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Tag: Garfield County

Roan Plateau Acreage Included In Potential December Oil and Gas Lease Auction
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Grand Junction Sentinel, Approved, Local

Roan Plateau Acreage Included In Potential December Oil and Gas Lease Auction

By: Dan West | Grand Junction Daily Sentinel This screenshot shows acreage on the Roan Plateau being considered by the Bureau of Land Management for a December lease sale.Source: BLM This week, the Bureau of Land Management opened a 30-day public scoping period on a proposed oil and gas lease sale of up to 126,744 acres, including acreage on the Roan Plateau between De Beque and Rifle. The BLM is seeking public input on 114 oil and gas parcels in Colorado that could be included in a December 2026 lease sale. Several parcels included are on the Roan Plateau north of Parachute, an area that has been the focus of past legal battles over oil and gas development. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT GRAND JUNCTION DAILY SENTINEL
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Dozens Of Amicus Briefs Challenge Boulder Climate Case Before SCOTUS
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Dozens Of Amicus Briefs Challenge Boulder Climate Case Before SCOTUS

By: Kyle Kohli | Complete Colorado As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments in the now 8-year old Boulder climate lawsuit, more than three dozen amicus briefs submitted in the case have made the same essential point: Boulder’s lawsuit against oil and gas companies is an unconstitutional attempt to use state courts to dictate national energy and climate policy, and the high court should put a stop to it.   The briefs represent one of the broadest coalitions to weigh in on climate litigation in years, spanning the U.S. Department of Justice, 78 members of Congress, 27 state attorneys general, energy-producing Colorado counties, former senior national security officials and major business, legal and policy organizations.  Ahead of oral arg...
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The record that removed a child: Allegations, filings and fallout
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

The record that removed a child: Allegations, filings and fallout

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice In Part 1, Fitzke describes how things unraveled at home and led into court. From there, the case played out through filings, testimony and what was said in court. Court filings show the case against Heather Fitzke relied on letters, testimony and screenshots. In one letter, a Basalt parent described the teen as fearful of returning home and said Fitzke had made life harder by withholding identification, taking money and posting about the teen online. Another letter included allegations that Fitzke yelled, threw items in the teen’s room, restricted access to medication and expressed beliefs about gender identity that concerned other parents. Screenshots submitted to the court show a series of text messages attributed to Fitzke. ...
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How a Garfield County dispute turned into a court-ordered separation
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

How a Garfield County dispute turned into a court-ordered separation

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Heather Fitzke’s story offers a look at how quickly a family dispute can move from home into the courtroom—and how outside involvement, public statements and court filings can reshape parental authority in ways many families may not expect. That side of the case is laid out in Part 2. Heather Fitzke says what happened to her family didn’t start in a courtroom. But that’s where it changed everything. She expected to defend herself, and she also ended up arguing with a judge about pronouns.  That moment came during a seven-hour hearing on Sept. 10 that would change the course of her family. Fitzke said that hearing came after she had already lost custody of her child through a separate guardianship decision. On Sept. 10, the judge ru...
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Federal EPA Regulators Flag Colorado Air Permits For Weak Gas Monitoring
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Federal EPA Regulators Flag Colorado Air Permits For Weak Gas Monitoring

By Michael Booth | The Colorado Sun State needs to ensure Western Slope companies are monitoring harmful gas releases, order says. The Environmental Protection Agency has slapped back six oil and gas air pollution permits to Colorado regulators, saying the state failed to require adequate monitoring of natural gas venting in the Garfield County systems and risked letting too much dirty air into the atmosphere.  The environmental watchdogs who objected to two oil and gas companies’ permits called the rare Trump Administration rejection a victory in their ongoing campaign to force Colorado into more monitoring of gas leaks, intentional venting and flaring. Repeated failures in any of those steps of natural gas gathering release harmful volatile organic compounds a...
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A Seat at the Table, Not Just a Chair in the Room
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American Policy, Approved, Commentary, State

A Seat at the Table, Not Just a Chair in the Room

By Aimee Tooker | Commentary, American Policy Center Coordination is the key to harmonizing land management plans and the strategies of the communities that live and work on federal public lands From the San Juan Mountains in Southwest Colorado the Dolores River flows through Montezuma, Dolores, San Miguel, Montrose and Mesa counties until the state line with Utah.  National and local environmental and rewilding advocates had pushed for almost 50 years for a Wild and Scenic designation on the Dolores River.  It never went through because over the course of the years it was decided by the generational locals, municipalities and tax districts that that was not the correct way to manage the river. The talk of Wild and Scenic designation (most restrictive designation for a river) cau...
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Garfield County uses $4.1 million in private activity bonds for affordable housing solutions
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Post Independent, Approved, Local

Garfield County uses $4.1 million in private activity bonds for affordable housing solutions

By Julianne O’Driscoll | Post Independent Garfield County commissioners voted unanimously Monday to allocate almost $4.1 million in private activity bonds to the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) to support local affordable housing projects. Private activity bonds are tax-exempt loans used to fund private development projects, according to the Colorado Division of Housing. Every year, the Internal Revenue Service assigns each state a private activity bond limit. Colorado then allocates the bonds to cities and counties based on area population. This year, Garfield County received a private activity bond cap of nearly $4.1 million based on a population count of 62,722.  Local governments decide how to use the bonds. Garfield County on Monday authorized the...
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Wildfire Relief Effort Scales Up Across Western Colorado
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Wildfire Relief Effort Scales Up Across Western Colorado

By Heather Willard | KDVR Fox 31 DENVER (KDVR) — Hundreds of thousands of acres in Colorado have been scorched from wildland fires raging on the Western Slope, and officials are sharing how you could help. The Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management shared resources on social media on Wednesday, as did the city of Craig on Tuesday. “Thank you to all who have offered resources and support- we are profoundly grateful,” the Colorado agency said on X. “You can help those impacted by the Lee and Elk wildfires by donating to the Yampa Valley Disaster Recovery Fund; tax-deductible donations are being accepted for disaster relief and recovery efforts.” You can donate here to the Yampa Valley Disaster Recovery Fund. You can also sign up to volunteer or&...
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Wildfires Force New Evacuations Across Rio Blanco and Garfield Counties
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Approved, kdvr.com, State

Wildfires Force New Evacuations Across Rio Blanco and Garfield Counties

By  Spencer Kristensen | KDVR Fox 31 DENVER (KDVR) — As crews continue to battle wildfires across the state, more evacuations and pre-evacuations have been ordered due to several fires growing in size. Multiple agencies in different jurisdictions around Colorado ordered a new round of evacuations and pre-evacuations on Wednesday afternoon. Rio Blanco County: Lee and Elk Fires There are two large wildfires in Rio Blanco County that have burned more than 30,000 acres. Evacuations have already been sent for certain areas in the county, and the Rio Blanco Sheriff’s Office continued with more evacuations and pre-evacuations on Wednesday. Zone 40 Zone 40 is located southwest of Meeker and just east of Lion Canyon. The area contains a stretch of Highway 13. Immediate e...
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Colorado Sheriff Turns to Community to Revive Mounted Patrol
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Local, Approved, kdvr.com

Colorado Sheriff Turns to Community to Revive Mounted Patrol

By Jacob Factor | KDVR Fox 31 DENVER (KDVR) — Western Colorado has a rich history with horses, from cowboys and ranchers to mounted law enforcement. Today, a Western Slope sheriff’s office is hoping to revitalize a tradition going back more than 140 years. Though never officially disbanded, the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office has had a mounted patrol of deputies from at least 1884 until budget constraints in the 1980s caused the posse to fade away. Now, the sheriff’s office wants to restart and revitalize the unit. “We live in western Colorado, our heritage is tied to the effective use of the horse for agriculture, transportation, recreation, ‘search and rescue’ and for many years past as a part of effective law enforcement,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post. “A wo...
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