Backcountry heroes always try to bring us back
When I was leading groups into the Wyoming wilderness in the 1990s, once we left a trailhead we were on…
The Tetons in Wyoming, a great place to get lost, photo by Mike
MoreMountains don’t need hardware
We humans want the most out of life, so why shouldn’t we push to get more of what we want?…
A female mountain climber pulling herself up a climb. Image credit steele2123 via Istock Photo
MoreBoondoggle on the Colorado River
You’d think the Earth shook recently when the three states of California, Arizona and Nevada announced they’d reached a deal…
Glen Canyon Dam, Courtesy Bureau of Reclamation
MoreRushing water closes a highway in Western Colorado
The small towns of Paonia and Hotchkiss in western Colorado are seeing fewer tourists this spring. Exceptionally high runoff blew…
Bear Creek digs a big ditch across Highway 133, Patti Kaech photo, May 15
MoreA teenager who was killed should still be with us
If you think that race is only an issue in the country’s biggest cities, consider a murder trial that recently…
Andrea Woffard, Ellison’s mother, speaks MATT WITT
MoreFarmington, a city in need of a jolt
The good news these days about Farmington, New Mexico, is that the air looks clear. That’s a huge change. For…
Blue skies over the closed San Juan Generating Station, Mike Eisenfeld photo
MoreGuns have changed everything, especially childhood
I learned to shoot on the family ranch, as ranch kids are wont to do. My gun education was furthered…
AR-15 Free Float VLCN M-Lok Handguard + STNGR Axiom Red Dot Sight Photo by STNGR Industries on Unsplash
MoreOld bones can be a small town’s movie stars
The prehistoric past can perk up the present. When woolly mammoth bones were found in my hometown in Wisconsin years…
Allosaurus jimmadseni, courtesy NPS
MoreKilling fish to save frogs
By Ted Williams Shortly after World War II, California fish managers had a brainstorm: They loaded juvenile trout into airplanes…
Yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa), courtesy USGS
MoreLand exchanges serve the wealthy
In 2017, the public lost 1,470 acres of wilderness-quality land at the base of Mount Sopris near Aspen, Colorado. For…
Old growth Ponderosa pine on public land that would be transferred to private ownership in proposed Valle Seco land trade, photo courtesy of Colorado Wild Public Lands
MoreSome people just like to get things done
Although I’ve lived in a small Western town for 30 years now, I have never known much about one of…
MoreA Colorado reservoir gets ready for an epic snowmelt
Reservoir manager Ken Beck says wryly that he has lots of water coming his way, “and I need a hole…
Ken Beck at the Pine River Irrigation headquarters
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