Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Pitkin County has committed to using science to protect wildlife and habitat on the 5,000 acres of open space property it owns, and last week, the Open Space and Trails Board recommended spending more than $200,000 studying area wildlife.

Officials with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) announced that the Basalt shooting range will reopen Saturday. It’s been closed for more than two months after the Lake Christine Fire ignited there, and there will be some changes at the range.

Earlier this week, biologists with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) announced they have found a lineage of Colorado cutthroat trout, previously thought extinct.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) announced Thursday that it is lifting some fishing restrictions, and increasing others.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) hosted a community meeting Monday to discuss the Basalt shooting range, which has been closed since the Lake Christine Fire ignited there on July 3. Some community members in Basalt have called for the range to be relocated or closed permanently, but others would like to see the range reopened as soon as possible.

On Monday, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is hosting the second of two community meetings to discuss the future of the Basalt gun range.

Low water levels and high temperatures are causing stress to fish in the Roaring Fork Valley, so experts are asking anglers to stop fishing in the mid-afternoon.

Gov. John Hickenlooper signed a bill this week that provides funding for a state program to prevent the spread of invasive species into Colorado’s lakes and reservoirs. The pressure is still on local authorities to cover most of the cost of boat inspections.

There have been several reports of bear activity near Aspen early this spring. Officials with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) want humans to step up their bear awareness.

Earlier this month, three conservation organizations sued the federal government over a plan to kill bears and mountain lions near Rifle.

Law enforcement officers with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) say they’re seeing more hunters using drones to track wildlife. 

Gov. John Hickenlooper recently appointed Glenwood Springs resident Dr. Carrie Hauser to the state’s Parks and Wildlife Commission. This board sets rules and oversees state parks and wildlife programs.

Elizabeth Stewart-Severy sat down with Hauser to talk about the appointment.

Glenwood Springs resident Carrie Hauser has been appointed by the governor to serve on the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission.

Welcome to Valley Roundup. I’m Carolyn Sackariason.

Now that an affiliate of the Aspen Skiing Co. has closed on the sale of Intrawest and Mammoth Resorts, many are waiting for the equivalent of Vail Resorts’ Epic Pass to be offered for the 16 ski areas we are now linked with.

And leading up to the deal, which is worth of billions of dollars, the SkiCo had its sights set on a much smaller piece of the ski industry pie.

Welcome to Valley Roundup. I’m Carolyn Sackariason.

Joining me in the studio this week are Brent Gardner-Smith, executive director of Aspen Journalism and Andy Stone, former editor of the Aspen Times, as well as Randy Essex, editor and publisher of the Glenwood Post Independent speaking via Skype.

Visitors at Ruedi Reservoir this summer will find new gates at the boat ramp, as officials are restricting access so they can more effectively screen for invasive species of mussels. Keeping these creatures out of the reservoir is top priority.