It seems like Colorado shouldn’t need a law to say it’s illegal to track hibernating bears to their dens, wait for them to fall asleep and then climb inside and blast ’em. But apparently we do.
A Craig hunter tracked a 700-pound bear to a cave in Moffat County in November, then waited several hours before crawling in and shooting it. His actions were not illegal, but they should be.
We support hunters and hunting rights in Colorado. Hunting is part of our Western heritage, and hunters play an important role in culling herds and improving overall wildlife health in Colorado. However, we also believe in the concept of the “fair chase.”
Colorado wildlife commissioners this past week wisely voted to draft a new rule banning the hunting of black bears in their dens. Fishermen can’t dynamite lakes to make their catch, and hunters shouldn’t be able to corner sleepy bears in dens.
No nukes? Go nukes! The nation’s first conventional uranium mill since the Cold War is one step closer to reality after Colorado environmental regulators this past week approved a radioactive-materials license for Energy Fuels Resources Corp.’s proposed Piñon Ridge mill in western Montrose County. We think it’s a good step toward cleaner energy for Colorado and energy independence for the country.
A 432-page state analysis concluded that Energy Fuels’ application satisfied state requirements to assess impacts on public health, rivers and groundwater, according to a Denver Post story. The mill, which would employ 85 people with jobs paying between $45,000 and $70,000, would be an economic boon for the area, but also help supply the country with power that produces abundant electricity without greenhouse gases.
Take a bow, treasurer. Just days before she leaves office, Treasurer Cary Kennedy, along with former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, will attend the grand opening of the Miami-Yoder school in the tiny Colorado town of Rush today. The new school, and the more than 100 other school projects funded by the state’s BEST program (Building Excellent Schools Today), will stand as one of Kennedy’s and Romanoff’s most important legacies. The two were instrumental in creating the program to inject $500 million into K-12 capital construction in poor, rural school districts that don’t have the taxing capacity to build new schools even if voters wanted to. The schools were often a century old and literally crumbling. One district hadn’t had a new school built for 100 years. BEST, which was approved by lawmakers in 2008, has been one of the state’s smartest programs.
And a tip of our Stetson to … the 105th National Western Stock Show & Rodeo, which thunders from the chutes today, and the many people who make it work.
Short Takes is compiled by Denver Post editorial writers and expresses the view of the newspaper’s editorial board.
