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Aspen Journalism
Company with oil and gas interests seeking to keep rights alive for reservoir on Thompson Creek
A company with an interest in oil shale development in western Colorado is seeking to maintain its water rights associated with a proposed reservoir on Thompson Creek that would be located within an area proposed for oil and gas lease withdrawal. Puckett Land Co. is seeking to hold on to...
Data dashboard: December occupancy rate in Aspen on par with last year
Aspen Journalism is compiling a data dashboard highlighting metrics of local public interest, updated weekly. Winter occupancy is still lagging but new hotel inventory has been added. Paid occupancy in Aspen reached 63.5% in December, up from 63.4% last year. Snowmass recorded 47.3% paid occupancy, down from 2022’s 48.4%, according...
Data dashboard: Roaring Fork basin snowpack is down to 80% of normal
Aspen Journalism is compiling a data dashboard highlighting metrics of local public interest, updated weekly. Snowpack in the Roaring Fork basin has gone up since last week but remains below normal, reaching an average of 5.9 inches of snow-water equivalent per site on Jan. 7, or 81% of median, according to NRCS.
Climate report projects continued warming and declining streamflows for Colorado
Scientists predict with high confidence that Colorado’s future spring runoff will come earlier; soil moisture will be lower; heat waves, droughts and wildfires will be more frequent and intense; and a thirstier atmosphere will continue to rob rivers of their flows — changes that are all driven by higher temperatures caused by humans burning fossil fuels.
Data dashboard: Snowpack at Indy Pass reaches 62.5% of normal
Aspen Journalism is compiling a data dashboard highlighting metrics of local public interest, updated weekly. Snowpack in the Roaring Fork basin has gone up since last week but is below normal, reaching an average of 5.7 inches of snow-water equivalent per site on Jan. 1, or 85% of median, according to NRCS.
Holiday potlucks and food pantries nourish scents of community
There are few more-intimate ways of creating social capital than by sharing nourishment. Community potlucks are a long-standing tradition in many communities where dishes are prepared and shared, along with conversation, laughter and love. “Hosting new friends” was the heading for a holiday celebration Dec. 17 at the Aspen Chapel,...
Colorado River crisis looms over state’s landscape decisions
The deepening troubles of the Colorado River, a significant source of water for most of Colorado’s 5.9 million residents, has implications for the types of grasses we grow in our yards and in street medians. Speaking in Las Vegas recently, former Arizona Gov. and former U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce...
Data dashboard: Above-average air temperatures at ASE
Aspen Journalism is compiling a data dashboard highlighting metrics of local public interest, updated weekly. Snowpack in the Roaring Fork basin has gone up since last week, reaching an average of 5.5 inches of snow-water equivalent per site on Dec. 25, or 90% of median, according to NRCS. SNOTEL sites...
Regionalism evolves as a uniting force from Aspen to Parachute
The community I am searching for extends more than 80 miles, from Aspen to Parachute. This contiguous, linear city clusters along Highway 82 and Interstate 70, and has a population of about 90,000 – roughly the size of Longmont — and that’s before counting the second homeowners and tourists.
Drought task force can’t agree on conservation program recommendations
Programs that would pay water users to conserve and send that water downstream for the benefit of the Colorado River system remain too controversial for Colorado water managers to agree on. A statewide task force has failed to make recommendations to lawmakers about the primary issue they were supposed to...
River District inks historic water rights deal for Western Slope
Water managers, state and county elected officials and representatives from environmental and recreation organizations all gathered in Glenwood Springs on Tuesday to mark a historic deal intended to keep water in the Colorado River. The Glenwood Springs-based Colorado River Water Conservation District has inked a nearly $100 million deal with...
Data dashboard: November occupancy in Aspen slightly up from last year
Aspen Journalism is compiling a data dashboard highlighting metrics of local public interest, updated weekly. Winter occupancy rate is down from last year but more rooms have been booked. Paid occupancy in Aspen reached 33.2% in November, up from 32.4% last year. Snowmass recorded 9.9% paid occupancy, down from 2022’s...
Imminence of CRJ-700 retirement overstated in initial airport expansion studies
County-commissioned studies from a decade ago that predicted air carriers serving the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport would by now be phasing out the only commercial aircraft serving the market overstated the imminence of the CRJ-700’s retirement. But how much longer the plane, which was last manufactured in 2011, can be...
Lower basin water managers say it’s time to fix their supply/demand problem
LAS VEGAS — Representatives from two lower basin states on the Colorado River have said they would finally address something that the upper basin states, including Colorado, have long pressed them to do: Fix the supply/demand imbalance sometimes called the “structural deficit.”. Water uses in the lower basin...
More than two-thirds of Aspen’s occupied homes are deed-restricted
Seventy percent of the full-time occupied units in Aspen are deed-restricted, the second-highest rate among 38 rural and resort communities in Colorado and five out-of-state ski towns inventoried in a recent survey. The 2023 Workforce Housing Report from the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments (NWCCOG) and the Colorado Association of...
Data dashboard: Roaring Fork basin snowpack reaches 114% of median
Aspen Journalism is compiling a data dashboard highlighting metrics of local public interest, updated weekly. Snowpack in the Roaring Fork basin has gone up since last week, reaching an average of 5 inches of snow-water equivalent per site on Dec. 10, or 114% of median, according to NRCS. SNOTEL sites...
Study finds that livestock growers need more compensation for water conservation
The results of a recent economic study of Grand County irrigators show that certain water conservation programs may be worth it for irrigators who grow hay but not for those who grow cows. In 2020, a group of nine flood irrigators in the Kremmling area, scientists and conservation groups began...
Data dashboard: Roaring Fork Basin snowpack is close to normal
Aspen Journalism is compiling a data dashboard highlighting metrics of local public interest, updated weekly. Most SNOTEL sites record snowpack close to normal — with the exception of Indy Pass. Snowpack in the Roaring Fork basin has gone up since last week, reaching an average of 4.1 inches of...
Colorado wildlife officials aim to reduce hunter crowding, sustain elk herds
As more recreationists are drawn to Colorado public lands, wildlife officials have noted changing patterns in elk herds’ health, population numbers and habitat. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials are considering several changes aimed at managing both the elk population and complaints of hunter overcrowding. In presentations to Garfield and...
Colorado lawmakers expected to consider state permit program protecting wetlands
Colorado lawmakers are expected to consider legislation next session aimed at providing project permits while still protecting wetlands, which were left vulnerable after a U.S. Supreme Court decision in May. The Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water Act has protected the “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) since 1972. But exactly...
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Aspen Journalism is a local, nonprofit and investigative journalism organization in Aspen, Colorado. Our mission is to produce excellent journalism, as well-informed citizens make better decisions and journalism is key to a functioning democracy.
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