Colorado River

Joshua Stevens killed after busting into home of deputy, prosecutor

It could be, and probably is, just a coincidence. But mere weeks after Colorado Department of Corrections executive director Tom Clements was gunned down at his door (presumed killer Evan Ebel is also suspected of murdering pizza-delivery man Nathan Leon), and days since the second of two Texas pros ... More >>

Roan Plateau rethinking: Drilling delay prompts pouting, applause

The Bureau of Land Management's decision late last week to seek additional environmental study of possible impacts of oil and gas exploration on the Roan Plateau has left energy interests fuming and sulking over the continued delays in tapping the area's rich gas reserves -- and enviro activists cru ... More >>

Video: Homeless trout ("Anything helps") lobbies Denver Water to save Fraser River

When you're battling an institution as powerful as Denver Water, it's best to have the will of the people, or at least a lot of average joes, on your side. Environmental groups trying to protect the Upper Colorado River basin from massive diversion projects that benefit Front Range development seem ... More >>

Water wars: Deal reached on Upper Colorado diversion project

Prolonged drought and a rising population have put the squeeze on Western Slope water supplies. But Colorado River activists have something to celebrate in their long battle with Front Range development interests -- a hard-won agreement that will help limit the impact of the Windy Gap Firming Projec ... More >>

Tim Tebow voted most overrated player: Still miss him, Broncos fans?

Denver blog posts are slick even when it doesn't snow. Predominantly Orange's Kim Constantinesco notes that Tim Tebow's peers have voted him the NFL's most overrated player. But I'm sure they meant it in a nice way. Coyote Gulch shares the drought assessment for the Upper Colorado River Basin. Sq ... More >>

Video: Artist Stan Herd on aliens, GABF, Shock Top and crop art

To celebrate the Great American Beer Festival, which is in town right now, and the release of its newest beer, End of the World Midnight Wheat, the Shock Top division of Anheuser Busch hired artist Stan Herd to create a massive piece of crop art in Lochbuie, near Denver International Airport. Herd a ... More >>

Bill Ritter introduces 90 By 20 Campaign: Dry up, Parker

With rain finally pouring down, it's much easier to think about water conservation than it has been through this long, hot summer. So former Governor Bill Ritter picked a perfect time to host a teleconference for the 90 By 20 Campaign, which is aimed at reducing usage across the Colorado River Basin ... More >>

Colorado filmmakers clean up at Chamonix Adventure Festival

A trio of filmmakers from Carbondale won three of the four festival awards at the Chamonix Adventure Festival over the weekend in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France: Tyler Stableford won the Jury Prize for Shattered, his portrait of alpinist Steve Hourse (see it in full after the jump); Skip Armstrong and ... More >>

Photo: Colorado River crop design activists want Barack Obama to see

After speaking in Denver today, President Barack Obama will fly to the Western Slope for a campaign event at Grand Junction High School -- my alma mater! And if he looks out his window en route, he just might see the crop design pictured above. Who's responsible for this bit of political horticultur ... More >>

Colorado's ten best camping festivals

Colorado will see more camping music festivals this year than ever before, and we've compiled a comprehensive and organized list so you know which ones to attend, if you can't make them all. We've even rated them based on several very important factors from location, to price, to music. Take a gande ... More >>

Evan Fournier, Nuggets first-round pick: Years away from the NBA?

Denver blog posts almost never get called for three-second violations. Denver Stiffs' Nate Timmons introduces us to France's Evan Fournier, the Nugs' first draft pick, and a man who may spend time developing in Europe before playing full-time on an American court. Coyote Gulch: Colorado River trou ... More >>

Roan Plateau: Bush-era drilling plan foiled again

Last Friday, U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger threw yet another hurdle in the way of energy companies' efforts to begin widespread drilling on Colorado's Roan Plateau. The plan to tap into vast natural gas reserves in one of the state's wildest places has been subject to considerable monkey-wrench ... More >>

Filmmaker Hunter Weeks on Where the Yellowstone Goes

Boulder-based filmmaker Hunter Weeks is bringing his new film, Where the Yellowstone Goes, to the Denver FilmCenter tonight at 7 p.m.; the screening will be followed by a Q&A session. Weeks and his crew -- including his wife, Sarah Hall, and Denver-based filmmaker Mike Dion, a frequent collaborator ... More >>

Taxi's Kyle Zeppelin wants to put the historic Dotsero Bridge in Denver

When the Colorado Department of Transportation put the historic Dotsero Bridge "up for adoption" in late April, the agency caught the attention of at least one person in Denver who just happens to be in the market for a cool bridge to span the South Platte River -- the subject of "Water World," this ... More >>

Derrill Rockwell mistakenly shoots red mohawk hairdo he thought was a bird

As this Style Bistro tribute to the horse-mane mohawk demonstrates, extreme hairdos are often inspired by the animal kingdom. Still, most of us can recognize them as being of human origin -- but apparently not Derrill Rockwell, who's been sentenced for shooting a woman's coiffure after mistaking it ... More >>

Moving Mountains

Water wars: Rally asks John Hickenlooper to nix "river-killing" diversion project

​Despite concerns raised by the EPA and alarms sounded in a state report, Colorado officials are moving forward with a plan to divert more water from the Upper Colorado River to the Front Range -- which is why anglers, rafters, tourism interests and others will be rallying in protest on the we ... More >>

Water wars: Colorado River activists to rally at EPA against more diversions

In the next few weeks, federal regulators will decide whether the Upper Colorado River needs additional protections in the face of growing demands from thirsty Front Range towns. Which is why hikers, rafters, anglers, and people interested in the economic future of Grand County will be gathering out ... More >>

Anson Fogel, Colorado filmmakers top 2011 Banff Mountain Film Festival awards

​Colorado filmmakers dominated the 2011 Banff Mountain Film Festival awards over the weekend at the annual competition in Alberta, Canada's Banff National Park, with Carbondale-based director Anson Fogel (Forge Motion Pictures), Basalt-based director Pete McBride (Pete McBride Photography), Gr ... More >>

Chasing Water, Truck Farm, Cold win big at 2011 Adventure Film Festival

​Colorado-based photographer Pete McBride's film Chasing Water, the companion to his book The Colorado River: Flowing Through Conflict, won the Adventure Through Activism Award over the weekend at the 2011 Adventure Film Festival in Boulder, one of two $500 cash prizes awarded this year (see t ... More >>

John Elway's choice for Broncos quarterback doesn't play for the Broncos right now

John Elway.​Denver blog posts are defined as "Blog posts about Denver." Mile High Report's John Bena thinks that after the Broncos limp through 2011, John Elway will handpick his true successor in next year's draft. Suck for Luck! The Grazing Mind's Jarod Ballentine offers a natural take on ... More >>

Aaron Million: Flaming Gorge foes send a big message about costly pipe dream

​Last week, we reported on the mounting criticism of Aaron Million's proposed 550-mile pipeline to deliver water to the Front Range. The opponents' campaign is just beginning, though -- as new billboards take that message to the public and to water officials considering the Flaming Gorge pipel ... More >>

Glenwood Springs ups its game to become "Most Fun Town in America"

Glenwood Hot Springs.​Most lists of the country's cutest, prettiest, drunkest, most livable/affordable/promiscuous places and/or people are, well, about as stupid as they sound. Standard response: "Sez who?" But there's reason to believe that Glenwood Springs earned being singled out as the " ... More >>

Adventure Team Challenge brings able-bodied and disabled together for a race in the Rockies

​Imagine biking up a steep Colorado peak, rafting through the Rapids of the Colorado River and then rappelling down a jagged and imposing cliff. Now imagine doing that blind or without the use of an arm or both of your legs. That's exactly what many of the participants will be doing in this we ... More >>

Water wars: How Denver's lush lawns slurp away the Upper Colorado (VIDEO)

​Last week, we reported on the anticipated demand for costly water diversion projects by 2050 -- and the conservation strategy proposed in Filling the Gap, a timely report from environmental groups. Unfortunately, most Denver residents won't read the report; most of them don't have a clue wher ... More >>

Front Range's growing thirst doesn't have to suck Colorado rivers dry, says enviro report

WRA​Over the next four decades, millions of new residents along the Front Range are expected to boost water demands more than 50 percent above the currently available supply. But that doesn't mean the state needs a slew of costly water diversion projects that will damage the ecology and econom ... More >>

Scott McInnis: The waterlogged years (Pt. 2)

"Go 'west,' man!"​We may never know what inspired the Hasan Family Foundation to shell out $300,000 for a series of remarkably slipshod "Musings on Water" by Scott McInnis. But as I pointed out in the first installment of our probing analysis, the candidate's soggy prose offers clues about t ... More >>

Sci-fi phenom Paolo Bacigalupi has seen the future -- and it's scary as hell

Hae C. Park, No. 85: Man allegedly killed by business partner Joong Rhee -- but no body found

Joong Rhee: No body, but big problem.​An unusual announcement moments ago from the Denver District Attorney's Office and the Denver Police Department: A murder charge has been filed even though the body of the victim has yet to be located. Hae C. Park, 64, has been missing since March 27, whe ... More >>

Sober and not-so-sober observations from the Taste of the Nation

Lori MidsonStaff from Vesta Dipping Grill and Steuben'sYesterday afternoon, Denver's best chefs rolled out the culinary red carpet and rubbed tongs with smitten admirers and other do-gooders who showed up in droves at Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation, a charity event that benefits anti-hunge ... More >>

A Hot Summer on the Roan Plateau

Strange but True Stories From 2007

The truth is out there, and in 2007, it was often weird, wicked or just plain wild.

Politicking on the Plateau

With a Paddle

A nervous rafter gets up close and personal with the Colorado River.

Out and About

Benefits and more

Fish Shtick

The new, tastier Downtown Aquarium opens with some mouth-watering temptation.

Mood Swing

Swing for the fences in Glenwood Springs

Follow That Story

Roan and Groan

Because We Could

Twenty years later, former river guides reflect upon their lives.

Raiding the Roan

Rich in wildlife and natural resources, the Roan Plateau survived the last energy boom. Will this one destroy it?

Best Horse-Friendly Lodging

Winding River Ranch & Equestrian Center

Best Rest Stops -- Rural

No Name/Grizzly Creek/Bair Ranch

The River's Edge

As the South Platte flows out of Colorado, the water wars continue.

Going With the Flow

As spring melts into summer, water users along the St. Vrain could find themselves up the creek.

Off Limits

Off the Deep End

Colorado's Ocean Journey is banking on expensive special effects to drive home its conservationist message.

The Boom Years

Twenty-eight years after a nuclear bomb rocked Colorado, its shock waves still reverberate on the Western Slope.

Strange but True

Thrills for the week

Dark Days on Black Mesa

The Hopi want one of the largest coal mines in North America to stop using their groundwater. If springs and wells dry up, their ancient culture may disappear.