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 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

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

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

Nearly 40 years later, one of Colorado’s longest-running Superfund sites still has no radioactive waste cleanup plan
Nearly 40 years after federal regulators designated a former uranium mill near Cañon City as a Superfund site and mandated its cleanup, there is still no plan for how to...
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Colorado Labor Day weekend weather to be warm and mostly dry
Colorado's Labor Day weekend weather is expected to be warm with little chance of rain.

Man suspected of killing Idaho Springs dog breeder Paul Peavey charged with murder
Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office says it has evidence to charge Sergio Ferrer with murder.

One of Colorado’s reintroduced wolves wandered into Rocky Mountain National Park — its first wolf presence recorded
Park officials expected wolves to eventually move into the park, which had been their native territory prior to the animal being wiped out.

Colorado’s new wolf pack — including pups — to be captured and relocated after livestock depredations
Colorado wildlife officials are relocating two reintroduced wolves and their pups after a series of livestock depredations -- a setback for the historic and controversial reintroduction program launched late last...

Those 100-degree days are here to stay as Denver’s summers get hotter. Here’s what the city is doing.
Even when Denver's heat isn't record breaking, it's persistent.

Beloved Colorado mountain pond to remain dry — for now
The pond on the outskirts of Twin Lakes became the center of a contentious fight between some town residents and a luxury real estate developer hoping to build a complex...

Colorado’s next wolves won’t come from Washington tribes, leaving state to search again for new source
The Washington tribes that agreed to provide wolves to Colorado's reintroduction program have rescinded their offer, forcing state wildlife officials to seek a different source -- a search that has...

As wildfires sweep through the Front Range, residents ponder whether to stay or go
“Fire is worse now because it affects more people. It is threatening more homes because there are more homes around,” said Carmen Roberts, who did not evacuate despite the incoming...

Four wildfires in three days along Colorado’s Front Range span more than 9,500 acres, force thousands to evacuate
A series of large wildfires burning along the Front Range foothills have killed one person, destroyed at least six structures and caused the governor to activate the Colorado National Guard.

Colorado wildfire updates: Stone Canyon fire near Lyons 20% contained
The Quarry fire is burning on 341 acres in Jefferson County near Deer Creek Canyon Park and still growing, fire officials said Wednesday night.