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Tag: Environmental Policy

Federal Investigation into Colorado Wolf Death Underway, Questions Remain Over Legality of Importing Wolves
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Federal Investigation into Colorado Wolf Death Underway, Questions Remain Over Legality of Importing Wolves

By: Christa Swanson | CBS Colorado Colorado Parks and Wildlife said an investigation is underway after a female gray wolf died in southwest Colorado last month. They received a mortality alert for wolf 2506 on Oct. 30. The wolf was part of a group of wolves from British Columbia that were brought to Colorado in January. Because gray wolves are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, it's illegal to harass, harm, or kill them without federal authorization. Officials said they will determine the wolf's cause of death following a necropsy and investigation. The reintroduction of gray wolves into Colorado has been a controversial one. Colorado Parks and Wildlife has spent about $3 million to relocate 30 wolves to the state since 2023, nearly four times...
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Study Finds Wolves Cut Ranch Income Nearly 30 Percent
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American Farm Bureau, Approved, National

Study Finds Wolves Cut Ranch Income Nearly 30 Percent

By: Daniel Munch | American Farm Bureau While the expansion of gray and Mexican gray wolf populations is often hailed as a conservation success, the consequences for ranching families can be gruesome, costly and complex - threatening the safety of ranch families and their pets and livestock, as well as the long-term survival of multigenerational ranches and the rural economies they anchor. Focusing on the Mexican gray wolf, a recent University of Arizona study analyzes both direct livestock depredation and indirect effects such as stress-induced weight loss and elevated management costs based on 2024 cattle prices. Findings are based on survey responses from impacted ranchers, modeling of herd-level financial outcome and county-level livestock performance trends. In areas w...
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Colorado’s “green” rules aren’t about the planet—they’re about control
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s “green” rules aren’t about the planet—they’re about control

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Being a good steward of the earth means doing it their way One of my pet theories about statists (adherents to a political system in which the state has substantial centralized control over social and economic affairs per the Oxford Dictionary) is that while they say their objective is to make the world more inclusive or green or whatever, what they really want is to control you. It’s not inclusive if you don’t do it my way. It’s not green if you don’t do it my way. I reject this notion wholeheartedly. I believe it is perfectly possible to be a decent person who wants to include everyone without doing it their way. I believe it’s possible to be a good steward of this earth and the beings living on it without do...
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The County That Said No
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

The County That Said No

By Sean M. Pond | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice There are moments in history when ordinary people must decide if they will remain silent or rise up. If they will be ruled or govern themselves. If they will allow outsiders to rewrite their way of life, or if they will draw a line and say, "This far, and no further." Montrose County just drew that line. I authored and introduced Ordinance 2025-01, a landmark measure that would prohibit the introduction, facilitation, or establishment of non-native animal species in our county. It has passed its first reading and entered a 30-day public review period before coming back for final consideration. And while this ordinance may seem narrow in scope, it represents something far greater. It is a declaration of sovereignty. It is a d...
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West Slope’s Conscience v. Denver’s Memory
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GregWalcher.com, Commentary, State, Top Stories

West Slope’s Conscience v. Denver’s Memory

By Greg Walcher | Commentary, GregWalcher.com Washington Evening Star humorist Philander Chase Johnson created a great character named Senator Sorghum. A 1902 piece called “A Delicate Distinction” had one character saying, “That friend of yours seems to have a clear conscience.” Senator Sorghum answered, “No, not a clear conscience; merely a bad memory.” A convenient memory is common in politics. And current negotiations regarding the Colorado River District’s attempt to purchase the Shoshone water rights from Excel Energy provide a perfect example. Water providers up and down the Front Range, and especially Denver Water, seem to be conveniently forgetting the agreement made more than a decade ago – to support the purchase, and even help finance it. No water rights question i...
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Western Water Crisis Deepens as Key Colorado River Decisions Loom
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The Fence Post, Approved, State

Western Water Crisis Deepens as Key Colorado River Decisions Loom

By Ali Longwell | The Fence Post Western Slope elected officials, water managers, engineers and conservationists met in Grand Junction on Friday, Oct. 3, all focused on one thing: the uncertain future of the Colorado River. “Water users, as a lot, tend to crave certainty, and that certainty seems more and more elusive these days,” said Peter Fleming, general counsel for the Colorado River District, at this year’s annual seminar hosted by the River District. Andy Mueller, the River District’s general manager, said the Colorado River Basin was “at a crossroads.” While the seminar broached many of the challenges and opportunities facing those who rely on the Colorado River, most discussions came back to two looming decisions that will dictate how the future looks for the 40 millio...
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Colorado e-bike tax credits will be reduced by 50 percent in 2026
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kdvr.com, Approved, State

Colorado e-bike tax credits will be reduced by 50 percent in 2026

By: Gabrielle Franklin | KDVR DENVER (KDVR) — Challenging economic times have hit many this year, including the state of Colorado. A popular program that helped more Coloradans get outside will have you paying more out of pocket next year. Tax credits for Colorado e-bikes are set to be reduced next year. That action, combined with other economic pressures, has small business owners concerned. Dan “DJ” Johnson of Cycle Erie said his business has been doing well this year.“It’s been a strong year for us. Not quite as strong as we hoped but it’s been good,” Johnson said about the year his business has had in 2025. He worries that uncertainty handed down from both the state and federal government could get in the way of the shop’s success next year. A $450 tax credit for ...
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Billions flow to green groups after EPA’s 2009 carbon ruling
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Just The News, Approved, National

Billions flow to green groups after EPA’s 2009 carbon ruling

By Brett Rowland | The Center Square via Just the News Fed grants to organizations increased from $350 million in 2009 to nearly $1.4 billion in 2023, analysis finds. Changes to the Environmental Protection Agency's strict regulations on the automobile industry could cost nonprofit groups that reported a 267% funding bump in the years since the federal agency's 2009 Endangerment Finding, a rule that provided a legal basis for the agency to regulate vehicle emissions and the energy industry through the Clean Air Act. Democracy Restored, a nonprofit dedicated to showing how government works, reviewed the tax returns of more than 75 of the top nonprofit organizations focused on climate change. Funding for those 75 groups has increased significantly since 2009 with their bottom lines ...
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State school trust lands were meant to fund education, not environmental agendas
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GregWalcher.com, Approved, Commentary, State

State school trust lands were meant to fund education, not environmental agendas

By Greg Walcher | GregWalcher.com A land ownership checkerboard exists in nearly every state because of an oddity called “state school trust lands.” The federal government granted those lands at the time of statehood, under the Land Ordinance of 1785. Thomas Jefferson’s system divides and records land into townships, each with 36 one-square-mile sections. New states entering the union were each given 2 sections per township, to be held in trust to fund public schools. State Land Boards were created to manage those lands – in my state of Colorado it’s 4 million acres. The Board was charged with administering the lands “in such a manner as will secure the maximum possible amount” for the school fund. The Lincoln Institute of Public Lands explains, “That singularity of purpose continues...
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350 Colorado Markets Local “Grassroots”, But Operates As National Lobby Arm
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Green Leap Forward, Approved, Commentary, State

350 Colorado Markets Local “Grassroots”, But Operates As National Lobby Arm

By: Green Leap Forward Staff | Commentary, Green Leap Forward via Substack In Colorado politics, one pattern is impossible to miss: whenever a bill, ordinance, or rule touches energy - whether at the city council, county commission, or statehouse -someone from the organization 350 Colorado is likely there. Their members sometimes testify in groves, often with the same prepared talking points. And whenever lobbying records are published, their name almost always appears. The group bills itself as “the largest Colorado-based grassroots network” fighting the “climate crisis.” But its constant presence in policymaking reveals something deeper: 350Colorado is less a spontaneous scrappy community uprising and far more a professional advocacy machine. Its ve...
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