ALERT: COLORADO RIGHTS TO FLOAT AND FISH!
rafting_water_access.jpg
Creative Commons Photo by Centrale Num

A student organization called Stream Access for All (SAFA) has formed to fight proposed legislation that would protect river outfitters but would effectively brand private boaters and anglers in Colorado as “criminal trespassers”

According to SAFA, here a few things wrong with the Colorado proposal – HB 1188

· It discriminates against private boaters and anglers by denying them legal access to Colorado rivers

· It invites criminal prosecution for trespass against private boaters and anglers

· It hinders Colorado tourism and recreation with the most restrictive river access laws in the United States

Want to get involved?  

READ THE FULL ALERT

Rep. Kathleen Curry has sponsored legislation in the state House of Representatives that would solidify the right of commercial rafting outfitters to float on rivers that pass through private property.  Read more...

Read opinion piece from NRLC Director Mark Squillace...

Read coverage of the hearing testimony...

3/1/10 UPDATE: Raft bill floats through committee.  Read more...

3/3/10 UPDATE: CO House approves bill 40-25 - bill now goes to CO Senate. Read more...

3/16/10 UPDATE: Colorado Senate reworks river-access legislation.  Read more...
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 16 March 2010 )
 
Sage grouse will get limited protection
sage_grouse.jpg3/13/10 UPDATE: The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to allocate up to $16 million to encourage farmers and ranchers in 11 Western states to protect sage grouse and the bird's habitat.  Read more...

3/9/10 UPDATE: An environmental group is challenging plans by the Interior Department to classify sage grouse as merely a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act and not list the bird as threatened or endangered.  Read more...

3/5/10 UPDATE:  Federal authorities today embarked on a compromise effort to protect the sage grouse as a "candidate" species under the Endangered Species Act.  Read more... 

2/24/10 UPDATE: USFWS has asked a federal judge in Idaho for a one-week extension for submitting an endangered species finding for the greater sage grouse due to weekend death of Director Sam Hamilton.  Read more...  

Read State Roles in Protecting Wildlife: Implication of Greater Sage-Grouse and the Endangered Species Act in Colorado at the RLCH blog.

Read Sage grouse numbers don't justify listing from the Casper Star-Tribune editorial board here.
Last Updated ( Monday, 15 March 2010 )
 
Secret Snowbowl talks break open
snowbowl.jpg
Creative Commons Photo by southwestmediacommunications
A federal agency is pressing the city of Flagstaff to offer potable water for snowmaking at Arizona Snowbowl that does not come directly from reclaimed wastewater.

In addition, Snowbowl could get government aid to cover the $11 million in higher costs for the water over 20 winters.

Read more...
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 09 March 2010 )
 
Utah bill allows use of eminent domain to seize public lands
cedar_mesa_ruins.jpg
Creative Commons Photo by summitcheese
3/10/10 UPDATE: Utah Senate approves federal lands bill, sends it back to House. Read more... 

3/3/10 UPDATE: The [Utah] state House passed a bill allowing the use of eminent domain to take protected land from the federal government. Utah wants to develop a stretch outside Arches National Park and other areas.  Read more...

This move is in reaction to an internal document leaked by the Bureau of Land Managemet that lists areas spread among nine states, most of which are in the West.  The BLM has emphasized that the document represents only an initial brainstorming phase of the decision-making process.
Read the document...

Read news about the document from Colorado, Utah, and Montana...

Learn more about the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the Wilderness Act, and the Antiquities Act from RLCH...

2/22/10 UPDATE: Gov. Gary Herbert said Sunday he is assured for now that the Obama administration is not moving forward on any plans to designate national monuments in Utah or the West.  Read more...

2/23/10 UPDATE: Utah senators submit legislation that would require congressional approval for president to create new monuments in Utah.  Read more...

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 10 March 2010 )
 
Corps will use public reaction to water proposal as part of environmental impact statement
pipeline_green_river.jpg
Creative Commons Photo by SeanMack
Not surprisingly, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers received thousands of comments about entrepreneur Aaron Million's proposal to build a pipeline from the Green River in southwest Wyoming to Colorado's Front Range.

Read more...

Learn about writing public comments from RLCH....
Last Updated ( Friday, 19 February 2010 )
 
Wandering wolves would be protected in Colorado
wolf_in_colorado.jpg
Creative Commons Photo by Benutzer:Softeis
Wolves don't have pockets, so they can't carry their legal status around when they travel. That's raised some points to ponder since the controversial predators allegedly arrived in Colorado this week.

Read more... 

Read what RLCH has to say  about possible wolves in Colorado...

Learn more about the Endangered Species Act from RLCH....
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 17 February 2010 )
 
<< Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >>

Results 1 - 7 of 10

Upcoming Event

GAO report: USFS projects most likely to be challenged in Montana
Only one out of 50 U.S. Forest Service projects to reduce wildfire risk gets challenged in court nationwide, but in the region including Montana environmental groups sue at the highest rate in the nation, a new government report says.

Read more...
 

Syndicate