Choosing the High Ground

August 7, 2020

Stephen Sturgeon, a Utah State University historian, wrote a legislative biography of Western Slope congressman Wayne Aspinall, called “The Politics of Western Water.” He laments that Colorado controls less than half of its water, because of legal requirements. “Colorado has lost nearly every court battle it has fought to keep exclusive control of its water […]

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Imagine Returning to Normalcy

July 24, 2020

Activists from Colorado’s “keep it in the ground” movement – a group opposing all production of all natural resources – are suggesting that “stay at home” orders provide the perfect opportunity to “imagine our world” after the coronavirus pandemic ends. They reason that people have now learned to drive less, travel less, and use public […]

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Getting More From Less

July 17, 2020

One of the easiest ways to explain complex issues is with a good chart. A picture is worth a thousand words. Most people can readily understand the distribution of resources, or financial expenditures, or sources of energy, or a hundred other issues, by looking at a colorful pie chart. A third of something is for […]

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Buying Swamp Land in Florida

July 10, 2020

In the 1920s a tremendous real estate boom convinced investors all over the country to buy development land in Florida, much of which turned out to be undevelopable swampland. It resulted in anti-fraud legislation, and is forever known by the common expression, “If you buy that, I have some land in Florida for you.” “Caveat […]

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Winning the War, Then Surrendering

July 3, 2020

A popular blog called TV Tropes has a post beginning, “So, you won a war, you bask in the glory of victory, and all that stuff. But when you finally get over all this excitement, you realize your problems still aren’t solved; perhaps you bungled the end-game negotiations… or your strategic genius doesn’t extend to […]

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Infecting the Hand That Feeds Us

June 26, 2020

As of June 12, Colorado had reported 28,822 COVID-19 cases, including almost 1,100 in Boulder and San Miguel Counties. Like every state, Colorado needs all the help it can get in addressing the crisis. The last thing it needs is lawsuits from those same two counties, filed against some of the very companies bolstering the […]

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Who Are You Calling Invasive?

June 19, 2020

At a Club 20 natural resources committee meeting some years ago, members were discussing a resolution seeking to stop the spread of non-native invasive species, like tamarisk. One member, only half-joking, asked if we could add Californians to the list, arguing that they had just as much negative impact on the natural habitat as any […]

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The Cure is Worse Than the Ailment

June 12, 2020

It is fashionable for pundits to quote the old adage, “the cure is worse than the ailment,” referring to the imposition of martial law, under the guise of public health. Many Americans now think even coronavirus may hurt the country less profoundly than lockdowns, quarantines, mandatory business closures, decreeing who is essential and who is […]

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Restoring What Never Was

June 5, 2020

One of the great objectives of conservation is to restore a more natural condition to our environment, to erase the ravages of mankind’s mistakes, and put things back the way they were. I am a strong advocate for environmental restoration, and am proud of my participation in many such efforts over the years. Once in […]

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How Long is Forever?

May 29, 2020

Summit County is in the process of rescinding a 25-year-old conservation easement to pave the way for a housing development, a move opposed by land trusts across the State. Technically, that means the county will condemn the easement, just as it might condemn a piece of property needed for a road. The commissioners claim this […]

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