in 2020. CPW Director Jeff Davis speaks before state lawmakers regarding the total costs and progress of the Colorado gray wolf management plan Monday, June 30, 2025. The Blue Book estimated it would cost about $800,000. Ranchers say, not only is the cost of the program out of control, the management of it is off the rails. "A depredating pack was known to have depredated in Oregon before they put them in Middle Park," Tom Harrington, a cattle producer in Roaring Fork Valley, told lawmakers. "They had serious impact there. They packaged them up, put them away for awhile. And then, they put them back out -- right in my backyard." Harrington and other ranchers told state lawmakers they have lost trust in CPW after it relocated a pack of wolves to Pitkin County after it killed livestock in Copper Creek. The wolves continued to kill cattle in Pitkin, resulting in CPW euthanizing one of them. "I feel [Proposition] 114, the reintroduction, should be called 'the promises made and promises broken too,'" Garfield County Commissioner Perry Will said before lawmakers. "Promises broken. Total program failure and cruelty to wolves." CPW's own wolf reintroduction plan bars the relocation of depredating wolves. "That was my decision. I take full responsibility, and I question that decision ever day," CPW Director Jeff Davis told lawmakers. Davis says he doesn't know if wildlife officers warned anyone in Pitkin County about the pack's relocation. "That said, it led to a lot of really important things," Davis said. The CPW director says the state agency has deployed drones and range riders to monitor for wolf activity, hired wildlife damage specialists and depredation rapid response teams. Davis says they're hazing wolves that get near livestock. Davis admits -- even after removing one wolf -- he's seen concerning behavior in a video and says they will remove more wolves if necessary. Ranchers and some lawmakers want the entire program paused. "I believe the governor, by his actions, set up this plane to fail," Harrington asserted. "It was rushed. There was no timely alerts. We couldn't prepare. I believe that we need no more new releases until these plans are in place and the basics are working." CPW plans to relocate another pack of wolves from Canada in December, and Davis told lawmakers he will not pause the program. The office of Gov. Jared Polis released a statement that said, "Colorado voters approved the ballot measure to reintroduce wolves into Colorado and Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Governor Polis are following the law and upholding the will of the voters, while working to balance the needs and concerns of producers. Governor Polis did not advocate for or support the ballot measure, but always supports implementation of the will of the voters including the successful implementation of the Wolf Management Plan, which was approved unanimously by CPW commissioners, including the timeline, in response to voters' approval of the ballot measure." Ranchers say they are also concerned about inadequate compensation. The fund created by the legislature to compensate ranchers when a wolf kills their livestock is broke.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
Why Tom Harrington teaches hikers to stop and smell the wildflowers
It's wildflower season in the Great Smoky Mountains, and beneath the long morning shadows at Chestnut Tops Trail near Townsend, Tennessee, Tom Harrington is in his element. We've barely reached the trailhead sign before Harrington, a hiking and 'wildflowering' aficionado and park volunteer of 25 years, pauses to point out the colonies of purple flowers painting the path - purple phacelia (Phacelia bipinnatifida), a native wildflower whose nectar is said to make some of the best honey around. We stop, admire, take photos ... and just a few steps later, stop again. This time, it's to inspect a delicate white spray of foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia), which is nestled near a cluster of arcing green stems hung with white blooms, Solomon's seal (Polygonatum biflorum), whose flowers grow in evenly spaced pairs below the stem, and false Solomon's seal (Maianthemum racemosum), whose bloom erupts in a cluster at the end. Nearby grows a collection of yellow trillium (Trillium luteum), curved petals rising like pieces of modern art. When the sun hits them, Harrington says, they'll emit a lemony scent. 'I had a friend who used to hike with me, and he'd get very upset because I'd stop and smell the fragrance and make photos,' Harrington said. 'He had a schedule. I said, 'You don't want to hike with me when the wildflowers are out.'' In the Smokies, wildflowers are out for most of the year. Harrington, 85, has found blooms as early as mid-February and, in mild years, as late as Thanksgiving. He records these observations in a wildflower journal he's kept since 1986. A couple years after he became a Volunteer-in-Park at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2000, Harrington's supervisor asked if he'd be willing to share his observations with others. Ever since, Harrington has been sending his wildflower reports to Smokies staff as well as to about 70 other wildflower enthusiasts who sign up to receive them. He hits the trail at least once a week to record what he sees, doubling that frequency during the height of wildflower season in April and May. A U.S. Army veteran and retired insurance agent, Harrington is no professional botanist, nor is he a lifelong hiker. Growing up in Knoxville, he always loved the mountains. But it wasn't until April 1982, when Harrington was 42 years old, that he got hooked on hiking - and on the pastime he refers to as wildflowering. 'Some friends invited me to go hiking with them after church on Sunday, and we did about two and a half miles on the Cooper Road Trail,' he recalled. 'And it was just like fireworks went off, sirens rang. I was bitten.' At the time, Harrington's hiking experience had been mostly limited to some excursions with the Boy Scouts and a private boys' camp in Elkmont he'd attended during the summers he was 7, 8 and 9. He remembers hiking all the way up to Mount LeConte and camping at Alum Cave Bluffs, but 'it didn't make any particular impression.' In the years that followed, picnic areas, not trailheads, were the typical destination when he ventured into the mountains. 'I could kick myself from here to Hollywood for waiting 'til that old to start hiking,' he said. But he made up for lost time, frequently ticking off 15 to 18 miles in a single day after that life-changing Sunday on Cooper Road Trail. These days, he typically limits his hikes to 'only' five miles or so, though occasionally he'll double that to 10. While he walks, he wildflowers, a verb that Harrington defines as 'searching for, finding, and enjoying wildflowers.' It's a journey of constant learning, because more than 1,500 species of blooming plants can be found in the park's 816 square miles. We saw more than two dozen of the 105 species Harrington claims to be able to identify with confidence, though he's certainly familiar with a greater number than that. The park contains more than 30 species of violets, for example, which are often notoriously difficult to tell apart. But Harrington doesn't let difficulties with identification get in the way of appreciating the beauty before him. 'When I think of all the beauty that's out here for us to enjoy, and I know that the Lord put it here for us to enjoy, you can feel closeness with him,' Harrington said. 'When you experience a beautiful sunset or a beautiful rosebud orchid in bloom, or you come up this trail in the height of the fall foliage, it's just incredible. You just can't believe what you're seeing.' Harrington has devoted his retirement to extending that sense of wonder to as many people as possible. Throughout the year, he spends his Saturdays at Cades Cove, engaging with visitors at the orientation shelter, and from March through November he's there Tuesdays and Thursdays as well. 'I start out at the orientation shelter, and then I go down to the Primitive Baptist Church and I do history programs at 11, noon, and 1,' he said. 'And then after that, I either go to the Abrams Falls Trailhead or back to the orientation shelter.' It's not unusual for Harrington to meet some of the people he's helped at Cades Cove while he's hiking elsewhere in the park. Once, as he descended Alum Cave Trail following a hike to Mount Le Conte, he encountered a Miami couple that had attended one of his programs. Harrington's goal for that program had been to encourage more visitors to leave their cars and experience the Smokies from the trail. 'They said, 'We wanted you to know we took your advice,'' Harrington said. 'And that really made me thrilled that they would get to have an experience like I have.' On the trail, Harrington is an unwitting celebrity. We've barely started our hike when a pair of female hikers stops to strike up a conversation with Harrington as he bends over the Solomon's seal. 'Hey, how are you?' he said, greeting the two strangers like old friends. 'I hope you're having a wonderful day.' He explains how to tell the difference between this plant and its somewhat disparagingly named but objectively beautiful relative in the lily family, false Solomon's seal. The women look on attentively, keeping Harrington's slow wildflowering pace for several turns of the trail before hiking on. 'People like that are just a wealth to me,' one of the hikers said as she left. Minutes later, another group walks past us. They recognize Harrington, stopping to tell him about a rare plant they've spotted growing farther up the trail. 'It's about another hundred yards,' one of the men says. 'I'll wait there for you.' Walking with Harrington, it's hard to tell which hikers are acquaintances and which are strangers, because he greets everyone with sincere conviviality. Several of the hikers, he tells me, are familiar faces on the trail. But Harrington has never before met many of the visitors whom he greets with a sincere wish to enjoy their hike or have a wonderful day. Perhaps the park volunteer uniform he's wearing - brown pants and khaki shirt bearing an official Volunteer-In-Park patch - is responsible for spurring these warm interactions, Harrington posits. But I wonder if another explanation might also be at play. Harrington's joy in time spent outdoors and his desire to share it with others are downright magnetic. 'It's such a wonderful experience to get out into nature,' he said. 'I think we can come more to terms with ourselves and our place in life if we experience it as much as possible.'View Harrington's wildflower reports at or email t3hiker@ to receive them directly. To get started with wildflower identification, purchase Wildflowers of the Smokies in park stores or at Holly Kays is the lead writer for the 29,000-member Smokies Life, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the scientific, historical, and interpretive activities of Great Smoky Mountains National Park by providing educational products and services such as this column. Learn more at or reach the author at hollyk@ This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: How Tom Harrington became a Great Smoky Mountains wildflower watcher
USA Today
01-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Pittsburgh Pirates at Tampa Bay Rays odds, picks and predictions
The Pittsburgh Pirates (1-4) face the Tampa Bay Rays (3-1) for the second game of a 3-game series Tuesday. First pitch from George M. Steinbrenner Field is slated for 7:05 p.m. ET. Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's MLB odds around the Pirates vs. Rays odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets. Season series: Rays lead 1-0 after 6-1 win Monday. The Pirates scored just 1 run on 4 hits and struck out 10 times Monday. They are hitting just .174 on the young season, which ranks 27th in baseball. They are leading MLB with 17 steals, though. OF Oneil Cruz has 5 of them in just 15 at-bats. The Pirates are turning to No. 3 prospect (No. 78 overall) RHP Tom Harrington. The 23-year-old will make his major league debut. The Rays are 3-1 in their temporary home ballpark that is actually the New York Yankees' spring training field. They have scored 6 runs in consecutive games as OF Jake Mangum went 4-for-4 with 2 RBIs and 2 steals Monday. The Rays are sixth in baseball with a .292 BA and third with a 2.00 ERA. Pirates at Rays projected starters RHP Tom Harrington vs. RHP Shane Baz Harrington makes his major league debut. He went 5-1 with a 3.33 ERA in 8 starts at Triple-A Indianapolis last year. He had a 0.93 WHIP, 1.6 BB/9 and 7.4 K/9 in 46 IP at Triple-A. He went 2-2 with a 2.24 ERA in 12 starts (13 games) at Double-A Akron before his promotion to Triple-A He went 14-9 with a 3.09 ERA and 261 K's in 244 2/3 minor league innings He features a fastball (93-95 mph), curveball, sweeper, splitter and changeup and he throws a lot of strikes Baz makes his first start of the season. He went 4-3 with a 3.06 ERA in 14 starts last year. He had a 1.06 WHIP, 3.1 BB/9 and 7.8 K/9 in 79 1/3 IP. Was 1-0 with a 9.64 ERA in 9 1/3 IP during spring training; had 5 BB and 4 K while allowing a .342 batting average He has not faced Pittsburgh in his career Win your fantasy baseball league with For decades, BHQ has been helping players just like you win! BHQ offers Draft Prep and full-season subscriptions. Sign up today and start winning! Pirates at Rays odds Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list of MLB odds. Lines last updated at 1:16 p.m. ET. Moneyline (ML) : Pirates +145 (bet $100 to win $145) | Rays -175 (bet $175 to win $100) : Pirates +145 (bet $100 to win $145) | Rays -175 (bet $175 to win $100) Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS) : Pirates +1.5 (-150) | Rays -1.5 (+125) : Pirates +1.5 (-150) | Rays -1.5 (+125) Over/Under (O/U): 9 (O: -102 | U: -118) Pirates at Rays picks and predictions Prediction Rays 5, Pirates 2 This is a rough matchup for Harrington in his debut. The Rays are sixth (.292) in BA and seventh (.361) in OBP. They don't hit for a lot of power, but they don't have to – especially against a strike-thrower without wipeout stuff. I love the Rays here, but I really don't want to pay the -175. Instead, you could SGP RAYS + RAYS OVER 3.5 TOTAL RUNS (-115) at a much better price. I'm also going with the run line, though, so take your pick here. The Rays are top-5 in baseball in ERA (2.00, third), WHIP (0.81, second), K/9 (10.25, fourth) and homers allowed (1, first). The Pirates can run, but they're having trouble getting on base, and as the old adage goes: You can't steal first base. Take the RAYS -1.5 (+125) if you opted against the previous SGP option. It's expected to be clear, 81 degrees and feature a light, 6-mph breeze headed out to right. The Pirates are 2-3 O/U thus far, and the Rays are 1-3 O/U. If this forecasts as I expect it to, the UNDER 9 (-118) is safe here. Play our free daily Pick'em Challenge and win! Play now! For more sports betting picks and tips, check out and BetFTW. Follow Ryan Dodson on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook. Fantasy baseball help from Subscribe now to dominate the competition.
