Gardner Wants to Delay Sage- Grouse Listing
Freshman Colorado Senator Cory Gardner has introduced an act to delay the endangered species designation of the Gunnison Sage-grouse.
His act would allow states at least six more years to implement conservation and management plans to protect the grouse without the need for federal protection.
Once numbering in the millions, the Sage-grouse have seen rapid decline since 1985 to an estimated 200,000 to 500,000 due to housing, agriculture and industrial development. The proposal was immediately blasted by a number of groups, including Conservation Colorado, the National Wildlife Federation, The National Audubon Society and The Wilderness Society.
Among the supporters of Gardner’s proposal are the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Colorado Mining Association and Utah Mining Association.
Kokanee in Decline
Blue Mesa Reservoir in Gunnison County is the largest producer of kokanee salmon in the state. But the kokanee poplulation has been in decline for the past decade, and biologists are struggling to rebuild the population.
The biggest factor in the decline of the salmon is predation by lake trout, whose population has grown significantly over the past decade. Low water conditions can also lead to kokanee decline due to overcrowding. In an effort to help the kokanee, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife encourages anglers to keep all lake trout caught that are under 30 inches.
Footballer Discusses Cancer
Buena Vista High School graduate and New England Patriots offensive tackle Nate Solder has announced that he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in April 2014.
Solder made the announcement on ESPN with the hope of being able to help others. Doctors removed the cancerous testicle and Solder went on to play that season, which led to a Super Bowl title.
No Mount William & Mary
An unnamed peak in the Leadville area will remain that way after the U.S. Board on Geographic Names revisited a 2001 request to give a subsidiary peak of Mount Elbert the name of Mount William & Mary.
After reviewing the updated application, the board decided the information was, “not significant enough to warrant reopening the case,” according to the Leadville Herald-Democrat. The request to name the peak came from Kenneth Kambis, a professor at William & Mary.
Land-Grab Bills Introduced
Colorado’s elected Republicans seem determined to transfer federally managed lands to state control.
Senate Bill 15-039 calls for establishing “joint jurisdiction” with the U.S. government over national forests and BLM land, on the premise that the states could manage them better. It is sponsored by Sen. Kent Lambert (R-Colo.Spgs.), Rep. Stephen Humphrey (R-Severance), and Rep. Bob Rankin (R-Dist. 57).
Three other Republicans, Sen. Randy Baumgardner, Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg and Rep. Don Coram, have introduced their own bill, SB-15-232, which would create a commission to study the transfer of Colorado’s public lands from the federal government to the state. Opponents of the bills see them as blatant attempts to remove these lands from federal jurisdiction for the purpose of commercial exploitation. Similar measures have been introduced by Republicans in Utah.
Christo Announces New Project
Bulgarian artist Christo has announced plans for a temporary work of art at Lake Iseo in northern Italy in June 2016. The Floating Piers will be exhibited for 16 days on the lake between Sulzano, the Island of Monte Isola and the Island of San Paolo. The temporary work of art will be completed and removed while work on Over The River continues.
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Climbers Spend the Night in the Sangres
Two mountain climbers who fell while technical climbing in the Crestone Needles area were rescued on April 14 after spending a night in the wilderness.
The unidentified 21-year-old male and female Colorado residents were found by local search and rescue volunteers after the woman contacted her parents. The two had a remote locator beacon and were picked up by a National Guard helicopter near Cottonwood Lake in Saguache County.
Peeved at PC
A 37-year-old Colorado Springs man was ticketed for discharging a gun within city limits after putting eight bullets in his Dell XPS 4210 computer in the alley behind his business. Lucas Hinch, the owner of a homeopathic herb store, had his 9mm pistol confiscated but said he had no regrets.
“It was glorious,” he said. “Angels sung on high.”
Shorts …
• An amendment allocating $750,000 to reauthorize the effective Rural Economic Development Initiative program, sponsored by Sen. Kerry Donovan, passed the Senate and has moved on to the House.
• The Bureau of Land Management Royal Gorge Field Office is seeking public comments on a draft environmental assessment for proposed CO2 wells near Gardner.
• The Chaffee People’s Clinic dissolved at the end of March and gave its remaining funds of $23,000 to Valley to Valley Senior Care Center.
• The Silver Cliff town board decided to put the issue of retail marijuana sales and grow facilities on the November 2016 ballot.
• The Bureau of Land Management has withdrawn a 230-acre riverfront parcel near Browns Canyon National Monument from “locatable mineral” mining, such as silver and gold. “Leasable minerals” such as oil, gas and geothermal are still open for mining.
• Gunnison-based attorney Art Trezise has pled guilty to a class 5 felony charge of accessory to a crime, leading to his termination as deputy county attorney.
“Notable Quotes”
“We don’t just go out there and light a match. We’ve done hundreds of things to get to that point.” – Chris Naccarato, USFS fire program manager for the Salida and Leadville ranger districts, regarding controlled burns on Limestone Ridge near Trout Creek Pass. – The Chaffee County Times, April 16, 2015
“We’re a working-class community … I’m glad that we judge people more on the size of their woodpile than their bank account.” – Lake County Commissioner Mike Bordogna, in response to the Leadville City Council’s vote to raise the mayor’s salary to $30,000. – The Leadville Herald-Democrat, April 16, 2015.
“We could always do what the small town in Utah did. They put a sign at the edge of town that said, ‘Turn off your phones, they won’t work anyway.’” – Custer County Commissioner Kit Shy, at a Board of County Comissioners meeting discussing broadband internet service in the county.
– Wet Mountain Tribune, April 9, 2015
