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I agree with the PI’s editorial supporting the CORE Act. The CORE Act is the best legislation introduced for Colorado hunters in a generation. Comprising four previous bills generated over a multi-year period with bipartisan input, it permanently protects several large swaths of land that provide increasingly critical habitat for big game animals. At the same time it codifies more areas for mechanized and motorized recreationists. Population pressure is consuming more and more land that wildlife requires for its health, well-being and reproduction. The CORE Act balances the technological challenges presented by more and varied recreationists accessing the lands shared [...]

EAGLE COUNTY — White River National Forest Supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams is well aware that hundreds of local residents are adamantly and vocally opposed to the proposed Berlaimont development north of Edwards. But last week, he agreed to sit down with a small group of opponents who wanted to make a personal appeal. Berlaimont Estates is a 680-acre parcel of private property surrounded by U.S. Forest Service lands, located north of Edwards and west of the Berry Creek drainage. Owners Petr Lukes and Jana Sobotova have proposed 19 units and nine accessory units on 35-acre or larger parcels in the area. This [...]

The Carbondale nonprofit, Wilderness Workshop, announced recently that more than 100 local businesses have signed on to support a campaign to celebrate the role that public lands play in bolstering the statewide economy. A poster listing those businesses will be ­displayed in numerous locations throughout the Roaring Fork Valley, the nonprofit says in a news release. Also, Conservation Colorado, a Denver nonprofit, has named the dozens of statewide businesses that have joined together to communicate their appreciation of public lands. Collectively, those businesses are urging U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner to protect them in Congress by supporting the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and [...]

May 18 was the third anniversary of Colorado Public Lands Day, and we can’t help but reflect on the bounty of beautiful and diverse landscapes, endless backcountry recreation adventures, and economic opportunities that our public lands provide. With an increasing population and millions of tourists flocking to our state annually to enjoy the outdoors, Colorado has both an opportunity and challenge to balance the myriad demands on and values of public lands. By-and-large, our state sets an example among western states for thoughtful, well-balanced stewardship and management of public lands. Perhaps the best vindication of this thoughtful approach and commitment to [...]

More than a dozen years ago, an unusual coalition of ranchers, outdoorsmen, recreationists, local government leaders and environmentalists banded together to try to prevent oil and gas development in the Thompson Divide area. The Thompson Divide Coalition has had success, ultimately convincing federal land managers to cancel some two dozen leases in the sprawling backcountry south of Glenwood Springs and west of Carbondale that were issued without adequate impact reviews. The coalition’s grassroots influence also helped sway a U.S. Forest Service decision in 2015 to place the lands off limits to new oil and gas leases for at least the next [...]