Rocky Mountain Community Radio

The federal government manages the biggest dams on the Colorado River, but it hasn’t been taking a forceful role in negotiations between the states on how to allocate increasingly scarce water in the basin.

Every Valentine’s Day, tens of thousands of cards from around the world detour through Loveland, Colorado, for a special postmark. The annual tradition brings nearly 100,000 cards through the local post office before they are sent on to their final destinations.

A lack of snow, compounded by warm temperatures, has plagued Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. That will impact how much water is available come spring runoff.

The Grand Staircase-Escalante Inter-tribal Coalition provided extensive feedback for the resource management plan finalized one year ago. That plan is now in jeopardy since federal auditors ruled that Congress could use an obscure law to revoke it.

Federal auditors say that Congress could use an obscure law called the Congressional Review Act to throw out the Utah monument’s resource management plan, which sets which activities are or aren’t allowed on the 1.9 million acres.

From January 16-18, 2026, the First People’s Festival in Estes Park brought together Indigenous artists, dancers, educators, and families for a fashion show, an art market, cultural demonstrations, and a powwow, creating a space for celebration, education, and remembrance.

Experts say the federal government does not want to be the decision maker, and is pushing states to come to an agreement on future water use that will inform the river’s post-2026 operating guidelines. CU Boulder’s Chris Winter weighs in on the Interior’s draft environmental impact statement.

Warm temperatures and a lack of snow have made for an anomalous winter in the Upper Colorado River Basin. While it’s not “the new normal,” winters are certainly warming up due to climate change.

Scott Fitzwilliams took early retirement in 2025 after more than three decades with the U.S. Forest Service. He says the Trump administration’s public lands policies amount to a deliberate dismantling of the system.

The Trump administration's deadline to “review and remove” has passed with shops in the National Park closed for the season.