public lands

Trump effectively destroys two national monuments in Utah (Letters)

Trump's action opens previously protected public lands in these national monuments to corporate use including the oil and gas industry and totally disregards the view of Native Americans that these lands are sacred.

The Colorado River flows past the northernmost boundary of the Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah. A plan to put large towers inside Bears Ears National Monument was abandoned in part due to opposition. (Francisco Kjolseth, The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)

Lake City offers opportunities for stargazing at the Slumgullion Center and weekly stargazing events at Windy Point Overlook during the summer. (Photo courtesy of Michael Underwood Photography)

Less crowded Colorado destinations for camping, gravel biking, hot springs and more

1 week ago

Ian Escalante, executive director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, gives his testimony to members of the Senate's State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee as they talk about Senate Bill 3 in the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the Colorado State Capitol in Denver on Jan. 28, 2025. The law takes effect on August 1 and prohibits the sale of some semiautomatic weapons without a safety training class. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)

Colorado’s newest law is clearly not actually about gun safety (Letters)

1 week ago

Christina Vander Berg, a range rider hired by the conservation nonprofit Defenders of Wildlife, roams public land in search of signs of wolf activity in her mission to protect livestock cattle from wolves in Mesa County on June 17, 2026. (Photo by William Woody/Special to The Denver Post)

On the front lines of Colorado’s wolf reintroduction, a range rider aims to keep the peace

By Elise Schmelzer

July 12, 2026 at 6:00 a.m.

Christina Vander Berg knelt in the dirt, carefully measuring a paw print. She's a range...

A backhoe loader sits on the side of the road among the burn scar of the Aspen Acres fire on Friday, July 10, 2026, in Beulah, Colo. (Photo by Timothy Hurst/The Denver Post)

Firefighters make steady progress containing Colorado wildfires

By Katie Langford

July 11, 2026 at 4:38 p.m.

Thousands of firefighters are making steady progress holding back four major wildfires burning across Colorado,...

Trails at Heil Valley Ranch are open and wildflowers will be blooming in summer. (Mindy Sink, Special to The Denver Post)

Resist. Recharge. Repeat. And don鈥檛 forget to stop and smell the flowers. (抖阴ap)

By Pepper Trail

July 11, 2026 at 5:01 a.m.

I admit it often seems futile to make these gestures of resistance in a little...

In this 2015 file photo, a black bear is seen in what was America's largest tract of unprotected roadless area. Congress permenently protected Hermosa Creek in 2014 by designating it wilderness and creating a special management plan. A pair of fly fishermen wet a line in a portion of the drainage proposed for inclusion in the Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act designed to protect 108,000 acres in what is currently the largest unprotected roadless area in Colorado. (Scott Willoughby, The Denver Post)<!--IPTC: HERMOSA, CO - JULY 17, 2014: A pair of fly fishermen wet a line in a portion of the drainage proposed for inclusion in the Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act designed to protect 108,000 acres in what is currently the largest unprotected roadless area in Colorado. (Photo By Scott Willoughby / The Denver Post)

Three disturbing new ways Trump undermines protections for our national forests and public lands (抖阴ap)

By Tracy Stone-Manning

July 6, 2026 at 10:54 a.m.

It抖阴ap hard to keep up with all of Trump's plans to undermine our national forests,...

A man stands outside a home along State Highway 78 as the Aspen Acres Fire continues to burn on Thursday, July 2, 2026, near Beulah. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

Colorado wildfires burn 208 square miles as state braces for hot, dry Fourth of July

By Katie Langford

July 2, 2026 at 7:34 p.m.

Five wildfires continued to burn across Colorado on Thursday, threatening thousands of homes and buildings...

Smoke from the Snyder Mesa Fire is visible from the Glade Park area west of Fruita Colo. Sunday afternoon, June 28, 2026. (Special to The Denver Post, William Woody)

3 firefighters killed, nearly 40,000 acres consumed as wildfires scorch western Colorado

By Lauren Penington

June 29, 2026 at 8:20 a.m.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis declared an emergency for two wildfires in western Colorado on Saturday,...

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

What抖阴ap really killing a lot of cattle in Colorado? Hint: wolves aren’t the culprit (抖阴ap)

By Erik Molvar

June 27, 2026 at 7:01 a.m.

The livestock industry has been running a smear campaign against wolves for years, but the...

A coyote moves through tall grass in this 2021 file photo in the Boulder area. (Timothy Hurst/Staff Photographer)

Cyanide bombs on public lands? Really? (Letters)

By DP 抖阴ap

June 25, 2026 at 5:01 a.m.

"Public lands should be safe for public recreation. Congress should permanently prohibit the use of...

This March 16, 2017, file photo released by the Bannock County Sheriff's Office shows a cyanide device in Pocatello, Idaho. The device, called M-44, is spring-activated and sprays poison that is meant to kill predators. (Bannock County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Trump administration resurrects dangerous cyanide bombs that explode into animals’ mouths (抖阴ap)

By Ted Williams

June 12, 2026 at 6:54 a.m.

M-44s, spring-loaded devices scented with decomposed animal tissue, blast cyanide into the mouth of any...

Dwayne Romero, left, and Alex Kelloff, Democratic candidates for Congressional District 3, during a debate hosted by the Southern Colorado Labor Council Saturday, May 30, 2026 in Pueblo, Colorado. Democratic candidates Dwayne Romero and Alex Kelloff are Aspen businessmen looking to replace incumbent Republican Jeff Hurd in Congress (Photo by Mark Reis/Special to the Denver Post)

Two Aspen-area businessmen are taking on a low-key congressman, hoping to turn Western Slope blue

By Elise Schmelzer

June 11, 2026 at 9:42 a.m.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd, a freshman Republican, is "not a headline-grabber, like Lauren Boebert is,"...

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