Environment

According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the second biggest threat to biodiversity is invasive species preceded only by habitat loss. Invasive plants are spread by natural forces, like wind and wildfire, and largely in part, by unknowing humans. Reporter Lily Jones has more to the story.

“El Camino Latino,” from advocacy group Defiende Nuestra Tierra, is a map of public lands in the Roaring Fork and Colorado River valleys. It has information on recreation in both English and Spanish, with the hopes of making the outdoors more accessible for everyone.

As of the latest update on Monday morning, the brush fire burning south of Parachute and Battlement Mesa had burned around 2,900 acres and was about 37% contained.

In their keynote, intersectional environmentalist and drag queen Pattie Gonia (she/they) shares their unlikely journey to becoming Pattie. They define intersectional environmentalism and explain how to create a personalized action compass to advocate for people and the planet. Pattie also speaks on the ways we can be guided by nature in order to move through the work of advocacy and activism.

Explore hosted Doug Peacock, author, filmmaker, and wildlife activist. In his new book, Was It Worth It?: A Wilderness Warrior's Long Trail Home, Peacock reflects on a life lived in the wild and sojourns with his generation’s environmental leaders: Author Peter Matthiessen, Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia, Doug Tompkins of North Face.

La Oficina de Gestión de Tierras afirma que los caballos no están sanos y que provocan el mal estado de los pastizales. Los protectores de los caballos salvajes que visitaron la zona dicen que los animales están sanos y no son los culpables de la degradación de la tierra.

Demand for lithium, used in electronics such as batteries, is growing. This is prompting companies to explore deposits across the country, including the Paradox Basin in southeastern Utah.

Rex and JoAnn Coffman have been ranching in Carbondale for more than 60 years. Now in their 90s, they recently sold their 141-acre homestead to the Aspen Valley Land Trust. Aspen Public Radio visited the Coffmans at their historic ranch and sent this audio postcard.

Sitting in front of a large computer monitor in the back of a Pilatus PC-12 airplane parked at the Centennial Airport, firefighter Adam Hanson says his work feels more important this year than it ever has before.

Aspen Public Radio reporter Halle Zander spoke to The Aspen Times’ Scott Condon about the plan for the Pandora’s area and about the reluctance by some Pitkin County commissioners to approve it.