抖阴ap

Denver gets ready for Democrats鈥� 2028 convention site visit — and will show it抖阴ap not just the 鈥榥ostalgia鈥� choice

Environment reporter

Elise Schmelzer

Elise Schmelzer is the environment reporter at The Denver Post and covers water, climate change, public lands and wildlife. She previously covered public聽safety for the Post. Before moving to Denver, she wrote for the Casper Star-Tribune in Wyoming, the Washington Post and the Colorado Springs Gazette. She studied journalism and Spanish literature at the University of Missouri. When she's not writing, she disappears into the mountains to hike and fish.

Featured Stories

A wolf track is seen in the snow at Don and Kim Gittleston鈥檚 ranch

The wolves are coming to Colorado, and the state has stockpiled explosives and deterrents. How are ranchers preparing?

December 6, 2023 at 9:46 a.m.

Colorado's ranching community, bracing for the reintroduction of wolves to the state as soon as this month, is weighing methods to protect livelihoods from the carnivore while facing new stresses.

Low water levels are seen at Government Point in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada on April 12, 2023. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

How should we manage the drying Colorado River? Here’s what’s at stake in negotiations for its long-term future

October 29, 2023 at 6:00 a.m.

An announcement last week of a short-term Colorado River management plan gives those working on the next batch of long-term plans for the river a breather, experts said. Now, those...

Jeri Fry, cofounder of Colorado Citizens Against Toxic Waste, or CCAT, right, shows the site of the Soil Conservation Service Dam on the Cotter Uranium Mill Superfund site to resident Ricardo Simmons, left, on October 17, 2023, in Ca帽on City, Colorado. Fry鈥檚 father, Lynn Boughton, was a whistleblower at the Cotter uranium processing mill. The Cotter Uranium Mill Superfund site near Ca帽on City has an estimated 5.8 million tons of radioactive waste buried within 2 miles of homes. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)

Nearly 40 years later, one of Colorado’s longest-running Superfund sites still has no radioactive waste cleanup plan

October 22, 2023 at 6:03 a.m.

Nearly 40 years after federal regulators designated a former uranium mill near Ca帽on City as a Superfund site and mandated its cleanup, there is still no plan for how to...

Visitors arrive at the Beaver Meadows Entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes Park, Colorado on June 11, 2024. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

Colorado’s national parks face uncertainty amid President Trump’s hiring freeze, staffing instability

February 20, 2025 at 4:14 p.m.

Visitors to Colorado's national parks this summer could find dirty bathrooms and closures at visitor centers and campgrounds if a federal hiring freeze does not thaw.

The Continental Divide is covered in snow looking southeast toward the Indian Peaks Wilderness on May 13, 2023, in Rocky Mountain National Park. The flight for aerial photography was provided by LightHawk. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

Colorado snowpack, after a dry January, is near normal in north — and dismal in some places

February 11, 2025 at 6:00 a.m.

A dry January across Colorado and the rest of the Rocky Mountain West has created a dichotomy of water haves and have-nots.

A stand-up paddle boarder makes their way down the Dolores River through Slick Rock Canyon, which is part of the Dolores River Canyon Wilderness Study Area, on May 22, 2017. (Photo by Lindsay Pierce/The Denver Post)

Despite Trump鈥檚 anti-public lands stance, Colorado advocates still hope to protect Dolores River canyonlands

February 9, 2025 at 6:00 a.m.

Colorado largely supports federal lands as neighboring Utah and Wyoming seek to claw back control.

The carcass of a heifer killed by a wolf lies in a field at Don and Kim Gittleson鈥檚 ranch on January 25, 2022, near Walden, Colorado. The ranchers had lost three cows to wolves at that point, according to Don, before Colorado鈥檚 wolf reintroduction program brought more wolves to the state beginning in late 2023. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

When wolves kill livestock, should Colorado grant ranchers anonymity for compensation claims?

February 3, 2025 at 6:00 a.m.

Colorado lawmakers will consider blocking from public record the names of ranchers seeking compensation from the state for livestock killed by wolves and other wild animals.

Now-President Donald Trump dances on stage during a presidential campaign rally at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center in Aurora on Oct. 11, 2024. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

Trump’s now-blocked federal spending freeze sends Colorado officials scrambling, with billions at stake

January 29, 2025 at 11:42 a.m.

A sudden freeze on federal spending by the Trump administration -- set to take effect Tuesday but put on hold by a federal judge -- sent Colorado officials scrambling as...

The Colorado River flows near Granby, Colorado, on Sept. 4, 2024. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

Colorado River’s “essential” conservation program, now lapsed, faces Trump spending freeze. Can lawmakers bring it back?

January 23, 2025 at 3:33 p.m.

Congressional Democrats and Republicans are trying to revive a Colorado River water conservation program called "essential" as the new Trump administration attempts to freeze its funding.

A map released by Colorado Parks and Wildlife on Jan. 22, 2025, identifies watersheds where collared wolves traveled between Dec. 22, 2024, and Jan. 21, 2025. It's the first monthly map release to show activity by as many as 20 wolves released or rereleased by CPW this month. (Provided by Colorado Parks and Wildlife)

New Colorado wolf map shows expanding territory in additional counties as population grows

January 22, 2025 at 6:06 p.m.

One of Colorado's reintroduced wolves wandered farther southeast over the last month, exploring territory not yet traveled by any of the state's collared wolves.

Ray Craber, front, and other union workers attend an IBEW Denver Joint Electrical Apprenticeship and Training Committee event in Denver on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. Unions across the state came together to announce Climate Jobs Colorado, a new union-led coalition that aims to address the climate crisis through a pro-worker agenda. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

Coalition of Colorado unions hopes to tackle climate change and spur higher-paying jobs at the same time

January 21, 2025 at 6:00 a.m.

Climate Jobs Colorado is a new organization dedicated to promoting union labor as part of the green energy movement, using union workers for climate work -- like building solar panels...

A gray wolf stands outside its crate for a brief moment at a release site on Jan. 14, 2025, before reentering the wild in an undisclosed location in the Colorado mountains. (Provided by Colorado Parks and Wildlife)

Colorado releases 15 wolves from Canada in second round of historic reintroduction

January 19, 2025 at 6:09 p.m.

Colorado wildlife officials announced the second wave of releases of wolves from Canada in the central mountains over the last week, as part of the second wave of the state's...

Part of the fencing around the 83,000-acre Cielo Vista Ranch near San Luis, Colorado, on April 24, 2024. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

San Luis Valley dispute over billionaire’s fence sparks legislation clamping down on large projects

January 16, 2025 at 6:00 a.m.

Colorado state lawmakers are wading into an ongoing conflict over a massive fence between the billionaire owner of a historic ranch property and local communities in southern Colorado.