Category Archives: colorado

colorado, wildlife

Colo. ranchers oppose plan for wolf recovery | SummitDaily.com

 

Arguments by cattlemen not based in real science, conservationists say By Bob Berwyn summit daily news Summit County, CO Colorado

SUMMIT COUNTY — A push by conservation groups to bring wolves back to the Southern Rockies has fueled a new round of controversy, with Colorado ranchers going on record to oppose the attempt.
WildEarth Guardians recently petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to develop a wolf recovery plan for the region. Reestablishing a population of the carnivores is crucial to bringing ecosystems back into balance, according to the group.
But the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association said the idea of bringing wolves back is based on a “faulty assumption” that wolves are needed for functional, healthy ecosystems.
“We would suggest that any healthy ecosystem has the capability of adapting to the constant change under which it exists,” the association said in a statement released last month. “Constant perturbation is the norm for an ecological system and, in fact, systems are dependent on these perturbations for proper functioning … As one component of the system wanes, others quickly fill the void.”
But conservation groups supporting the wolf recovery plan said the cattlemen’s position is unfounded and completely lacking in scientific credibility.
“To the contrary, there is a robust and growing body of research indicating that wolves are critical to the ecological health of the systems they evolved in. The subtext of the (association’s) position is that it was acceptable to extirpate wolves and that the cascading degradation of the ecosystems … is also acceptable,” said WildEarth Guardians’ Rob Edward.
Recent research shows that, as wolves, deer and elk co-evolved, the predator-prey relationship between them helped shape the greater ecosystem far beyond the direct effects of hunting, he said.
By the way they hunt, wolves keep ungulate herds on the move, preventing them from over-browsing stands of young willows and aspens.
Scientists in Rocky Mountain National Park have determined that an over-population of elk has caused a dramatic decline in wetlands and associated habitat for small mammals and birds.

Colo. ranchers oppose plan for wolf recovery | SummitDaily.com

colorado

Take a hike! : Hiking Colorado: The Rocky Mountain News

Take a hike! : Hiking : The Rocky Mountain News

Scenic treasures await in Colorado’s backcountry when you feel like hoofing it

By Jan McKinney, Special to the Rocky

An ancient forest, a wilderness river, a gentle mountain lake, a desert canyon and a dark canyon all await you in the backcountry reaches of Colorado this summer. Colorado is laced with hundreds of great hikes, but here are a few to get you started.

Take a hike! : Hiking : The Rocky Mountain News

Anasazi, colorado

Lowry Pueblo: Archaeology in Southwest Colorado

Lowry Pueblo: Archaeology in Southwest Colorado

Lowry Pueblo is located 28 miles northwest of Cortez, off Highway 666 at Pleasant View on County Road CC. Guidebooks are available at the site or at the Heritage Center. The Heritage Center also offers exhibits on Lowry and an interactive computer program “People in the Past” that provides interpretation of prehistoric pueblo life from both scientific and Native American perspectives.

Limited facilities at Lowry include picnic tables and restrooms. Lowry is handicapped accessible. Please remember to bring water with you when visiting the site. Suggested visitation time, with driving, is 1/2 day, or combine your Lowry visit with a visit to the Heritage Center for a full day of activities.

BLM Colorado – Canyons of the Ancients National Monument – Home Page

BLM Colorado – Anasazi Heritage Center – Home Page

colorado, journals

Conejos Journal – July 2007

1 Comment

Nine years ago, Merri and I took Lucky Dog and our new-used truck and camper nearly 5,000 miles (round-trip) up the Rockies as far as Hinton, Alberta. We were gone nearly 5 weeks. Since then, each year, we take a “long” trip — shorter every year. This year: a couple hundred miles north for 6 nights. Not that it wasn’t beautiful and fun.

Mer and I camped and hiked with friends in the area of the South San Juan Wilderness and the Conejos River in south-central Colorado. The following is my journal with a link to photos at the end. peace, mjh

Day 1 – Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Conejos Valley, Colorado
Lake Fork Campground #18

It’s just after 10pm. I’m up about as late as I usually am at home, though I won’t be up as late as I was last night, with last minute prep of burgers and guacamole. Everyone has retired, perchance to dream. I’m sitting in our new used camper, my headlamp illuminating the keyboard as I type, mindful of my laptop’s battery limit of just over an hour. Make it snappy. (Often good advice for a writer.)

Continue reading Conejos Journal – July 2007 →

colorado, wildlife

Birds seen on Southern Colorado camping trip, 27-30 June 2007

Red-tailed Hawk
Spotted Sandpiper
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Northern (Red-shafted) Flicker
Warbling Vireo
Gray Jay
Common Raven
Violet-green Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Mountain Chickadee
American Dipper
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Yellow-rumped (Audubon’s) Warbler
MacGillivray’s Warbler
Wilson’s Warbler
Chipping Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed (Gray-headed) Junco
Pine Grosbeak
Cassin’s Finch
Pine Siskin

colorado, Other Peoples

Yarmony Pit House, Colorado

Ancient home has answers underground, by Pam Boyd, Vail CO, Colorado

EAGLE COUNTY — One of the oldest archaeological sites ever unearthed in Colorado was discovered on a sagebrush plateau in northern Eagle County 20 years ago this summer. A crew from Eagle-based Metcalf Archaeological Consultants discovered the Yarmony Pit House — a 6,000 year old, well preserved artifact treasure trove in the ranch country north of State Bridge.

It was the find of a lifetime. Evidence collected at the site shows that Yarmony was inhabited thousands of years before the Anasazi — Colorado’s famed “ancient ones” — built their dwellings at Mesa Verde. People were residing at Yarmony thousands of years before the pyramids were built in Egypt or the boulders were placed at Stonehenge.

“Yarmony has kind of become the gold standard by which you measure pit house discoveries,” says Michael Selle, White River Field Office archaeologist for the U. S. Bureau of Land Management. …

Early on, the crew knew Yarmony was special. Their excavation uncovered evidence of a prehistoric pit house — a dwelling space dug into the ground, with dirt walls, and a dirt- and brush-covered log roof supported by poles set into the ground. A hole in the center of the roof provided access into the dwelling, as well as ventilation for the fire inside.

Read it all: http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20070618/NEWS/70618018

colorado

Sacrificing Northwest Colorado

The area in northwestern Colorado that is being prepared for sacrifice to oil and gas is not like most people’s image of Colorado. This is high desert country more like New Mexico — the arid west that stretches between mountain ranges. Still, it is beautiful country already imperiled by extractive industries. Help save what’s left. mjh

BLM’s New Draft Plan for Northwest Colorado Favors Oil and Gas Development, Threatens Wildlife, Wild Lands and Cultural Artifacts

A plan released … by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) would bring more than 3,000 oil and gas wells and associated development to Northwest Colorado’s Moffat and Routt counties, home to one the state’s largest wildland complexes, including the 86,000 acre Vermillion Basin proposed wilderness area. The draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the Little Snake Resource Area will determine the fate of 1.3 million acres of public land, including 275,000 acres of citizen-proposed wilderness lands as well as critical big game habitat and migration corridors, the best greater sage-grouse habitat in Colorado, and prized Native American petroglyphs. The top planning issue is how much additional oil and gas drilling will be allowed and where, as rampant energy development encroaches on the Little Snake region from Wyoming to the north and from the Piceance Basin to the south. …

While the draft plan contains some new ideas about how the surface impacts of oil and gas roads, wells, and pipelines might be mitigated, these protections are untested and largely voluntary; the plan contains no guarantees that key sage-grouse habitat and essential big game winter habitat would not be sacrificed over the life of the plan.

“This unbalanced plan essentially gives over the Little Snake Resource Area to the oil and gas industry,” stated Suzanne Jones, Regional Director for The Wilderness Society and a participant in the Northwest Collaborative Stewardship. “We are very disappointed that it fundamentally fails to protect the many other outstanding values of the area that are so important to local citizens and all Americans.”

“Hunting in this area is unparalleled. Big game such as elk and pronghorn are abundant in northwest Colorado because they can easily migrate to the area and thrive here during the winter,” said Luke Schaefer, a Colorado Environmental Coalition employee as well as a Craig resident and avid hunter. “Every year there seems to be fewer and fewer quality hunting grounds left in the West and across Colorado – with all of the development already taking place is the state why would the BLM even consider sacrificing this area?”

http://www.wilderness.org/NewsRoom/Release/20070212.cfm
– – –

About SRCA, Southern Rockies Conservation Alliance

BLM has published its Draft Resource Management Plan. You can find this document here.

http://www.southernrockies.org/LSFO/
– – –

NW Colorado’s Canyon Country
“The Colorado Wilderness Network (CWN), the wilderness protection branch of the Southern Rockies Conservation Alliance, was formed to protect the year-round wildlife habitat and outstanding opportunities for solitude and backcountry recreation that our canyon county has to offer.”
http://www.savevermillion.org/

colorado, Mesa Verde

Mesa Verde Country (Colorado) Internet travel planner

Travel mag goes online
Mesa Verde Country Internet travel planner joins 150,000 print copies
4th 2007
By John R. Crane | Cortez Journal Staff Writer

Mesa Verde Country’s travel planner, highlighting numerous Four Corners attractions for the adventuresome, has made its way online.

An online version of the publication appeared the last week in January, said Lynn Dyer, director of Mesa Verde Tourism Information Bureau. Vacationers may download a printable version of the Mesa Verde Country Travel Planner at www.mesaverdecountry.com, view the planner on line, with hotlinks to all Travel Planner information, or fill out an online request form and have a planner mailed for free. …

The planner includes itinerary ideas, area maps, information on Mesa Verde National Park and all the other sights and attractions in Mesa Verde Country, a list of festival and event dates; a directory of area restaurants and accommodations; beautiful pictures and photo tips; and everything else visitors need to plan a memorable vacation to one of the nation’s richest archaeological areas.

Mesa Verde Country is known as the archaeological center of America and boasts beautiful landscapes, rich history, cultural heritage and endless outdoor activities. Its centerpiece is the impressive Mesa Verde National Park. Other Mesa Verde Country attractions include Ute Mountain Tribal Park, Hovenweep National Monument, Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Anasazi Heritage Center and the Crow Canyon Archeological Center.

For more information about destinations and activities in Colorado’s Mesa Verde Country, including lodging and special events, call 1-800-530-2998 or visit online at www.mesaverdecountry. com.

colorado, wildlands

Pike-San Isabel National Forest in south-central Colorado – Land Management Plan

The Pike-San Isabel National Forest in south-central Colorado encompasses more than 2.2 million acres from the Continental Divide south almost to the New Mexico border. This extraordinary landscape provides life to thousands of native plants and animals, including bighorn sheep, mountain goat, and antelope, and helps bolster the economy of local communities along Colorado’s southern Front Range.

The Pike-San Isabel National Forest is revising the Land Management Plan for the forest. Won’t you take a moment to remind the Forest Service how important these lands are and why they should be managed to promote healthy ecosystems, maintain opportunities for quiet backcountry recreation, and provide habitat for native species?

USDA Forest Service, Pike & San Isabel National Forests, Cimarron & Comanche National Grasslands – Projects&Plans

Pike and San Isabel National Forests
Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands
Supervisor’s Office
2840 Kachina Dr.
Pueblo, CO 81008
Ph: 719-553-1400, Fax: 719-553-1440

http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/psicc/projects/forest_revision/

Anasazi, colorado, outliers

Where the Moon Stood Still, and the Ancients Watched

Where the Moon Stood Still, and the Ancients Watched – New York Times By MIRIAM HORN

Why did the Chaco people — the Anasazi, or “ancestral Puebloans,” as their descendants prefer — build an enormous ceremonial Great House at Chimney Rock, so far from home, 1,000 feet above the nearest water supply and at the base of immense sandstone spires?

It was not until two decades ago that archaeologists arrived at an explanation that most now accept: the Chaco people built the Great House as a lunar observatory precisely aligned to a celestial event that occurs just once in a generation.

That rare event, a “major lunar standstill,” is happening now, and continues through 2007. To witness this extraordinary moonrise, some two dozen visitors, including me, arrived to climb the Chimney Rock mesa in the middle of an August night.

Every 18.6 years, the moon does something strange: it radically expands the voyage it makes each month across the sky and, at the northern and southernmost edges of that journey, appears to rise in the same spot for two or three nights in a row.

[mjh: That same phenomenon figures into the famous Sun Dagger spiral on Fajada Butte in Chaco Canyon. I highly recommend you follow the link to this article which begins with a breath-taking photo by Helen L. Richardson and nicely balances the personal, the historical and scientific facets of this story. See also Chimney Rock Pueblo Outlier to Chaco Canyon (mjh)
]

Anasazi, colorado

Canyons of the Ancients proposals address development, preservation

Cortez Journal Online – Cortez Colorado By John R. Crane | Journal Staff Writer

“We would allow the standing architecture to deteriorate and go back to the earth,” Jacobson said during the presentation. “That follows a Native American philosophy of not interfering with these ancestral structures.”

Balancing energy development and site protection is the main thrust of an early draft of management alternatives for Canyons of the Ancients National Monument.

Three options each contain a different level of protection of archaeological sites in the 164,000-acre monument, and each opens varying numbers of acres to leasing for oil-and-gas resource drainage. …

Amber Clark, with the San Juan Citizens Alliance in Durango, said the draft alternatives are typical — with one emphasizing more protection, another less, and another proposing an even balance between development and protection.

However, Clark wondered why all the alternatives contained a lease option.

“I don’t understand why there’s no alternative not allowing a lease,” she said.

colorado, daytrips

Colorado Hiking Trail List

Colorado Hiking Hike List

The hikes are broken down into 5 groups depending on what city they are roughly west of (or near to in a few cases). The cities are, from north to south: Ft. Collins; Denver; Colorado Springs; Pueblo; Walsenburg. All these cities have major roads heading west into the mountains. Each hike has its own webpage that is linked to the names below.

[mjh: nice job; obviously a labor of love. Trail descriptions include driving instructions and photos.]