Boulder County Farmers Market officials set off a storm of concern on Thursday morning after announcing on social media that three of the five fruit growers that frequent the market had reported total crop losses: Topp Fruits, Ela Family Farms and First Fruits Organic Farms.

But growers and sellers told The Denver Post on Thursday that while orchards in the North Fork Valley — including those near Cedaredge, Hotchkiss and Paonia — were hit hard by the late freeze, Palisade was largely untouched.

Clare Talbott of in Palisade said most of the farm’s 120 acres of peaches, apples, pears, cherries and apricots are in good shape.

“Palisade is looking okay, as long as we can get the water,” she said.

The harvest outlook for the 150 acres of peach, pear, apricot and cherry trees on is “so far, so good,” owner and managing partner Chris Schmalz said.

“We’ve had enough water to irrigate everything, and it looks like we’re going to be able to get by this season with the irrigation situation, which is always in the back of our mind,” he said.

Bruce Talbott of Palisade’s Talbott Farms said while Delta County orchards were “pretty well wiped out,” most fruit growers in neighboring Mesa County expect a good season.

“We in the Grand Valley have been very fortunate,” he said. “We have some damage, but it’s not much.”

Bruce Talbott said for the most part, Mesa County orchards that used wind machines during the recent freeze still have a crop.

“All in all, I’d say there’s 80 to 90% of a peach crop in Mesa County and zero to 5% in Delta County,” he said.

Mike Scofield, who sells Colorado produce at , said he spoke to two Palisade growers on Thursday who both said their fruit crops were looking good.

“I don’t know who started the rumor bug, but I talked to growers in Palisade, and Palisade is in good shape,” Scofield said.

was not as lucky.

After spending the night of April 17 fighting a losing battle to save his crops from a late-season deep freeze, farmer Harrison Topp had nothing left in him as he trudged to a nearby coffee shop.

Topp said he ran around his orchards trying to keep fires going and warm air blowing as temperatures dropped, threatening — and ultimately wiping out — his entire season of fruit crops. Topp said he lost everything in just one night: peaches, apples, pears, plums, berries, nectarines and table grapes.

“It’s like a different reality than we’ve ever lived in before,” Topp said.

April freezes are no strangers to Colorado’s Western Slope, but Topp said he’s never seen this level of destruction. The trees will survive to grow another season, but several farms in the area are left without fruit to sell this year.

“Not wanting to cry wolf, we checked and checked again,” Hotchkiss-based Ela Family Farms . “We have found no live fruits after the precipitous freeze that happened a week and a half ago. It appears that the 2026 Ela fruit crop is lost.”

Steve Ela, a fourth-generation grower who has been working full-time on the farm for 36 years, said he’d never seen this level of damage.

Freezes aren’t uncommon in April, but temperatures tend to stay in the high 20s, Ela said. On that night, temperatures dropped to 21 degrees at his farm, damaging the sensitive fruit buds that had already bloomed after an abnormally warm and dry winter.

The blooms were weeks ahead of schedule, Ela said. They normally emerge close to April 14, but he first spotted them this year on March 20.

“You have one chance at it in this business,” Ela said. “If you don’t get it, you have to wait for next year.”

Ela said he supplied the fruit orchards with strengthening minerals, such as calcium, as the cold front approached. When the freezing weather arrived, 11 propane-powered giant wind fans ran all night to raise temperatures in the orchard.

But it was too cold for too long, Ela said. The orchard has battled spring freezes in previous years, but some fruit always survives, he said. Not this year.

“Everybody I’ve talked to in Delta County is in the same boat,” Ela said. “I haven’t heard from anyone in this area that has a crop. … It’s gonna be a long year.”

Topp and his crew were out assessing the buds the day after the freeze.

“At the time, it was really hard to tell,” he said. “The vibe was bad, but it looked like some areas might be able to pull through.”

A few days later, a comprehensive assessment involving thousands of samples from Topp’s various crops revealed the worst had come to pass: “There wasn’t a single viable crop that had fruit in it,” Topp said.

“At that point, I figured we were pretty well cooked,” he added.

Some of the worst freezes of years past have wiped out roughly 70% of Topp’s fruit harvest, the man said. But the remaining 30% was enough to scrape by on. This year, crop insurance will allow the farm to stay open another season, but it won’t cover the cost of workers, who will have to be laid off, Topp said.

The other two farms that frequently sell at the Boulder County Farmers Market will have at least some fruit to harvest, according to organizers.

“Freezing temperatures in April aren’t out of the ordinary for the Western Slope,” . “But when you have an unseasonably warm winter and spring followed by a weekend of freezing temperatures, the results can be devastating. … Peaches, cherries, apricots, apples, plums and pears… all gone.”

The abnormally warm winter meant fruit was far ahead of schedule, leaving it more vulnerable to the cold weather, market officials said. The loss comes despite farmers’ best efforts to protect their crops, working through the night to protect the fruit from the cold.

“We hope that every time you bite into a peach this summer, you feel what we are feeling now — that every piece of fruit that we get to enjoy is a miracle, which depends on a hundred tiny things going right in order to make its way to our hands and mouths,” market officials said. “Some years, miracles simply don’t happen.”

Topp said he hopes the crop loss doesn’t force any farms to close and that the supply chain remains intact before he can return to action in 2027. His goal is to spend the year on projects and renovations he didn’t have time for when actively growing fruit and to come back “stronger than ever.”

“This is a once-in-a-generation type of event, so we’re learning how to move through it day by day,” Topp said.

One bright spot for Topp Fruits amid the devastating loss of this season’s crops comes through a unique partnership with Palisade farm .

The two farms started working together several years ago on marketing, distribution and other problems that can feel overwhelming for mid-sized farms, Rancho Durazno owner Gwen Cameron said.

“We were both growing and saw that we would be able to grow better if we had another farm to grow with and lean on,” Cameron said.

That partnership will help Topp Fruits keep a spot at several metro Denver farmers markets this year, including City Park, and Lafayette, because the farms are able to operate under the same banner, Cameron said. She plans to ship more fruit than usual to Front Range markets this year to make up the difference.

The fruit trees on Rancho Durazno’s 43 acres are about 10 days ahead of where they were in 2025, which was already earlier than usual, Cameron said.

“In a normal year, we’re picking cherries and apricots in June and early July and starting to pick peaches in July,” she said. “This year we’re going to be picking cherries in the last couple days of May, peaches in July and will be totally done with peach season by the end of August — which is crazy because it usually goes into September.”

C + R Farms is also anticipating an early harvest because of the warm winter, Clare Talbott said, with cherries expected by June 15, early clingstone peaches around June 25 and apricots at the end of June or early July.

claimed the number one spot, while Breckenridge placed fifth among 10 small towns, each with fewer than 25,000 residents. The list was nominated by an expert panel and chosen by readers who voted on the region’s top destinations for their diverse offerings.

Known as the “Peach Capital of Colorado,” Palisade is north of the Colorado River near Grand Junction. With a climate that yields a 182-day growing season, Palisade has more than two dozen orchards and fruit farms, as well as 30 wineries.

The town offers year-round recreational opportunities, including skiing, hiking, biking and rafting, as well as a walkable downtown with numerous shops and restaurants.

Palisade was runner-up in the Readers’ Choice Awards for Best Small Town Arts Scene in 2025 and was also runner-up for Best Small Town Food Scene in 2024.

While Palisade showcases Colorado’s Western slope charm and agricultural abundance, the state’s mountain towns offer an entirely different experience, most notably in Breckenridge.

Once a mining town, Breckenridge has evolved into one of the top ski destinations in North America, known for its exceptional slopes, energetic après-ski culture and preserved historic charm, according to the 10BEST website.

In the warmer months, the mountain town remains a haven for outdoor enthusiasts, offering opportunities for hiking, mountain biking and exploring alpine lakes. After a day of adventure, visitors can recharge at the town’s renowned craft breweries and hearty mountain cuisine, providing the perfect balance of activity and relaxation.

The 10BEST website shows Breckenridge has been nominated and included on the Readers’ Choice Awards since 2016. Last year, the town ranked eighth in the Best Small Town in the West category.

USA TODAY’s 10 best small towns in the West:

1. Palisade, Colorado
2. Big Bear Lake, California
3. Grants, New Mexico
4. Cody, Wyoming
5. Breckenridge, Colorado
6. Astoria, Oregon
7. Solvang, California
8. Healdsburg, California
9. Friday Harbor, Washington
10. Anacortes, Washington

Since its inception in 1999 and its addition to the USA TODAY family in 2013, later becoming USA TODAY 10BEST, the brand has and tips that help readers make the most of their free time, whether enjoying a quiet night at home or embarking on a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

Around the state, chefs at top farm-to-table restaurants work closely with local farmers to get the freshest produce hauls they can build their seasonal menus around.

Related: This Denver chef isn’t vegan, but he’s using farmers market produce to turn vegan food on its head

While it����ap hard to predict what exact dishes will be plated due to the effects on crops of hailstorms, late freezes, snacky pests, and other variables, chefs did share some of their favorite summer go-tos for Colorado cooking.

To get a taste of summer, sample eight fantastic farm-to-table restaurants.

Annette

James Beard Award-winning Chef Caroline Glover is a summer regular at the City Park Farmers Market.

One dish she looks forward to featuring at Annette each season is a panzanella salad bursting with zesty tomatoes, drenched with a charred cucumber vinaigrette, topped with big, crunchy croutons made from Bakery Four’s bread, and sprinkled with fresh basil.

Glover’s simple succotash gives Olathe sweet corn a lead role, and her decadent dulce de leche dessert calls for fresh Palisade peaches.

To make the most of Colorado’s short growing seasons, Glover plans to stock up on stone fruits–peaches, plums, nectarines—this summer to preserve as sauces and glazes.

“Colorado stone fruit just keeps getting better and better,” Glover says.

Want to go? 2501 Dallas St., Suite 108, Aurora;

Potager

At Potager, a Capitol Hill bistro serving farm-to-table dishes since 1997, Chef Paul Warthen loves to showcase seasonal produce in soufflés, like one with cheese, charred corn and fermented tomatoes.

The restaurant partners with more than 30 farms and local purveyors and tends to its own plots and patio garden. It plucks edible flowers for garnishes but mostly uses the harvest for staff meals.

Warthen, who grew up on a 500-acre dairy farm in western Maryland, has forged relationships with local farmers, staying on top of what they’re growing.

One of his favorite early summertime ingredients is green garlic, which he prepares in late May and early June to marinate for a burrata or turn into a powder to dust focaccia.

Come peach season, Warthen uses the stone fruit for crisps, pies, salsas, and, perhaps most interestingly, a peach soup made with Colorado riesling. Eileen Warthen curates Potager’s stellar wine list.

Want to go? 1109 Ogden St., Denver;

Somebody People

With homemade pasta, Mediterranean dishes, and natural wines, Somebody People is a cheery South Broadway restaurant that meat eaters love as much as vegans.

Chef Justin Freeman wins over diners with vegan makeovers of dairy-dominant dishes like cacio e pepe, tiramisu, and mushroom risotto. The restaurant partners with local farmers to source microgreens from Mountain Man Micro Farms and gourmet mushrooms from Jacob’s Mushrooms.

In the summer, look for dishes like marinated tomato salad served with cucumbers, onions, and herbs on top of creamy whipped vegan feta.

Pro tip: Come for Sunday supper to enjoy a seven-course prix fixe menu for $42 per person. That����ap when the culinary team has carte blanche to transform leftover produce from the week into a unique pre-fixe menu to avoid excess waste.

Want to go? 1165 S. Broadway, # 104, Denver;

Rootstalk

When Chef Matt Vawter was at Mercantile in Denver, shopping for fresh produce was seamless: He could just step out onto the Union Station plaza and make rounds at the Saturday farmers market.

Logistics became much more difficult when he struck out to open Rootstalk in Breckenridge in the fall of 2020. “We’re up at 9,600 feet–there’s not a lot of opportunity to grow up here,” says Vawter, who in 2024 was named the James Beard Award winner for Best Mountain Chef.

So, he patched together delivery routes through his network in order to source from farms like Esoterra Culinary Garden, a favorite among Colorado’s chefs, and others on the Western Slope so he could bring the best of the best to his modern American restaurant in the high country.

In the summer, Rootstalk, located in a historic home on Breckenridge’s Main Street, serves Colorado produce-centric dishes like an heirloom tomato salad. It also offers different takes on corn–corn cakes, creamed corn, corn with pork, and a three-sister combination with corn, beans, and squash.

Vawter also preserves summer’s bounty, like cherries, apricots, nectarines, and peaches.

Want to go? 207 N. Main St., Breckenridge;

The Plimoth

Peaches may be Colorado’s produce darling, but don’t sleep on the state’s cherries. Paonia grows superlative ones, and they headline summer menus at The Plimoth, from cherries on top of salads to cherry barbecue sauce ladled over smoked pork loin to cherry tarts for dessert.

Since day one of opening in 2013, Chef-Owner Peter Ryan has prioritized sourcing the best ingredients from as close of a radius as possible. That way, diners can, say, enjoy carrots that were plucked just hours before their reservation.

“We don’t just buy from farmers because it����ap local; it����ap local and it����ap good,” says Ryan, who is in constant communication with local farmers year-round and shops the City Park and Boulder farmers markets in the summer for his dishes like ratatouille and succotash.

Want to go? 2335 E. 28th Ave., Denver;

Coperta

Coperta, a Northern Capitol Hill restaurant serving Southern Italian dishes, rarely repeats menu items and recipes from season to season, except for charred young fava beans with light and bright lemon aioli.

“There is a small window right before the Fourth of July every summer where the fava beans can be eaten whole in their pod, and they are such a treat and absolutely wonderful,” says Paul Reilly, culinary director of beast + bottle group.

The farm-to-table concept carries through to the cocktail menu, where bartenders make a margherita carrota with spicy tequila, orange juice, and a simple syrup made with freshly juiced carrots from local farms.

Want to go? 400 E 20th Ave., Denver;

Bin 707 Foodbar and Tacoparty

Chef Josh Niernberg, a 2025 James Beard nominee, is a pioneer in the farm-to-table movement in Colorado, opening Bin 707 almost 14 years ago with the entire menu being an exercise in seasonality and regional cooking.

The restaurant recently moved to a spot on Grand Junction’s Main Street close to Niernberg’s second restaurant, Tacoparty, which also takes advantage of the region’s bounty with Al pastor made with an adobo that uses local guajillo peppers, sage, and juniper.

Come August, Tacoparty makes a killer Olathe sweet corn soft serve, and the same ice cream tops the Palisade Peach cobbler at Bin 707 Foodbar. It’s worth a trip to the Western Slope to try.

Want to go? 

Bin 707: 400 Main St., Grand Junction;

Tacoparty: 126 S. 5th St., Grand Junction;

An expansive offering of vineyards and wineries is just one of many allures to Palisade.

The lushest corner of Colorado’s Western Slope, if not the most agriculturally rich swath of land in the entire state, Palisade is home to some of the world’s tastiest peaches, a handful of farm-to-table eateries, a brewery, a distillery, and outdoor adventures you can’t find anywhere else.

Framed by the picturesque Book Cliffs with the majestic Grand Mesa looming above, a weekend here feels like immersion in another world.

Adventure

On the more low-key end of outdoor pursuits, there’s no better way to immerse yourself in a peach-full environment than with a fuzzy friend in hand (No, not a peach).

The family that owns and operates has been one of the area’s greatest peach growers for decades. The orchard has almost 4,000 peach trees.

You can walk among the resident alpacas, whose fur is used onsite to create beanies, yarn, and other products. For $20, you can spend up to an hour strolling the grounds with an alpaca.

Animal lovers with a special affinity for hoofed creatures can venture south of town into the Little Book Cliffs. If you’re lucky, you may spot a wild horse or two. This area has hundreds of wild horses and several hiking or mountain biking trails.

Palisade’s wineries and orchards stretch for several miles along both sides of the Colorado River. A great way to visit several wineries in one day is by bike. There are three established that measure 5, 9, and 25 miles, allowing you to access nearly every winery in the area. Each route is mostly paved, and you can navigate it with any bike.

That said, a road or e-bike is recommended for the longest route, which takes you through farms and vineyards on both sides of the river, rolling over hills with more than 700 feet of climbing that you won’t notice too much as you take in the sweeping mesa views.

The 9-mile route stays on the north side of the river, passing by a high concentration of wineries and through Riverfront Park and the heart of Palisade.

The 5-mile loop starts and finishes near downtown and is mostly flat and manageable on a cruiser bike. It takes you on a scenic spin along the river south of town, with one of the area’s tastiest and most beautifully set wineries——conveniently located on the home stretch.

Hiking and mountain biking

On the opposite side of the adventure spectrum, the most extreme you can get sits the Palisade Plunge. Arguably the most impressive and officially among the longest downhill bike trails in the world, the Plunge takes you from atop the Grand Mesa down 6,000 vertical feet and 32 miles.

Don’t be fooled about just being along for a ride, though. This trail is designed only for skilled (and brave) riders. There’s a good amount of pedaling and a few exposed, high-stakes areas.

The upper half of the trail is open to hikers, equestrians, and leashed dogs. Palisade Rim is an iconic hike and bike trail that is easy to access. The trailhead is next to the river just east of town.

The journey, technical on a bike with high exposure in some places, takes you straight up the cliffs, past a handful of ancient petroglyphs, to phenomenal views of wine country below. The loop is about 9 miles long and involves 1,500 feet of climbing and descending.

Eat

Start your day with an egg sandwich and turmeric latte at , which also serves amazing homemade gelato.

Speaking of sweet treats, peach blueberry cinnamon rolls or lemon lavender scones are a must-try.

Don’t be fooled by its sports bar vibe; is open for breakfast and serves the heartiest breakfast (bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, stack of pancakes) in town.

Regularly named one of Colorado’s tastiest and most foodie-geared restaurants, is situated in the heart of Palisade and is a must for dinner.

Opened in 2019 by Ashley Chasseur (general manager/owner) and Matthew Chasseur (chef/owner), ��ê����� has been widely lauded for its outstanding cuisine. Its menu changes frequently depending on what’s fresh for the season, but always includes charred fruits, locally sourced meats, and home-baked sourdough bread.

The stylish but unpretentious haunt was a 2023 James Beard Award semifinalist in the Outstanding Hospitality category.

Also located in the small downtown vicinity, don’t miss the gourmet tacos at . Made with the freshest possible ingredients (locally sourced elk chorizo, peppers roasted onsite, and made-from-scratch tortillas from up the road), tacos and thoughtfully crafted plates (chile relleno, enchiladas) rank among the Western Slope’s tastiest. Fidel’s also offers an impressive selection of tequilas, mezcals and creative cocktails.

Considered Colorado’s first wine-themed hotel,  broke ground in 2007 and has grown to become a comfortable farmhouse retreat among the vineyards for overnight visitors. Its restaurant, , is one of Palisade’s top dining haunts. The French-infused menu gathers ingredients locally, including the famed local peaches featured creatively in appetizers (peach green chili mussels, anyone?) and the signature bread pudding.

Drink

For a place with a population of less than 3,000, Palisade boasts one winery for every couple hundred residents, with more than 30 scattered around the town’s vicinity and outskirts.

Each one has its own unique personality, ambiance and signature variety. An obvious standout is . Named after co-owner Gary Brauns’ propensity and passion for restoring vintage vehicles (many of which are on display on the property), Restoration boasts Napa-caliber wines from six grape varieties—barbera, cabernet franc, chardonnay, merlot, sauvignon blanc and sémillon grapes—as well as an expansive outdoor space and patio, where it regularly hosts live music and food trucks.

On the newer side (opened in 2019), focuses on unique grapes, all grown onsite, and offers a great selection of sparkling wines.

, headed by a seasoned Grand Valley winemaker, makes an exquisite Petit Verdot and offers a casual vibe with occasional live music.

is a fun stop for an Old West meets grapes experience, while is right in town. It is housed in a giant, open-air shed with a ping-pong table and creative varieties crafted by English owner Ben Parsons.

has a wonderful ambiance, scrumptious French-inspired cuisine, and the most refreshing glass of Marechol Foch around.

, one of Palisade’s longest-standing vineyards (founded in 1981), thrives. It has accrued numerous awards, including a World Cup winner for its Riesling.

Many of Palisade’s wineries also specialize in fruit wine. Talon’s lineup includes a with several sweet options and a tasty .

Nearly every restaurant in the region carries at least one brew from the unassuming , which also serves amazing sandwiches. is raising eyebrows for its flavorful bourbon, but it crafts every other type of spirit you might be craving and serves impressively delicious pub fare out of its food trolley.

Stay

The industrial chic, dog-friendly is a renovated version of everything you find nostalgic about a classic one-story lodge, but with a bike theme and a free breakfast served right to your door.

Owned by mountain bike enthusiasts Jody Corey and Jeff Snook, the same couple behind Fidel’s Cocina, this lodge will be one of the cleanest, most comfortable and character-endowed motels you’ve ever experienced.

Every element of Palisade’s place on Colorado’s Western Slope conspires to produce fruit unlike that from anywhere else: Dry, clear mountain air combined with lofty, closer-to-the-sun orchards allows for intense and unrefracted sunlight. That results in high pigment concentration in both fruit and skin (just like humans who tan poolside).

A constant day-to-night temperature swing — very warm daytimes and super-cool nighttimes — slowly ripens and develops both fruit sugars and flavor molecules, as well as retains fruity acidity, giving a Palisade peach not only luscious sweetness and flavor but also tangy, snappy definition.

Throughout history, the peach has been thought of loftily, its blossom adorning the hair of brides in both China and Japan as a symbol of both virginity and fertility, a floral hat trick if you think about it.

More than 300 varieties of peach grow in the United States alone, while over 2,000 grow globally. Six varieties constitute just over half of Colorado’s famed peach crop, after the near-total dominance of the Elberta peach in earlier years. They are the O’Henry, Redhaven, Glohaven, Suncrest, Red Globe and Cresthaven. (Read more about Colorado crops at .)

Scientists have discovered peach endocarps (fossilized pits) dating back 2.5 million years ago — preceding humans — in Kunming, China, although widespread cultivation there dates back merely (!) to the 10th century B.C.

Despite its Chinese origins, the biological name for the peach is prunus Persica, a reference to its proliferation in ancient Persia (modern-day Iran). It is also a nod to the trade route that carried the peach from China along the Great Silk Road through Persia and onto the West.

What follows are just peachy recipes for DIY Peach and Tuna Poke, a delicious Agrodolce (a sweet-tart jam or “sauce”) made with Palisade peaches and Fresno chiles, and a savory Peach Pilaf to serve alongside a meat, chicken, tofu, or seafood stew (or tajine).

Also, as a reminder that the full name of “guacamole” is “guacamole salad,” is a recipe for Spicy Peach-Accented Guacamole.

DIY Tuna Poke

Makes 2 servings. Source: Bill St. John.

Ingredients

3/4 cup uncooked sushi or glutinous rice

3/4 pound #1- or #2-grade ahi tuna, cut into 3/4-inch cubes

1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice or 1 teaspoon rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon roasted sesame seed oil

1/4 teaspoon dried pepper flakes (plain red or Urfa or Aleppo)

1/3 large or 1/2 medium jalapeño pepper, sliced see-through-thin

2 large scallions, sliced into thin rings, white and light green parts only

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves

Lettuce greens of any sort, chopped or sliced

1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds (roasted, white or black, or a mix)

Directions

Cook the rice and, when finished, set it aside, covered with a towel, refrigerated if desired. Put the tuna chunks in a bowl and add the soy sauce or tamari, lime juice or vinegar, sesame seed oil, and pepper flakes. Toss the fish in the dressing and set aside to marinate for 15 minutes or up to an hour, again refrigerated if desired.

To a second bowl, add the jalapeño rings, the sliced scallions, and the cilantro leaves and toss together well. When ready to serve, assemble 2 poke bowls or plates by laying down a bed of the lettuce greens in each, then putting 1/2 the cooked rice atop each.

Take the bowl of marinated fish and add the greens from the second bowl, again tossing well so that small bits of scallion, jalapeño and cilantro stick throughout. Arrange 1/2 measure of the fish onto each serving, sprinkling decoratively with the sesame seeds.

Some variations: For a “sweet” seasonal peach and cucumber poke, omit the dried peppers, jalapeño and cilantro and substitute 1 Colorado peach, skinned, pitted and diced, and 1/2 cup cucumber, peeled and diced.

To make a “Nicoise poke,” substitute an orange ponzu for the dressing (orange juice and a bit of grated orange zest for the lime juice, plus a splash of rice vinegar), and none of the other ingredients except the scallion. To the bowl, add green bean segments tossed thinly in olive oil, very good oil-cured black olives, hard-cooked eggs, a couple wee, cooked waxy potatoes, some small jewel tomatoes, and use a bed of romaine lettuce.

For a “lunchroom tuna salad” poke, make half the amount of dressing and add 1 heaping tablespoon Kewpie mayonnaise and 1 heaping teaspoon sweet pickle relish, both mixed-in. Exchange chopped flat-leaf parsley for the cilantro, and omit the sesame seeds in favor of large, toasted breadcrumbs or croutons.

Spicy Peach-accented Guacamole

Makes 2 cups. Source: Bill St. John

Ingredients

2 plum tomatoes, chopped

1 large New Mexican Hatch or Colorado Pueblo chile, charred, peeled, seeded and chopped

2 medium avocados, pitted, flesh cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/3 cup scallion, white and light green parts only, finely chopped

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

1 large ripe Colorado peach, peeled if desired, pitted and chopped

3/4 cup cilantro, leaves and tender stems, chopped

Salt to taste

Tortilla chips

Directions

Assemble all ingredients in a large bowl and mix and fold. Let the flavors blend for 30 minutes before serving, cool or at room temperature. This is rough-hewn guacamole, not a puréed one. Serve in small bowls or plates with tortilla chips to the side.

Savory Peach Pilaf

Makes 6 cups. Serve this topped with a spicy dal or other “curried” dish or as a side dish with anything you choose: meat, fish, vegetable and so on. Source: Bill St. John.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon ghee, clarified butter or neutral cooking oil

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

1 teaspoon garam masala (or yellow curry powder)

1 medium-sized green or red chile pepper, heat level your choice, seeded and minced

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 cup basmati rice, rinsed very well, soaked for 30 minutes, then drained

1 large or 2 medium very ripe Colorado peaches, peeled, pitted and crushed into pulp

1/2 cup cashews, preferably unsalted and unroasted, soaked in warm water for 1/2 hour, then drained

1 cup water

Directions

In a thick-bottomed Dutch oven or pot, heat the fat over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds and when they start to sputter, add the garam masala (or curry powder), the minced chile pepper and turmeric and stir well for 30 seconds until everything is fragrant.

Add the drained rice and stir until the grains are coated and begin to take on color, just a couple of minutes at most. Add the crushed peaches, cashews and water and stir well again. Bring everything to a boil, lower the heat to simmering, cover tightly and cook for 20 minutes (a few minutes more at higher elevation) without disturbing.

Turn off the heat and let the pilaf stand for 10 minutes at least (with the lid of the pot still on). Then lift the lid and fluff the pilaf with the tines of a large fork and serve.

Agrodolce of Palisade Peaches and Fresno Chiles

Makes 4 cups. Source: Mark Antonation, former communications manager for the Colorado Restaurant Association and Foundation, who writes that this agrodolce is “sweet, tangy and spicy — great with bold cheeses and cured meats on a charcuterie board, or with pork chops. Would probably be great on a pulled pork sandwich. The agrodolce will keep in your fridge for at least a month.”

Ingredients

2 pounds very ripe (preferably Palisade) peaches

6 Fresno chiles

1 cup sugar

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1-2 teaspoons fruit pectin powder (such as Sure-Jell brand)

Pinch of salt

Directions

Peel peaches (blanch in boiling water for 30 seconds, then cover in cold water so that the skins just slip off) and dice into small pieces. Remove stems and seeds from chiles and slice into thin rings.

Add vinegar, sugar and pectin to a small pot and bring to a simmer. Add peaches and chiles and simmer over medium-low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Make sure the mixture doesn’t come to a rolling boil or the sugar could burn on the bottom of the pot.

Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes before spooning the agrodolce into 16-ounce jars. Put lids on the jars and put in your refrigerator. Let it sit overnight or for a day or two before serving.

It was the first time larvae from the destructive invasive species had been found in the river in Colorado. For nearly a year, despite increased sampling, state wildlife officials didn’t see any more evidence of the mussels.

But their hopes were dashed earlier this month when Colorado Parks and Wildlife detected three more tiny larvae in the stretch of the Colorado River between Glenwood Springs and Silt. — known to devastate ecosystems and clog critical infrastructure — had once again found their way to the river that is the backbone of Colorado and the Southwest’s water supply.

“We were all hoping against hope that it was an isolated incident,” said Tina Bergonzini, the general manager of the , based in Grand Junction, which manages a Mesa County irrigation system that relies on the Colorado River. “It is scary, from a water management standpoint, when you have something that could affect delivery and have ramifications for our entire community. It����ap a scary thought.”

With the discovery of additional larvae this summer, the Colorado River from Glenwood Springs to the Utah border is now considered positive for zebra mussels. The river can shed that designation only once routine testing confirms a lack of zebra mussel larvae for five continuous years. CPW has beefed up its sampling and lab staff to catch any additional larvae — called veligers — quickly.

The invasive species destroys aquatic ecosystems, causes millions of dollars in damage to infrastructure like dams and irrigation pipes, and reproduces at an incredible rate.

Once established, experts said, zebra mussels are nearly impossible to eradicate.

, a freshwater ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystems Studies who has studied mussels for decades, said he didn’t know of an example where zebra mussels were eradicated from a river system once adult populations had established themselves.

“They have the potential to radically change the ecosystem,” he said.

The spread of mussels

The threat of zebra mussels has always lurked over Colorado’s borders.

The mussels — about the size of a fingernail once mature — are native to Eastern Europe and first . The species has since established itself in all of the Great Lakes, in all large eastern river systems and in 33 states. Just 150 miles east of the Colorado state line, Kansas’ Cedar Bluff Reservoir has hosted a zebra mussel infestation since 2016.

Quagga mussels — an equally destructive relative of the zebra mussel — have established populations downstream on the Colorado River in the system’s two major reservoirs: Lakes Powell and Mead.

Mussels and their larvae spread in two ways: By floating downstream or when they are transported by people from an infected body of water on .

Veligers are microscopic and a single quart of water can contain hundreds, Strayer said. Each year, a mature female mussel can release up to one million eggs.

Federal and state agencies for decades have fought to keep the mussels from the West’s waterways, but the species has been detected in California, Utah and Colorado. The species failed to establish itself in Utah but survived in California.

In Colorado, CPW has detected veligers in Grand Lake and in Pueblo Reservoir, but the species did not establish sustained populations.

The state’s first adult mussel was found in 2022 in Highline Lake, northwest of Grand Junction. In 2023, CPW treated the lake with a pesticide, but mussels were found again a few months later. In 2024, the agency drained the lake completely to kill off the mussels.

But just weeks after the lake was refilled this spring and despite strict decontamination protocols for visitors, samplers found more mussels — and, for the first time, they also found some in neighboring Mack Mesa Lake.

CPW officials have not yet decided what the next steps are for the two lakes, said Robert Walters, CPW’s program manager.

The discovery of additional veligers in the Colorado River has prompted CPW to bulk up its sampling and testing staff. The agency dedicated a team of three technicians based in Grand Junction to sample the river and doubled the size of its Aquatic Nuisance Species laboratory so that samples could be processed more quickly. It also dedicated staff members from its Denver office to sample the river all the way from the Granby Dam to the mouth of Glenwood Canyon.

The river is now being tested weekly, as are two of its tributaries, the Eagle and Roaring Fork rivers.

At any given time, CPW could dedicate up to 12 staff members to zebra mussel detection, Walters said. In 2024, CPW collected 275 samples from the river for testing. Since mid-April this year, CPW has already collected 279 samples.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, too, is on high alert.

The federal agency owns irrigation canals in Mesa County and has increased testing in those systems, said Ethan Scott, the lands and recreation division manager from Reclamation’s Western Colorado Area Office.

“There’s definitely a concern that if they’re getting in our river, it won’t be hard for them to move to lakes and reservoirs from there,” he said.

Federal and state officials, as well as water managers and ecologists, are urging everyone who recreates or works in rivers and lakes to take steps to kill any mussel larvae that may be stuck on them or their equipment. They should drain, wash and dry all equipment and keep an eye out for adult mussels, which often have black and white stripes.

“If everyone is doing this, we have a pretty good chance of stopping this from spreading farther than it has,” Walters said.

‘Almost everything transformed’

Once established, zebra mussels filter huge quantities of plankton and other organic matter from the water — eliminating food sources for other species.

In New York’s Hudson River system, which Strayer studied, the invasive mussels filtered the river’s entire water supply every day, halved the amount of fish food available, shrank fish populations, reduced oxygen levels in the water, changed the river’s chemistry and decimated the native mussel population.

“Almost everything we measured about the river changed,” he said. “Almost everything transformed.”

Outside of mass ecological change, the mussels can wreak havoc on the valves, pumps and pipes that make up irrigation systems and dams. Adult mussels attach themselves to hard surfaces in incredible densities — up to 1,000 per square foot. They can constrict water flow in pipes and jam moving parts.

As general manager of the Grand Valley Water Users Association, Bergonzini is tasked with running an irrigation system that delivers water to 23,000 acres of land. That includes the Government Highline Canal, where CPW detected veligers last year.

Adult mussels could quickly and easily clog the irrigation system’s 150 miles of pipes as well as the smaller tubes farmers use to drip water directly on crops, like the region’s famed Palisade peaches. The pipes and tubes are meant to conserve water by replacing open ditches and reducing evaporation.

But they are an Achilles’ heel in a mussels infestation, Bergonzini said.

Adult mussels could also clog the association’s fish screen, which keeps fish — including endangered species — from getting trapped in the system’s canals, instead returning them to the river.

The association paid $80,000 to treat the entire system with an ionized copper solution at the end of the last irrigation season and will likely do so again, Bergonzini said

“It����ap something that we’re going to have to work with our water users to raise the money for,” she said. “And that����ap just for the prevention — it’ll be even more if we end up having adult populations and have to mitigate throughout the year.”

Similar treatment is not possible in the Colorado River itself. There’s just too much water, said Strayer, the ecologist.

“You would need a line of rail cars to dump the substance in the river,” he said.

Bergonzini urged Coloradans and visitors to be vigilant when they work or play in the state’s waters.

“There’s a mindset that they’re already here, but that����ap incredibly short-sighted,” she said. “We all need to look at the communities and recreation we have — and realize that all of that could be affected by people’s unwillingness to help stop the spread of this invasive species.”

Sip complex wines, savor spicy tacos and feast on succulent sweet corn — all while enjoying the stunning scenery and vibrant culture of the Centennial State. Mark your calendar for these can’t-miss culinary events.

July 12

Colorado Brewers Rendezvous: Ask any Colorado craft brewer what they’re looking forward to this summer and they’ll likely mention the Colorado Brewers Rendezvous. Back for its 29th year, this beer fest takes place in Riverside Park in Salida. As you sip brews from more than 65 craft breweries across the state, you’ll also be raising money for the Salida Chamber of Commerce and the Colorado Brewers Guild — a major win-win.

July 12-13

Keystone Wine and Jazz Festival: This two-day bash has all the makings of a good time — chiefly, live music played by talented Colorado musicians and lots and lots of wine.

July 13-20

Crested Butte Wine and Food Festival: Save up your PTO for this weeklong event, which includes foraging hikes, Champagne sabering workshops, live fire cooking demos, various world wine regions, author talks and more. Cap it all off with an epic grand tasting before you head home.

July 19

Colorado Whiskey Fest: If whiskey is your drink of choice, put this Castle Rock event on your calendar. Here, you can sip spirits — as well as wine and beer — while listening to live music and hobnobbing with fellow brown liquor aficionados.

July 24

The Big Eat: Spend an evening celebrating the chefs, restaurateurs, waiters, mixologists and other hospitality staffers that make the Front Range’s culinary scene so darned special. At the Big Eat, which raises funds for EatDenver, you can enjoy food and drink from more than 75 restaurants, bars and beverage brands.

July 26

Westy Craft Brew Fest: Westminster is one of Denver’s best suburbs — especially during this one-day beer festival, which includes unlimited samples from more than 35 regional breweries. Also, enjoy food trucks and live music.

July 31-Aug. 2

Telluride Reserve: Set among the gorgeous San Juan Mountains in Telluride, this weekend-long food and wine festival includes tastings, seminars, dinners and other scrumptious experiences.

Aug. 2

Heritage Fire: This one-day gathering in Snowmass Base Village celebrates live-fire cooking, local chefs and family farms with gourmet bites and free-flowing beverages. Be sure to vote for your favorite dish and stick around for the crowning of the “Heritage Hero.”

Aug. 2-3

Bluegrass & Beer Festival: Make your way to Keystone for this lively two-day fête, which features unlimited craft beer samples and performances by artists like Billy Failing and The Last Revel.

Aug. 7-10

Vail Wine Classic: Need an excuse for a little weekend getaway? Snag tickets to the Vail Wine Classic — then invite your friends — so you can bask in the cool mountain air and soak up the views while sipping wines from around the world.

Aug. 15-16

Palisade Peach Festival: Go on, slurp as many fresh peaches as you want — no one’s going to judge you at this two-day festival, which is back for its 57th year. Dance to live music on the “Peach Jam” stage, sip libations at the “Peach Pit” bar, shop the vendor market, watch peach cuisine demos hosted by Colorado chefs and nosh on bites from food trucks.

Aug. 16

Cidermass: Enjoy tastings from more than 30 hard cideries, batch distilleries and hard seltzer makers from all over the country at this one-day event, held on the Snowmass Mall.

Front Range Wine Festival: Back for its 13th year, this Windsor gathering includes live music and unlimited samples from more than 35 Colorado wineries. f

Fort Collins Peach Festival: Help raise funds for Northern Colorado nonprofits by stuffing your face with pie, ice cream and fresh, whole peaches. Hosted by the Rotary Clubs of Fort Collins, this sweet event also includes live music, food and drinks — including, of course, peach cocktails.

Aug. 21-23

Breckenridge Wine Classic: Enjoy even more delicious wine and more beautiful mountain scenery at the Breckenridge Wine Classic, a sister event to the Vail festival. The Breckenridge version spotlights more than 300 wines, beers and spirits, plus seminars, pairings and winemaker meet-and-greets.

Aug. 22-24

Breckenridge Hogfest — Bacon & Bourbon Festival: Indulge in all your favorite things — bacon, bourbon, music and mountains — at this mouthwatering gathering in Breck. Enjoy activities like a bourbon pairing dinner, a grand tasting and Sunday brunch at this food-focused fête.

Aug. 23

Boulder Taco Fest: Alright, twist my arm, why don’t you? I’ll go with you to gorge on tacos and margaritas along the shady banks of Boulder Creek. This peppy one-day bash also includes lucha libre wrestling, live music, tequila, a 5K taco run and a costume contest.

Olathe Sweet Corn Festival: This festival starts early in the morning and goes until “the cows come home,” according to the organizers — so it����ap guaranteed to be a good time. Now in its 35th year, this Montrose event includes live music, vendors and a 5K run/walk to raise money for the Olathe Police Department. There’s also all-you-can-eat roasted sweet corn, grown and donated by the nice folks at Tuxedo Corn.

Sept. 3-6

Denver Food + Wine Festival: Don’t miss the Colorado Restaurant Foundation’s big annual fundraising event to help support the Front Range culinary community. Eat and drink your way through the Grand Tasting, study up at the Riedel Wine Glass Seminar, open your heart (and your wallet) at the Dine Out auction series and vote on your favorite cocktails and food trucks at the Shake + Brake Showdown.

Sept. 12-14

Telluride Blues & Brews Festival: Sip craft beer while jamming out to musicians like The Black Crowes, Thundercat and Lukas Nelson at this three-day gathering in the scenic San Juans.

Sept. 13

Snowmass Wine Festival: As summer fades into fall, spend a dreamy afternoon sipping wine at Snowmass Town Park. This longstanding event also includes music, bites from local restaurants and a silent auction benefiting its host, the Rotary Club of Snowmass Village. Come up a day early to enjoy a reception and a four-course dinner with wine pairings at Viceroy Snowmass.

Sept. 14

Taste of Ethiopia: Held this year at City Park, Taste of Ethiopia is a vibrant celebration of one of Colorado’s most treasured immigrant communities. Immerse yourself in this country’s rich culture through its cuisine.

Sept. 19-21

Pueblo Chile and Frijoles Festival: Green chiles are part of Colorado’s identity — despite what the good folks down in New Mexico say. You can celebrate these humble, spicy beauties by making a trip down to Pueblo for this festival, which also includes a jalapeño-eating contest, a chihuahua parade, a hot air balloon fest, a magic show, a farmers market and more. Comedian George Lopez will also be doing stand-up at Pueblo Memorial Hall.

Sept. 20

Colorado Mountain Winefest: Help support the Colorado Association for Viticulture and Enology at this annual fundraiser, which includes samples from dozens of Colorado wineries, cideries and meaderies. Held at Palisade’s Riverbend Park, this event is a glorious celebration of our state’s wine scene.

Sept. 28

VegFest: Eating plant-based can be tricky — but not at VegFest, where all of the food trucks and vendors are 100 percent vegan. While you’re here, also enjoy live music, family-friendly activities, morning yoga and motivational speeches from chefs, athletes and other influential people.

Oct. 2-5

Steamboat Food & Wine Festival: Plan a getaway to the Yampa Valley for this fest, which just so happens to coincide with peak fall foliage season. Enjoy caviar and Champagne at the welcome reception, learn about zingy drinks at the coffee cocktails seminar, sip and savor at the grand tasting, hike to lunch on Storm Peak and learn about Steamboat����ap dark history, just to name a few activities.

Oct. 3-5

Cedaredge Applefest: Though peaches tend to get most of the attention, Colorado’s apples are downright delicious, too. They deserve a moment — nay, an entire weekend — of your time. Head to the gorgeous Surface Creek Valley, which has been celebrating the fall harvest season with this festival for more than 45 years.

Breckenridge Craft Spirits Festival: Also known as “Still on the Hill,” this three-day festival includes parties, spirits seminars, craft workshops, historical walking tours and a grand tasting.

Oct. 9-11

Great American Beer Festival: Every fall, brewers from around the country descend upon the Mile High City for this big annual gathering, called GABF for short. They’re here to win awards and pour beer, which you can sip to your heart����ap content during the general sessions.

October dates TBD

Applefest: Families flock to Longmont����ap Ya Ya Farm & Orchard for Applefest, a family-friendly bash that includes live music and good food on a working farm. Tickets usually sell out, so keep an eye out for the 2025 dates. If you can’t make it to Applefest (which does not include apple picking, by the way), you can still visit the orchard for you-pick fruits. 

Oct. 18

Colorado Uncorked: So many Colorado wines, so little time. Luckily, if you’re looking for some new bottles to add to your collection, snag some from the prestigious Colorado Governor’s Cup Collection. Each year, the governor tasks a panel of experts with finding the best, most delicious Colorado wines — and you can taste them all at Colorado Uncorked. Held at the History Colorado Center, the event features award-winning wines paired with small bites created by Colorado chefs.

Oct. 26

The Bloody Mary Festival: Show your love for this iconic brunch cocktail at this one-day bash, which includes Bloody Mary tastings, food samples, temporary tattoos, a costume contest, photo ops and people’s choice awards. t

Dec. 5-6

Metal & Beer Fest: This two-day bash bills itself as the world’s “loudest, heaviest, most extreme craft beer festival” — and that tells you just about everything you need to know. Held this year at the Fillmore Auditorium, you can sip craft beers while rocking out to bands like Acid Bath and  Blood Incantation. The full lineup — of both musicians and breweries — will be unveiled soon.

That fleeting moment is something that chefs across the state try to capture in their seasonal menus by incorporating both of these Colorado specialties. But they’re not often seen in restaurants that focus on Chinese, Vietnamese or Thai cuisine.

At Taste of Thailand, 2120 S. Broadway, owners Rick and Noy Farrell know that sweetness and heat are two of the bedrocks of Thai cuisine, though, which is why they celebrate every year with a special menu that features Palisade peaches and Pueblo green chiles in classic dishes.

Take the ginger-peach stir fry, a late-summer version of the restaurant����ap year-round ginger chicken; it has onion, green bell pepper, a handful of veggies and glorious matchsticks of ginger, sautéed with slices of Palisade peach and a choice of protein. The peaches meld easily with the fragrant, garlicky sauce, creating layers of playful flavors.

The Farrells caught the late-summer green chile wave in the late 1980s while living among Federal Boulevard’s legendary chile stands and soon came up with the idea of tossing them into a pad kra prow, a spicy chicken stir fry with basil. So when they opened Taste of Thailand in 1994 — using recipes and techniques from Noy’s homeland — they put it on the menu.

Although the Farrells used Hatch chiles from New Mexico at the beginning, they later switched to green chiles grown in Colorado, around Pueblo. “It seems to us the Pueblo chiles are a little thicker, a little more meaty, than the Hatch,” Rick said.

Related: Palisade peaches on pizza? Try it at these four Front Range pizzerias

“We cut it in big chunks so you can taste the chile,” Noy added. “We want to get the flavor of the whole chile.”

Like the peaches, green chiles harmonize well with Thai food. The chile basil eggplant dish exemplifies this: One bite could yield a tender chunk of eggplant in a rich, while another might give you a mouthful of velvety green chile — and a little bit of a kick.

The couple also adds some ingredients from their own summer garden, like picked-that-morning Thai basil or cherry tomatoes.

The “Rocky Mountain Thai” menu at Taste of Thailand runs as long as the kitchen can get Palisade peaches and fresh-roasted chiles, usually through September, Rick said, although the peppers often remain on the menu into October. Other dishes include peach prio can, chile peach stir, chile pad kee mao and chile kow pad kra prow.

The H-2A visa allows American employers to hire foreign laborers for agricultural work when they cannot find domestic help to do the job. Employers are supposed to pay for nearly all their guests’ expenses: housing, tools and transportation to and from the U.S., as well as to their work sites.

But a Denver Post investigation found Colorado growers routinely short-change these vulnerable workers.

Nearly one in 10 Colorado employers who have used the H-2A program since 2015 have stolen wages or illegally charged their workers outside the bounds of the visa, a Post analysis of federal labor data found. Workers weren’t reimbursed for their visa applications or transportation. Some had illegal deductions taken for Medicare and Social Security. Others were forced to pay for their own housing or tools necessary for their work.

One in six Colorado farmers who brought H-2A workers to the state since 2015 have broken labor laws, The Post found, the majority of which concern wage theft and illegal cost-shifting onto workers.

The state and federal government rarely bar these companies from bringing guest workers to the United States, despite having the ability to do so.

Immigrants and Latino workers are especially susceptible to having their wages stolen, experts say, while the visa program is ripe for exploitation.

“It all comes down to control,” said Jennifer Lee, a former attorney with Colorado Legal Services, which represents migrant workers. “They have total control over these people’s everyday lives.”

This is the second story in The Post’s three-part series on seasonal migrant workers that also examines how sheepherders are particularly vulnerable to workplace abuses. A growing body of Colorado employers, though, are joining a national movement designed to ensure safer working conditions on American farms.

The Post’s yearlong investigation included on-the-ground reporting from across Colorado, along with interviews with more than three dozen sources. The newspaper also reviewed hundreds of pages of Department of Labor investigative documents and state and federal lawsuits.

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment and the U.S. Department of Labor declined interview requests for this series.

In a statement, the federal Labor Department said the agency “concentrates our efforts on protecting workplace rights for low-wage, vulnerable workers — including the many H-2A agricultural workers whose ability to work in the U.S., as well as their housing and transportation, are tied to their specific place of employment.”

Bruce Talbott, a longtime Palisade peach grower, said he thinks worker advocacy and legal aid organizations are operating in bad faith. Laborers in the H-2A program, he said, are “well taken care of.”

“It’s in their interest to find or generate or bring doubt about worker abuses,” Talbott said. “Those who benefit from abuses and atrocities present them as the norm.”

Colorado farms rely on H-2A program

Colorado growers overwhelmingly say the H-2A program is critical for their survival.

That’s because Americans, they say, simply aren’t willing to do this difficult work for near minimum wage.

“If the H-2A labor pool went away, I would shut down,” said David Harold, who operates the Tuxedo Corn Company in Olathe with his father.

Talbott, whose family has been growing Palisade peaches for a century, said 90% of his workforce comes from the H-2A program.

Some of the problem, farmers say, is the availability of domestic workers. Most American laborers only want to work on the farm part-time — if at all.

“It’s 50-50 whether the local workforce will even show up tomorrow,” said Erin Dreistadt, who runs Aspen Moon Farm in Boulder County. “People have so many options.”

Growers also say there’s a problem with the American work ethic. They don’t want to get down and dirty in the fields or work long hours in the blazing Colorado sun.

“Very few white people work for me,” Harold said. “If you walk onto my place and you’re white, you’ll cost me more ’cause you’re a sucky worker. Some people are just lazy; some people don’t have the capacity to work hard.”

The generation who used to farm in the United States is also beginning to age out — and their kids, by and large, aren’t taking on the family business.

The average farmer in 2024 is 57.5 years old — a sharp increase from 1978, when that figure stood at just over 50.

“For (foreign workers), this job is a windfall, a treasure chest,” Harold said. “For us, it’s pretty (expletive) wages. I wouldn’t leave my four kids for six months. These people are potentially desperate.”

Some farmers use recruiters to fill their workforce needs. But many rely on their workers spreading the word amongst their friends and family.

“All our workers are related to each other somehow,” said Gwen Cameron, who co-owns Rancho Durazno in Palisade with her father.

Manuel Holguin came to Tuxedo Corn for his first growing season six years ago. His recruiter? His mother, who has been making the trek to Olathe from Sinaloa, Mexico, for 20 years.

The 28-year-old comes to the U.S. on the H-2A visa for many of the same reasons as his compatriots on the farm: money.

Holguin said he makes twice here what he could make back home. As he sorted onions at a warehouse in the fall, he talked about his wife and 4-year-old daughter he left behind for half the year in Mexico.

“Everything I’m doing here is for them,” he said.

It’s always hard to leave home when the kids are little, said Alejandro Soria, another Tuxedo Corn worker.

But one day working in Colorado can earn enough money to dress one of his three children from head to toe, he said. In Mexico, that takes a week.

If someone at home gets sick, “you have to sell stuff to pay for the treatment,” he said.

Soria, on his off days here, goes into town to buy gifts: clothes, toys, laptops and phones. With Christmastime nearing, Soria knew he had to bring home the goods.

“I’m going home happy,” he said with a smile. “We work here and then go home to have a better life.”

More and more American employers in recent years are turning to foreign workers.

In 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor approved hiring 378,000 workers — more than double the number of H-2A workers approved in 2016 and seven times the number in 2005, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture .

Colorado, similarly, has seen a drastic uptick in foreign labor.

Centennial State employers requested just under 4,000 workers in 2023, an increase from less than 1,200 workers a decade ago, according to Colorado Department of Labor and Employment records. In 2001, just 246 people were approved to work here on H-2A visas.

Not just a “few bad apples”

Advocates over the years have compiled mountains of examples that they say show Colorado employers failing to treat their workers with basic dignity and human rights.

“The number of violations… indicate that this is not just a ‘few bad apples,’ ” the Agricultural Workers’ Rights Coalition wrote to lawmakers in 2021 as they debated a . “It is the result of a structural power dynamic that tends toward exploitation.”

In 2018, a good Samaritan delivering food to farmworkers at in Brighton saw a box truck with 15 to 20 men inside, crammed onto benches, the workers’ coalition said. The heat was so severe, one worker said, that his phone wouldn’t work. The truck only had two small vents letting air into the vehicle. (After this article’s publication, Dave Petrocco Sr. said in an interview that the farm complied with federal rules and regulations surrounding the box truck. The farm now uses passenger vans instead, he said.)

Another grower, Southern Colorado Farms in Saguache County, said in their H-2A job order that workers could not have visitors without written requests by employees.

“Requests for visitors may be denied for no cause,” the employer wrote, according to the workers’ coalition. No members of the opposite sex would be allowed at any time, and visitors couldn’t stay the night.

Advocates said a local restaurant employee would buy food for these workers because they didn’t get enough to eat from their bosses. The employee, according to testimony to state lawmakers, would have to surreptitiously throw food over the fence. If they were caught, the workers would get in trouble. (Farm operators did not respond to requests for comment.)

At Hirakata Farms in southeast Colorado, a federal Department of Labor probe in 2017 found H-2A workers lived in bedrooms without windows and working lights. Mildew grew on the bathtub. A car that workers used had a large crack on the driver-side windshield. (Michael Hirikata, the farm’s owner, said he cooperated fully with the labor department and rectified the mistakes.)

At Galicia Farms in Fort Lupton, workers in 2017 were forced to cover a large hole near the dining table with a metal sheet to avoid rodents and insects infesting their home, the federal Department of Labor found. Laborers in the fields had to walk 1.5 miles to use the bathrooms, which lacked toilet paper and were “overloaded and filthy,” investigators found.

Ernestine Galicia, one of the farm owners, acknowledged to The Post that they had violations during this one investigation but said the issues were remedied promptly.

“We treat our workers very good,” she said.

At Dionisio Produce & Farms in Pueblo, 12 guest laborers in 2011 shared one stove, Department of Labor records show. The nearest shower sat three-quarters of a mile away. (The farm’s owner, Russell Dionisio, declined to comment on the investigation.)

Fifteen workers at Korby Sod in northern Colorado were crammed into housing meant for six workers, the state’s Department of Labor and Employment alleged last year. Instead of replacing a malfunctioning septic tank at one of the worker houses, the employer required laborers to pump the sewage themselves into a nearby field, state investigators said.

The farm’s owner, Steve Korby, also verbally abused employees, threw tools and keys at them and “used a shotgun to intimidate them by firing live rounds into the field,” the department alleged.

Korby, in an interview with The Post, called those allegations “all lies” made up by disgruntled employees he accused of embezzling funds. He agreed to a settlement with the state, with no admission of wrongdoing, that included a three-year probationary period.

“It’s a smear campaign,” he said.

Some Colorado growers have repeatedly violated federal laws, yet continue to be allowed to hire foreign workers.

In 1998, 2000, 2001, 2006 and 2010, the U.S. Department of Labor found Angelo Palombo, who runs Star Farms in Brighton, failed to pay his seasonal workers wages when due, according to investigation records obtained by The Post through a Freedom of Information Act request.

In 2006, investigators found the farm owner was “willfully violating migrant housing requirements.” Portable toilets had not been cleared for over a week, the agency ruled, and remained “fly-infested and extremely dirty.” The conditions represented “repeated and willful” field sanitation violations.

Four years later, labor investigators found 191 migrant worker violations at Star Farms, impacting 140 laborers. The department fined Star Farms $12,200 and ordered it to pay its workers $123,330.54 in back wages.

The federal probe found employees were being charged $1 for every $100 to receive cash instead of checks, documents show. Workers didn’t receive wages at one point for five weeks. Lack of timely payment is also considered a form of wage theft.

Last year, Palombo acknowledged in bankruptcy filings that he hadn’t paid workers more than $231,000 for over a month, prompting the Department of Labor to initiate another investigation. Palombo says he sought permission from the bankruptcy court to pay his workers the wages he had not paid them, on time, for five weeks, and he claims that shows his commitment to doing right by them. But the motion that sought the court����ap permission to pay the withheld back wages he owed his workers made clear that he would not be able to harvest his crops if his workers went unpaid and left his employment.

“Every year it����ap the same,” one laborer told The Post last year through a translator. The 28-year-old father of two said his wife and children back in Mexico wonder why he continues working in the U.S. “This year they said it would change. But it����ap a lie — we come and it����ap the same thing all over again.”

This year, despite the litany of Labor Department findings, Star Farms was again allowed to bring H-2A workers to Colorado.

In January, Palombo sued The Post and one of its reporters for libel. A Denver District Court judge in April dismissed the lawsuit. Palombo has appealed that ruling.

More susceptible to wage theft

Stolen wages and improper cost-shifting onto workers represent common themes among Colorado employers of migrant seasonal workers.

The Department of Labor continually found farm owners failed to pay workers on time or at the correct rate. Investigators also routinely discovered employers did not pay workers for their travel to and from the United States, or forced workers to take out loans that had to be paid back.

For instance, Tagawa Greenhouse Enterprises, the state’s largest H-2A employer with 155 guest workers, failed to pay the correct wage to all its workers and took improper deductions for Medicare and Social Security, Department of Labor documents show.

The feds in 2020 ordered the company to pay $339,443 in back wages and nearly $8,000 in fines.

State labor officials say the same top issues cut across all workers, whether they’re U.S. citizens or seasonal migrant laborers: wages not being paid on time; overtime going unpaid; lack of rest periods; and paid sick leave issues.

But wage theft, in particular, is especially prevalent in industries that employ immigrants and Latinos.

Nearly $728 million in wages are stolen annually from hundreds of thousands of Colorado workers, leading to more than $45 million in lost tax revenue, according to a  from the Colorado Fiscal Institute.

The report found that Latino workers are the demographic group most likely to experience wage theft. They make up only 20% of Colorado workers but nearly 30% of those at high risk of wage theft. White workers are slightly less likely to have their wages stolen, researchers found.

Generally, employers target lower-wage workers at a higher rate, according to the report. Nearly 440,000 low-wage Colorado workers lose money to this scheme every year.

Migrant or immigrant workers also commonly face wage theft from employers due to their isolation and tenuous immigrant status “which makes them fearful of rocking the boat and getting fired, sent home or being reported to” immigration authorities, said Lee, the former Colorado Legal Services attorney and current law professor at Temple University who specializes in low-wage workers and immigrant rights.

Many of these laborers, she said, may also not know their rights.

“Shackles of modern-day slavery”

These abuses are hardly just endemic to Colorado.

Three years ago, the U.S. Department of Justice found dozens of victims had been trafficked to the southeast United States using the H-2A program under the pretext of serving as agricultural workers. But investigators — during a three-year sting titled “” — found these workers in Georgia, Florida and Texas were held in work camps with little to no food, limited plumbing and no safe water.

The government accused 24 people of raping, kidnapping and threatening or attempting to kill workers or their families. At least two people died from working conditions, federal investigators said. Meanwhile, the perpetrators raked in more than $200 million.

“The American dream is a powerful attraction for destitute and desperate people across the globe, and where there is need, there is greed from those who will attempt to exploit these willing workers for their own obscene profits,” David H. Estes, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, said in a statement at the time.

More than 100 individuals had been subjected, he said, to the “shackles of modern-day slavery.”

A 2013 report from the Southern Poverty Law Center — titled “” — found guest workers across the country routinely have their wages stolen, are forced to mortgage their futures to obtain these jobs and are held “virtually captive” by employers.

The program, the authors write, “is rife with labor and human rights violations committed by employers who prey on a highly vulnerable workforce.”

A representative from the Southern Poverty Law Center, in to a U.S. House subcommittee in 2016, said the H-2A program provides “no realistic means for workers to exercise the few rights they have.”

“It is virtually impossible to create a guest worker program for low-wage workers that does not involve systemic abuse and thus erode the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers,” Meredith B. Stewart said. “The H-2 guest worker program should not be the model for the future flow of workers to this country. If the current H-2 program is allowed to continue, it should be completely overhauled.”

Farmworker attorneys and industry experts say the problem is not limited to individual employers. It’s the entire system.

Workers coming to this country on H-2A visas are tied to one employer, meaning they can’t find a new job if a boss abuses them.

Wages in the U.S. are still much better than back home, so workers fear being sent home or not asked back the following year if they speak up, experts say.

“Fear of retaliation is a big barrier to utilizing protections under the law,” said Jenifer Rodriguez, managing attorney for the Migrant Farm Worker Division at .

Updating the H-2A program

Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet has unsuccessfully tried to revamp the H-2A program for years.

The Democrat has twice introduced a bill to overhaul a system he called “hopelessly and embarrassingly outdated.” Neither made it to the president’s desk.

�ճ���� would allow employers to hire workers year-round (the current system mandates workers return home and come back each year). The legislation would also modernize the application process, strengthen protections against employer retaliation and establish a process for agricultural workers — along with their spouses and children — to earn legal status.

“This has been going on for decades, and we have ignored this problem,”  in December 2022 on the Senate floor, “in part, because the food keeps showing up somehow miraculously in our grocery stores, as if somebody waved a wand to put it there.”

The economic pressures will eventually be so severe that Congress will be forced to respond, Bennet told The Post.

“The question is how deep the self-inflected wounds are that we want to suffer before we get something done,” he said.

Though his bills stalled, Bennet and 14 senators wrote to the Department of Labor in support of a proposed rule meant to strengthen protections for workers under the H-2A program.

�ճ����, finalized April 26, expands anti-retaliation provisions; improves transportation safety; clarifies the law surrounding employers confiscating passports and other personal documents; and requires states to discontinue services to banned employers.

“H-2A workers too frequently face abusive working conditions that undercut all farmworkers in the U.S.,” acting Labor Secretary Julie Su said in a . “This rule ensures farmworkers employed through the H-2A program are treated fairly, have a voice in their workplace and are able to perform their work safely. It also promotes employer accountability, benefitting all farmworkers by upholding labor standards.”

Some growers and industry groups expressed alarm at the changes.

“It����ap a very exciting and terrifying time to be in H-2A,” said Tom Bortnyk, senior vice president and general counsel for , a national consulting firm that helps employers hire seasonal workers.

Bortnyk, at an industry conference in Pueblo last year, told employers that the rule was “highly problematic.” Under the new regulations, growers and ranchers would be required to allow labor organizations to access their workers — even on private property.

Employers, he said, could be negatively impacted by unionization, though these organizing efforts are exceedingly rare.

“It����ap mind-boggling,” Bortnyk told the group.

State labor officials, though, are very sensitive to agricultural employers, said Talbott, the Palisade peach grower.

“They have not been a worry for us,” he said.

Much of the bad blood stems from legislation brought by Colorado Democrats at the state Capitol three years ago.

, dubbed the Farm Workers’ Bill of Rights, represented a sea change in how labor is paid and treated on Colorado’s nearly 40,000 farms and ranches.

The law removed the exemption of agricultural labor from state and local minimum wage laws, which had long carved out farm workers, and allowed these laborers to join unions and collectively bargain. Farm workers would be eligible for overtime, and be entitled to regular meal and rest breaks during the day.

The legislation also expressly prohibited retaliation against workers, and allowed employees to bring claims to district court or the state Department of Labor and Employment.

“These are workers that have really been left behind from worker protections, and I think Senate Bill 87 brings them in line with the protections that are enjoyed by every other worker in Colorado,” sponsor Sen. Dominick Moreno, a Commerce City Democrat, said at the time.

Farmers said the process made them out be the villains, with a few bad apples placing unfair blame on the entire industry.

In June 2022, Talbott and a group of farmers sued the state over one of the law’s key provisions, which allows certain service providers — such as health care workers, government officials or attorneys — the right to speak with workers at their places of employment. The group argued this violated their constitutional rights, saying they’ve been “targeted by activists” who will invade their private property or bring diseases to their crops.

They dropped the case the following year.

Re: “Peach pies: No, not the dessert; try the fruit on pizzas at these spots,” Aug. 16 features story

As a New Jersey transplant, I have suffered from a lack of decent pizza, bagels, and Silver Queen Sweet Corn since moving to Colorado. That indignity is offset by the really great Mexican food, surprisingly diverse seafood choices and the spectacular Palisade peaches.

However, my blood ran cold with your story on peaches on pizza. While this kind of blasphemy may not be illegal, it should be.

Agust Gudmundsson, Castle Rock

Election 2024: Buckle up and be kind

The next several weeks are going to be pretty awful politically (especially if you live in a swing state). I implore you to help keep things civil among friends and family. You may not understand why a friend or family member is rooting for one candidate or the other. But one thing you should understand is that most people all want the same thing in life: a good job to provide for themselves and their families, good friends, some meaning to their lives, and if possible, a bit of leisure time in which to have fun.

Don’t buy into the loud 10% at the extremes. You don’t have to hate someone who votes differently from you. They aren’t out to destroy our country. Chances are they are reading a whole different narrative about their candidate than you are based on their self-tailored news feeds. I do believe that facts, especially scientific facts, seem to have eluded the grasp of politicians (some more than others). But hasn’t that always been the case?

Just when I think the times we’re living in seem the most divided, I read about another time in the past that was the same or worse. We’ve been through all this before; it just seems like it����ap on steroids now with 24×7 news and equal platforms for the extremes of society. So, good luck out there. Be safe. Be kind. Be understanding.

Mike Clinton, Longmont

News on wind energy brings hope

Re: “Wind beat coal 2 months in a row for generation energy,” Aug. 16 news story

Today could have started out with the depressing and desensitizing news of more ozone alerts.  Instead, I read that wind beats out coal two months in a row in the generation of energy. A headline of “Broncos beat Kansas City” couldn’t have made me happier.

This is a significant sign of hope for our vulnerable future. The article cited shifts in the economics of energy, federal tax credits and state mandates as having led to explosive growth in renewable energy in recent years. A thank you to Congress for passing the Inflation Reduction Act is in order.

Here is evidence that the Act and the innovation it spurred are working.

Lesley LeFevre, Centennial

Don’t underestimate municipal airport’s importance

Re: “Boulder’s airport is a subsidized waste of space,” Aug. 15 commentary

The other day, I was just sharing the amazing experiences I have had soaring in a glider over the Flatirons out of Boulder Municipal Airport. They are among the most memorable experiences of my life. Having access to small local airports is important for flying lessons, parachuting and gliding. It provides local access for ordinary folks like me. I don’t own a private plane, but I have had the opportunity to fly in small planes out of the Boulder Airport, and I am not alone. Lots of us have had our first experience in a small aircraft, thanks to Boulder Municipal Airport.

Boulder is just plain expensive and to think that developing every last corner of it will make it any less so is absurd. The developers must love Josh Joseph’s comments. I don’t. Leave the airport alone.

Christie McNeill, Englewood

Looking out for our grocery dollars

Re: “Kroger sues FTC over embattled supermarket merger,” Aug. 21 business story

If Kroger can afford to spend billions of dollars to establish a grocery monopoly in too many parts of Colorado and the country, then they can substantially lower inflation-causing prices, remove obstructive displays and product placements from along the sides of their too-narrow aisles, and reduce wait times by hiring additional checkout personnel.

The company that once boasted “our people make the difference” now tries to justify its monopoly attempt on the fact that its difference-making employees are unionized.

Give me a break! This is yet another example of inflation fueling corporate greed.

Thank you, Attorney General Phil Weiser, for acting to reduce inflation and protecting the economic interests of Colorado shoppers!

Dexter Meyer, Denver

It pays to be friendly on the trails

Re: “Grumpy Hiker: Doesn’t everyone else find small talk on hiking trails annoying?” Aug. 21 commentary

Wow. Yes, that is one grumpy hiker!  I’m surprised The Post wasted precious Op-Ed space for a non-story.  All the examples she used of her so-called trail small talk were friendly human interactions. I suggest Marjorie “Slim” Woodruff wears a big sign around her neck that says, “I hate people. Don’t even speak to me.”  Clearly, being in nature is not healing for her.

Krista Igoe, Littleton

I was appalled by this opinion piece by someone so ignorant, thinking the purpose of saying hello to other hikers is to engage in conversation. When passing someone on the trail, you check that they can respond because maybe they’re suffering from altitude sickness, dehydration, or many other things that can go wrong when hiking. They might not even know they’re becoming delirious until someone else observes their response.

All too often, on a hike, somebody needs help, and the next stranger coming along can help them or finish their hike down back to cell service and then call for help to get rescue patrol to head up. Just remember the next person who might need medical attention on a hike could be you, and you’ll be left out all alone unless you’re able to ask somebody to help. Hopefully, your slurred speech catches someone’s attention who can provide you with the necessary medical attention.

We all need to help each other out, so say hello, and be grateful strangers are checking on you as well.

Michael Wille, Denver

Investigating drug deaths

Re: “Matthew Perry’s assistant is among 5 charged in his death,” Aug. 16 news story

I see from recent reports that authorities have charged five people for complicity in Matthew Perry’s “accidental” death, including, as with the deaths of Michael Jackson and Prince, doctors. These charges demonstrate that catering to the whims of wealthy celebrities with no self-control is apparently a horribly egregious crime worth prioritization by prosecutors.

One could only wish the overdose deaths of the teenage dropout in the library bathroom or the Iraq veteran behind the dumpster in the alley were investigated with the same vigor, tenacity, and resources expended in the quest for Matthew Perry’s justice.

Paul Barnkow, Arvada

Israel isn’t the only one who shouldn’t be getting U.S. weapons

Although I support an arms embargo to end funding the genocide in Palestine, it isn’t going to happen. It is a slogan similar to “defund the police” which should have been “retrain the police.” Politics is the art of the possible and forgetting that means that nothing changes.

Instead of singling out Israel for an arms embargo, the question should be asked: Why should the U.S. fund the military of any country without conditions?  And since we give more money to Israel than any other country or countries combined, there should actually be more conditions. Biden pledged back in February that we would not fund countries that broke international law. Now that would be a great policy if it weren’t just meaningless words.

Let’s pressure Harris to act on that pledge.

Naomi Rachel, Boulder

Vail, doesn’t need a tunnel. Go electric.

Re: “How Vail is keeping the dream alive to tunnel or bury I-70,” Aug. 19 news story

Concerning the continued discussion of tunneling or covering I-70 through Vail, I have a very simple solution: Time. The major complaints are two: noise and pollution. Both will be corrected over time.

The electrification of the nation’s surface transportation is happening relatively quickly, right before our eyes. Motor noises from cars, SUVs, and even large commercial trucks will soon turn into a soothing hum. Granted, other road noises exist (tire noise for one), but once all internal combustion vehicles are replaced by EV’s, most of the noise and all the pollution problems disappear.

I suggest the Vail town council begin studying how to provide convenient charging facilities for all these cars and large trucks. The slow but steady conversion of gas stations in Vail and surrounding towns could provide the space needed for this charging infrastructure. Providing charging for trucks could be similar to the chain-up areas at the beginning of steep grades in the mountains. Truck-rated chargers could be installed at these off ramps thereby eliminating the need for trucks to even enter the town(s).

Mark Edward Geyer, Denver

Patients need protection from Kaiser billing

Why is Kaiser the cheapest health insurance in the Denver Metro area? They make money with inflated and false billing. Both my charge dispute and appeals process with Kaisers resulted in a form letter saying you still owe the money and the charges are valid (I only realized this after my 3rd time going through this process in the last 10 years).

Filing a claim with the Colorado Department of Insurance and the Attorney General’s Office, only gets a response to bounce back and forth between the two because they don’t deal with provider billing, try the other one. What is a patient to do when they are billed for labs or procedures that they were not informed of and had no need for?

In the state of Colorado, doctors have to obtain informed consent from a patient for labs and procedures in a non-emergency situation. After 15 hours spent disputing billing, my conclusion is that patients aren’t protected in the State of Colorado… insurance companies like Kaiser are.

Angela Taylor, Denver

We should always root for the home team — our nation

Over the last few weeks, many of us cheered, yelled, and screamed as the USA Olympic team brought home 126 medals. We came together and took pride in our athletes, coaches, teams, anthem and the American Flag.

Why can we rally around the flag during the Olympics but not during the other 50 weeks of the year and during non-Olympic years?

No political party owns the American flag. It is OK to love America and simultaneously expect more from it. Why are we so divided along those two trains of thought?

I hope that we can come together and that we can root for each other, and root for our country to be its best for all people.

And I hope it happens soon because I am about to become divisive and root against the Kansas City Chiefs every week of the NFL season.

Jamie Lofaro, Lone Tree

AI may be ahead of its time

The early years of the internet are reminiscent of what seems to be happening to the new bright and shiny object: AI. The new capability is being showcased as the next big thing well before it is the next big thing. The dot-com bust in the early 2000s might just be where the current hoopla is heading.

I have no doubt that AI will one day warrant the current bravado, but that time has yet to peak much above the horizon. And the looming interval will very likely do just what it did before: punish those pushing this immature product on an unsuspecting market.

Caution is always warranted with new technology, and another bit of historically proven advice that has served us all well comes to mind: Let the buyer beware.

Robert Heath, Lakewood

Let local governments decide fate of overdose prevention centers

As an infectious diseases specialist, I care for hundreds of people who use drugs every year; I treat Hep C, HIV, Hep B, and complicated bacterial infections, yet I worry that all the strides my patients make in improving their health could become meaningless in a single moment from an accidental overdose. Fatal overdoses in Denver have over just the past five years. Trends in overdose deaths are reminiscent of the early days of the AIDS epidemic when people were dying at alarming rates, and the response was heartbreakingly inadequate due to apathy and stigma and the lack of research, knowledge, innovation, and courage to find solutions.

If Colorado were to lift the statewide prohibition on for overdose prevention centers (OPCs), we could attempt new ways to reverse these awful trends in overdose deaths and support access to healthcare resources. Published data shows OPCs to be safe and effective by offering an alternative to using alone or in places that lack social support or Narcan. There is no data (online or otherwise) indicating that OPCs increase crime in surrounding neighborhoods.

Support for OPCs is broad among medical and public health organizations. Even the American Medical Association has endorsed OPCs in the : “The data shows that (overdose prevention sites) help reduce risky drug use behaviors, overdose and death while improving public safety and access to health care.”

Considering the possibility of OPCs would show that Coloradans value each life and are committed to working together to address this crisis.

Sarah Rowan, Denver

“A glimpse of the world as it was created”

Re: “Mountain bikers push to ride through America’s last protected wilderness lands,” July 24 commentary

On Sept. 3, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Wilderness Act. I have a worn-out Sierra Club T-shirt and an index card on my dining room table with Johnson’s quote that he made as he signed.

Many presidents have made memorable quotes on such occasions, but this one is my favorite: “ If future generations are to remember us more with gratitude than with sorrow, we must achieve more than just the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was created, not just as it looked when we got through with it.”

Thanks to Kevin Proescholdt from Writers On The Range, who addressed the attack by all those who continue to assault the original premise of the Wilderness Act.

Bruce Luer, Evergreen

Kudos to Denver Animal Rescue

Recently, I came upon two aggressive, abandoned adult dogs tied to a park bench with three newborn puppies in a tote bag on the bench — no food, no water. We feared for the puppies’ lives, being in the sun and heat and unable to nurse! We were unable to rescue the puppies as the adults were so protective.

Officer A. Dailey from Denver Animal Protection responded to my call and was wonderful! Within 10 minutes, she was able to calm the aggressive adults, feed and water them, and get all five of them into her air-conditioned vehicle and to safety. I am so appreciative that Officer Dailey and this service are there for uncared-for animals in Denver!

Christine Schaefer, Denver

Development should complement Denver’s charm and styles

Re: “Developer, preservationists clash over fire-damaged buildings,” July 24 news story

At last, someone wants to do something about the eyesores on the 1600 block of Colfax Avenue.  The developer wants to demolish and build something new.  It is sad to see these magnificent buildings in such a sad state, but the time to do something about preserving them is long past.  At this point, I would guess it would be cheaper to demolish them and build them back using the original blueprints.

However, then you would have two beautiful, expensive houses that nobody who could afford them would want because, as the article states, this part of Colfax is now a very commercial area.  Face it, Colfax Avenue is a very different place than when these homes were built. It would make more sense to rebuild them elsewhere.

If the city officials were concerned about keeping Denver’s charm, they would stop approving grain bin-style apartment buildings and require new designs to complement the styles that made Denver, Denver. Imagine something like the buildings on the northeast corner of 17th Ave and Ogden or the new ones on the 8800 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd — apartment buildings with even larger ground floor front porches for outdoor dining at a coffee house or pizzeria or Irish tavern or even a traditional restaurant like we used to have with Tom’s Diner, Annie’s or Goodfriends.

But first, let’s give a proper eulogy and bid farewell to that blemish on Colfax that we have waited way too long to do something about.

Alan Sipes, Denver

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