U.S. Department of the Interior

Drilled, Baby, Drilled: The strange battle to keep Big Oil from cheating

Wild horses: Wyoming herds headed for politically driven roundup?

​In the stampede of controversy over efforts to remove thousands of wild horses from public lands, few states have sent out more mixed messages than Wyoming, which features a bucking bronc on its license plate and urges tourists to take a "wild horse scenic loop tour" -- while pushing the feds ... More >>

The Jefferson Parkway project hits more roadblocks

​In the stampede of controversy over efforts to remove thousands of wild horses from public lands, few states have sent out more mixed messages than Wyoming, which features a bucking bronc on its license plate and urges tourists to take a "wild horse scenic loop tour" -- while pushing the feds ... More >>

Photo finish: John Fielder's photographs will spruce up John Hickenlooper's office

​In the stampede of controversy over efforts to remove thousands of wild horses from public lands, few states have sent out more mixed messages than Wyoming, which features a bucking bronc on its license plate and urges tourists to take a "wild horse scenic loop tour" -- while pushing the feds ... More >>

Ken Salazar: Why his "wild lands" policy has the GOP going wild

​Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar clearly wanted to make a splash when he unveiled his new "wild lands" policy last week--two days before Christmas (slow news week), at a press conference outside the REI flagship store, just a few steps from his old Denver office when he was a U.S. Senato ... More >>

Ken Salazar gets roasted by Michelle Malkin as a political turkey

Ken Salazar, loathsome cowboy?​When Michelle Malkin moved to Colorado, Ken Salazar still represented this state in the U.S. Senate. But then Salazar left what would have been a safe seat (judging from Michael Bennet's victory over Ken Buck) to become Barack Obama's Secretary of the Interior -- ... More >>

Wild horse advocates rein in protest plans -- for now

Elyse Gardner​After a recent workshop with the Bureau of Land Management's National Wild Horse Advisory Board, one group of activists has decided to rein in plans for a protest. Although discussion between wild horse advocates and BLM representatives ranged from cordial to markedly tense at ... More >>

Scott McInnis (kind of) tops Colorado Ethics Watch's top five ethics scandals of 2009 list

"Hey, my hands are clean!"​Last year, ethics in Colorado improved by 50 percent -- at least judging by Colorado Ethics Watch's list of the year's top ethical standards. After all, the 2008 edition was ten items long, but the 2009 sports just five. "We realized it had been a slow year," says ne ... More >>

Ken Salazar takes a step forward by booting Interior's royalties program

"Hey, my hands are clean!"​Last year, ethics in Colorado improved by 50 percent -- at least judging by Colorado Ethics Watch's list of the year's top ethical standards. After all, the 2008 edition was ten items long, but the 2009 sports just five. "We realized it had been a slow year," says ne ... More >>

Judge Finesilver almost gave the Rocky Flats grand jury a big twentieth birthday present

Twenty years ago, the Rocky Flats grand jury started its search for justice. It hasn't ended yet.

Sheriff Salazar stalled by posse politics

Republicans rallied the troops in the Senate this morning and managed to block the much-delayed confirmation of David Hayes, Ken "New Sheriff in Town" Salazar's choice to serve as his top deputy at the Department of the Interior. In a crucial test of whether the new administration's bold break wit ... More >>

The resurrection of Tom Strickland

The knock on Tom Strickland, during his two unsuccessful runs for the Senate, was that he was a (shudder) "lobbyist-lawyer." Not as appealing, it turned out, as folksy horse-vet Wayne Allard, whose basic charm seemed to be an almost complete absence of anything that might be described as a fres ... More >>

New York Times worried by Ken Salazar's niceness

If you, like me, stepped out of the media bubble over the holidays, you may well have missed a curious New York Times editorial about Obama-cabinet-bound Colorado senator Ken Salazar, published under an unusual headline: "Is Ken Salazar Too Nice?" Too bad the answers provided by the piece aren't ... More >>

Running with McCain: Who It Won’t Be

If you, like me, stepped out of the media bubble over the holidays, you may well have missed a curious New York Times editorial about Obama-cabinet-bound Colorado senator Ken Salazar, published under an unusual headline: "Is Ken Salazar Too Nice?" Too bad the answers provided by the piece aren't ... More >>

Fighting Mad

Tycoon Jack Grynberg says the energy industry has stolen millions from him -- and billions from the government. What if he's right?

Duke of Oil

He took on big energy companies and won. So why did the feds fire him?

Spinning Their Wheels

A DU law student sues to make the feds consider the alternatives.

Small World

Artist's vision has a global spectrum

Raiding the Roan

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

At Close Range

The Cherry Creek Shooting Center finds itself under the gun.

The Mystery of Pai

He came. He saw. He bought a mountain. But can Lou Pai make peace with his neighbors?

Off Limits

The day the music died

The Basement Tapes

For Linda Chavez, the devil was in the details.

High and Dry

Even in the best of times, farmers and developers fight for Colorado's water. And this summer's drought is far from the best of times.

Letters to the Editor

From the week of August 10

Going With the Flow

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

The Wild Life

Special agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fight battles outdoors and in the office.

Strange Bedfellows

Special agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fight battles outdoors and in the office.

Sealed With a Kiss

Special agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fight battles outdoors and in the office.

It's the Pits

Mining made history in Victor. But will a new gold rush devour its future?

Grave Reservations

The Colorado Historical Society has collected Indian artifacts for 120 years. Now it has to give many of them back.

Skeletons in Their Closet

The feds had a bone to pick with this fossil-hunting family.

A Rocky Road

The ranger known as Mr. Longs Peak has to climb down. His friends wonder why.

Trickle-Down Economics

A new proposal could leave Animas-La Plata proponents high and dry.

Rough Waters

The Animas-La Plata project is supposed to fulfill the government's promise to Colorado Utes. But tribal opponents worry it will leave the reservations high and dry.

Garden Pests

The Animas-La Plata project is supposed to fulfill the government's promise to Colorado Utes. But tribal opponents worry it will leave the reservations high and dry.

FALLING DOWN

WHEN A POWERFUL GOVERNMENT ATTORNEY SIGNED ON WITH A DENVER LAW FIRM, THEY BOTH EXPECTED TO CASH IN. THEN THE BOTTOM DROPPED OUT.