Living a green life is the ultimate goal, right? You’re doing better by the environment, making sustainable choices, and even potentially bringing down your expenses. What’s more, by living a greener life, you’re doing your part to help address climate…
Last week, a federal court ruled that the Bureau of Land Management failed to follow the law in selling oil and gas leases across Southwest Colorado in two recent auctions. The ruling applies to 14 parcels involving about 10,000 acres…
Bighorns need our help! Disease from domestic sheep is threatening bighorns in Colorado. We need CPW to help close high risk domestic allotments.
Electricity customers across Southwest Colorado have the opportunity this month to provide feedback about the future of our electricity supply. The Colorado Public Utility Commission is reviewing plans for long-term electric generation resources put forth by Tri-State Generation and Transmission,…
Imagine Colorado 150 years ago, when hearing a faraway wolf howl or seeing a bighorn was not rare. While many things have changed in those 150 years, our Wildlife Program aims to restore this wildlife and ensure that it happens…
After a whirlwind year, it’s time to take stock of some conservation gains over the past 12 months. We often ride a teeter-totter of conservation policy, down one year, up the next, but overall many a cherished landscape across the…
Our work protecting the lands and forests across the San Juan Basin is ever-changing. Here is a quick summary of what we’re working on right now: Bootjack Ranch/Valle Seco Land Exchange The Decision Notice for this sordid and coordinated effort…
One of the most remarkable features of Southwest Colorado is the spectacular canyon carved by the Dolores River. On those occasions when an abundance of snowpack blesses our region, adventurers can enjoy floating through 100 miles of a wild canyon…
The choice between continued coal power or equitable transition at San Juan Generating Station There is nothing enchanting about Enchant Energy’s proposal to continue burning dirty coal and emitting pollutants in the Four Corners long into the future. Enchant proposes…
A friend recently lamented the apparent disappearance of Colorado’s trademark cobalt blue skies, those piercingly clear summer days in the mountains when you can see almost forever. Instead, our peaks and valleys are obscured by smoke in a ritual repeated…
Colorado is currently considering ways to strengthen rules for protecting water from future hardrock mining operations. It’s a direct link back to the Gold King Mine spill in 2015, though one perhaps obscured by the passage of time. The path…
Congress reconvenes this month with major unfinished business around land conservation legislation of great significance to Southwest Colorado. After decades of analysis and consideration, last year bills advanced through the U.S. House of Representatives to enact wilderness and other protective…
It’s really no surprise that Colorado’s highest peaks attract the greatest attention from human visitors, smart phone cameras, Wilderness designations, and more – they are awe-inspiring and photogenic. However, most of us have come to know that the “lower and…
A Montana judge recently ruled the head of the Bureau of Land Management had illegally served as the agency’s director for more than a year. That’s a big deal, seeing as it is the nation’s largest land manager. In Colorado,…
Twenty years ago, Colorado wildlife officials restored long-missing lynx to the state’s forests and mountains. It was a joy to watch lynx bound away from their release point at Rio Grande Reservoir and take to their native habitat. Changing societal…
Last week, La Plata Electric Association inched closer to gaining the basic information it has long desired to evaluate whether it makes sense to stay with Tri-State Generation and Transmission as its wholesale electricity supplier or jump ship to potentially…
The transformation in Colorado’s energy landscape over the past year is nothing short of breathtaking. A good part of that transformation owes to the leadership of La Plata Electric Association. Who might have imagined a year ago that LPEA would…
Stand up for New Oil and Gas Protections After nearly a decade in the making, Colorado passed major oil and gas reforms in 2019 affirming that its agency, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC), will place health, safety,…
Photo: John Fielder Last week, the Bureau of Land Management finalized plans to open millions of acres of southern Utah to energy development, oil and gas drilling, coal mining and a variety of other extraction activities. These were the…
Conservationists pursue protective designations like wilderness or wild and scenic rivers to help ensure the undeveloped character of cherished places is guaranteed into the future. It’s a bulwark against the creeping industrialization that often threatens to consume the quiet valleys…
In 2014, our region gained notoriety as the nation’s methane hotspot. Researchers at NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration noticed via satellite measurements a plume of methane over the Four Corners that dwarfed anywhere else in the country….
Photo: National Park Service In our original blog, ‘Why Restore Wolves to Colorado,’ we briefly discussed the top five reasons wolves should be reintroduced to the state. Now, we’re digging deeper into each of those arguments. You can also check…
We know that meaningful and permanent public lands protections take time. Lots of time. Lots of stakeholders are at the table and compromises are hashed out over years, not weeks. Often times such efforts are framed by politicians as being…
Photo: Jack Brauer Really, it isn’t a surprise to most of us that the majority of Western Slope voters support our public lands and want them protected. For those who are skeptical, this recent poll clearly shows widespread support for…
Come join us for the annual Four Corners Air Quality Group meeting in Durango this Wednesday to hear about important factors in our regional air quality and some of the steps being taken to improve it. There will also be updates from agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other governmental entities such as the NM Environmental Department.
This week marks the 10th anniversary of long-simmering efforts to obtain added wilderness protections for the high ranges of the San Juan Mountains. Back in 2009, then Rep. John Salazar first introduced the San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act, legislation aimed…
Photo: Michael Remke Fire & Forests Learning Series Part III: Resilience Post 416 Fire November 6th, 6-8 pm Powerhouse Science Center Durango, CO To close the series, we will direct the conversation to the lessons learned by our community…
Photo: Michael Remke Fire & Forests Learning Series Part I: The History of Fire & Forest Ecology in the San Juan Mountains October 23rd, 6-8 pm Powerhouse Science Center The series will kick off with a presentation on the foundational…
Photo: Alex Pullen SJCA Open House & Wolf Creek Campaign Update Tuesday, October 29th 5-7 pm Pagosa Brewing & Grill 118 N. Pagosa Blvd., Pagosa Springs Wondering what the latest is with our decade-long campaign to protect Wolf Creek…
Photo: Wikimedia Commons In our original blog, ‘Why Restore Wolves to Colorado,’ we briefly discussed the top five reasons wolves should be reintroduced to the state. Now, we’re digging deeper into each of those arguments. You can also check out Part…
In our previous blog, ‘Why Restore Wolves to Colorado,’ we briefly discussed the top five reasons wolves should be reintroduced to the state. In this and future blogs, we’re digging deeper into each of those arguments. Blogs by Gary Skiba,…
Conservation advocates routinely harp on the single-minded focus of the Trump administration exhorting resource exploitation on our public lands. In case that just sounds like hyperbole, recent real-life examples help illustrate the reality of the Department of Interior’s energy dominance…
In just a few weeks, Public Service Co. of New Mexico will initiate the process to officially retire the San Juan Generating Station, the 1,600-megawatt, coal-fired behemoth outside Farmington that once burned coal day and night to generate electricity. It’s…
Photo: Tom Sykes The Forest Service has rescinded its approval to use chainsaws in Weminuche and South San Juan Wildernesses! We were surprised last month to hear about Regional Forester’s illegal approval to use motorized equipment in the form of…
Photo: National Park Service Chain Saws in Wilderness Update June 4th, 2019 Background On May 7th the Forest Service unexpectedly, and without any public notice or input, announced it would allow chain saws in the Weminuche and South San Juan…
Photo: Fish and Wildlife Service Wolves have long stirred strong emotions in this country and still do. The idea of bringing wolves back to Colorado generates passionate support as well as die-hard opposition. Yet from an ecological standpoint, wolves belong…
Clean off those ‘No Pillage’ bumperstickers*, because here we go again. If you’ve lived in the area for long, you know the Village has a decades-long history. The short story is that a billionaire from Texas has long wanted to…
Below is our press release detailing our arguments against the Forest Service’s recent secretive approval allowing for chainsaws to be used in the Weminuche and South San Juan Wildernesses starting June 1. We’re asking the court to reverse the decision….
The Forest Service’s recent decision to approve using chain saws to cut out downed trees in wilderness areas might strike some as no big deal. But for longtime advocates for the wilderness concept generally, and supporters of the Weminuche and…
This month, the Colorado legislature passed landmark oil and gas reform legislation that directs the state to adopt next generation methane standards and expand air quality protections statewide. On Tuesday, the Air Quality Control Division will hold a public hearing…
Colorado is finally trying to revamp the regulation of oil and gas development for the 21st century. And it’s long overdue. For decades, Colorado’s official charge to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission was to “foster” oil and…
Spring is in the air, and with it comes potentially big changes for our electric power supply. Leadership changes abound at both our local rural electric cooperative, La Plata Electric Association, and its wholesale electric supplier, Tri-State Generating and Transmission….
Energy 101: Navigating the New Energy Market Saturday, March 23rd 3:15 – 5:45 pm Durango Public Library Renewable energy is now less expensive than coal. This will be a community discussion about how to take advantage of these new…
Photo: Alex Pullen OK, here we go again. Many of you joined us in submitting protests this last fall on the draft decision to provide road access to the Village. And for good reason. It’s not surprising they went ahead and…
Photo: Jason Hatfield Fans of Utah’s spectacular redrock country can savor congressional action this week that advanced protections for a million acres of the incomparable San Rafael Swell, and one of the Colorado Plateau’s longest wild river segments through Desolation…
Photo: Jack Brauer Senator Bennet and Representative Neguse are breathiing new life into the decade-long campaign to permanently protect iconic, yet vulnerable, alpine landscapes in the San Juan Mountains. Next week, they’re introducing a new bill, the Colorado Outdoor Recreation &…
While Colorado has been a national leader in establishing state-wide methane rules to limit waste, a task force is calling for more to be done to curb ozone pollution stemming from the oil and gas industry. With many counties, particularly…
Climate Action Happy Hour Monday, December 10th 5-6:30 pm Carver Brewing, Durango You’re invited to join us and our friends at Conservation Colorado to discuss the future of renewable energy for our region and actions we can take to encourage…
Photo: Jason Hatfield With spring full bore upon us, it’s hard not to cast an envious eye toward the high country and start daydreaming about alpine wildflower hikes. One favorite destination for many is Ice Lake Basin outside Silverton, one…
We’re celebrating! The Colorado state water court has upheld the instream water right instituted by the Colorado Water Conservation Board for the Dolores River in 2015. The standard was primarily intended to protect three struggling native fish populations, but will…
Responsible management of energy and water may be two of the biggest challenges we face this century, particularly in light of climate change. Colorado’s first-ever state water plan was a difficult but important step toward successfully meeting those challenges. The Alliance joins other…
