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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Family of 14-year-old killed by Aurora police calls for answers, chief’s resignation
The family of Jor'Dell Richardson demanded the release of all videos showing the June 1 shooting as well as the resignation of interim Chief Art Acevedo.

Family of 14-year-old killed by Aurora police to hold public memorial, procession
Jor'Dell Richardson's family, faith leaders and community members will gather at 5 p.m. Friday at the Aurora Municipal Center and give eulogies for the teen.

Shooting that injured 10 after Denver Nuggets’ NBA Finals victory may be tied to drug deal, police say
At least 10 people — including a suspected gunman — were wounded in a shooting in downtown Denver early Tuesday that police believe may have been connected to a drug...

Aurora Police Department reforms are a “paper change” so far, but leaders say substantial payoff will come
A year in, some remain skeptical the consent decree will effect lasting change — especially as the Aurora Police Department is once again under intense scrutiny, this time in the...

Denver to pay $450,000 to family of teen who bled to death after officers failed to render aid
The city of Denver will pay $450,000 to the family of an 18-year-old shooting victim who bled to death while two Denver police officers watched for more than 10 minutes...

Aurora police release video of officer fatally shooting 14-year-old Jor’Dell Richardson
The Aurora Police Department on Friday released body-worn camera video showing an officer fatally shooting 14-year-old Jor'Dell Richardson last week after he ran from police investigating suspicious activity.

Denver police officer demoted, suspended for sexual comments toward 19-year-old cadet
Richard Harvey was demoted from technician to officer after a 19-year-old cadet reported that he made sexual comments while working together during the 2022 Martin Luther King Jr. Marade, according...

Aurora police to release body camera footage of officer shooting 14-year-old Jor’Dell Richardson
Family members of the 14-year-old, Jor'Dell Richardson, and their lawyers watched the footage at Aurora police headquarters Tuesday, police officials and family representatives said.

Sheriff hasn’t “accepted responsibility” for killing of Christian Glass, Clear Creek County commissioners say
The statement from Clear Creek County's Board of County Commissioners came as the parents of Christian Glass called for Sheriff Rick Albers to resign in the wake of their son's...

Former Aurora police officer sentenced to 6 months house arrest for failing to stop pistol-whipping
An Arapahoe County jury in April convicted Francine Martinez of failure to intervene, a misdemeanor, in connection to the 2021 beating of Kyle Vinson by fellow former Aurora police Officer...