That experience led me to understand that the current Trump administration’s unpopular plan to move the U.S. Forest Service headquarters will be every bit as destructive. It will hurt forests, wildlife and communities that rely upon our public lands and waters.

In 2020, almost 90% of the BLM employees ordered to move West chose not to, forcing them out the door. With those seasoned employees went years of wisdom and knowledge of how things are supposed to work, of how to deliver for the American people.

Today’s Forest Service plan goes farther, aiming to close regional offices and shutter dozens of the agency’s research centers, as we face what some say will be a horrific wildfire season.

The Forest Service and the BLM combined manage 20% of our country’s lands and waters. These public lands, the places we camp, hike, watch birds, hunt and simply wander in nature, are truly one of America’s best ideas. For Westerners, they are a deep part of our identity.

There is a reason Forest Service headquarters are based in Washington, DC. It¶¶Ňőap where our nation’s leaders work. Believe me, I did not want to move to the capital from my home in Montana to run the BLM, but to be able to fight for Western people and places, I had to go to the seat of our nation’s power.

I was often in the Interior Secretary’s offices. I frequently walked to work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service director, talking through thorny problems such as how to protect wildlife while permitting transmission lines. Washington is where people manage relationships with Congress, where budgets get made.

The administration says all their changes are about bringing leadership closer to where the work happens. That¶¶Ňőap a political talking point, and it¶¶Ňőap false.

If DOGE’s dismantling of government agencies last year provides any lesson, then cruelty and disruption are the real point. These changes aim to create chaos, deliver the administration’s stated goal of traumatizing employees, and imperil the very existence of public lands — lands that belong to all Americans. We improve the management of our forests by giving foresters the resources they need and letting them make decisions based on sound science and collaboration, not by gutting their agency.

Over the course of the last year, the Forest Service forced or coerced roughly a quarter of its approximately 30,000 employees to leave. In this latest round of engineered chaos, thousands of people will be reassigned and ordered to move. If BLM history is any guide, almost all will leave their positions rather than uproot their families. The agency could soon be left with roughly half its former ranks.

Think of your job. Now, think of half of your colleagues gone. Would your organization be able to recover from the loss and demoralization to do its work?

There are inevitable repercussions to this radical attack on our public land management agencies: Campgrounds will close. Trails won’t be maintained. High fuel loads near communities will go unaddressed. Wildfires will become even harder to fight. More sawmills will close. The health of our land, waters and wildlife will decline. With things going wrong on the ground, some will demand that these lands be transferred to states or sold to private industry.

That¶¶Ňőap exactly what the people in power today want. The choice of Utah for the Forest Service headquarters — home to Senator Mike Lee, who leads the charge on public land selloff, as well as to the state that is suing to try to take over millions of your public lands — reveals the administration’s true agenda.

The inevitable does not need to happen. There is one power to stop our public lands from being mismanaged to the point of selloff: It¶¶Ňőap the outrage of the American people.

Americans overwhelmingly support public lands and want future generations to enjoy the freedoms found in them. Our public forests, rivers and deserts deserve to be treated better, and the federal land managers who work tirelessly deserve better. It¶¶Ňőap up to us to demand it.

Tracy Stone-Manning is president of The Wilderness Society and a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West.

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A March heat wave shattered several records for high temperatures across Colorado. the source of at least 70% of the state’s stream flows and water in reservoirs, is the worst on record. Cities along the Front Range have enacted water restrictions.

At a time when snow in the mountains usually has barely begun to melt, several ski resorts have closed. And ranchers are looking for hay in case the rangeland and pastures can’t provide enough food for their cattle this summer.

Problems for Colorado’s cattle industry will ripple through the state’s economy. The state’s cattle herd was the nation’s 10th largest in 2025, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Beef is the state’s top agricultural export, totaling $1.26 billion in value in 2025, the Colorado Department of Agriculture said.

Beef, fresh and frozen, is Colorado’s No. 1 export overall.

“The producers that are in the business now are here for a reason. It’s because they continue to be optimistic. They just keep saying, ‘You know, it has to rain one day,’ ” said Erin Karney Spaur, executive vice president of the

But ranchers are also keeping their eyes on the sky and the forecasts. Karney Spaur said most ranchers have drought plans, which include stockpiling hay and moving cattle around to give the grass time to grow. Worst case scenario, ranchers might end up selling part of their herd.

In past dry spells, people have trucked their cattle to other parts of Colorado or other states in search of greener pastures. The problem this time is the broad sweep of the drought will make those places harder to find.

“What I haven’t seen in my lifetime is the widespread drought all throughout Colorado and the West, for that matter,” Karney Spaur said.

In most areas, cattle producers with federal grazing permits on U.S. Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management land have received letters saying to expect reductions in use of the sites unless conditions change, Karney Spaur said.

“Most BLM-managed public lands in Colorado are in severe to exceptional drought,” Colorado BLM spokesman Steven Hall said in an email.

The BLM staff regularly communicates with permittees and with industry associations, Hall said. “Typically the BLM and permittee agree on changes to grazing use during drought.”

Conditions in the Rio Grande National Forest in southwest Colorado range from moderate to exceptional drought, according to the . Ranchers have been advised that if dry conditions continue, the grazing season might have to be shortened or the number of cattle on a site reduced for part of the summer in some areas, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in an email.

Decisions will be made case by case and the Forest Service will work with ranchers to explore options, the USDA said.

Much of the federally managed land used for grazing is in western Colorado. On the Eastern Plains, several ranchers have grazing permits on state-owned lands.

Curtis Russell, Colorado Cattlemen’s Association president, ranches in Sugar City in southeast Colorado and is a member of a grazing association that leases state lands. While the area had a good grass-growing season last summer, Russell doesn’t expect producers to move their animals onto the state lands this season until it rains.

The State Land Board closely monitors drought conditions and manages grazing on a case-by-case basis in coordination with lessees, spokeswoman Emily Barbo said in email. The staff is in close communication with ranchers across the state, she said.

“Things are really trying to green up, but it’s just hard,” Russell said. “We had 90-degree days in March. It was pretty hard to keep moisture in the ground with the wind blowing and 90 degrees.”

Ranchers on the Western Slope were battling through a dry summer in 2025 when wildfires erupted and raced through the parched vegetation. The fires scorched some ranchers’ pastures and federal grazing allotments.

Off the charts

Retta Bruegger, a regional range management specialist with Colorado State University Extension, calls snowpack “money in the bank” for ranchers who depend on grasses and plants to feed their cattle. But with Colorado’s snowpack at its lowest-ever levels, the bank is close to tapped-out.

“To be perfectly frank, this year is off the charts in terms of what it looks like and how it’s setting up so far,” Bruegger said. “I think people will be making a lot of hard decisions.”

On a recent trip just over the Colorado border into Utah, Bruegger said the forage looked better than she expected. The outlook could change if the weather does.

“In the world of all possibilities, it could start snowing tomorrow and snow until June 1. I don’t necessarily think that’s going to happen, but that would change some things if it does,” Bruegger said.

Janie VanWinkle and her family ranch in Mesa County. They graze their cattle on land they own and on leases with the federal government, the city of Grand Junction and Colorado Mesa University. The bulk of their grazing in the summer is on Forest Service land and they’re not sure whether use of the allotment will be restricted because of the drought.

“We’ll be having a meeting with our Forest Service range specialist in the next month or so. We’re kind of waiting to see what the weather is going to do,” VanWinkle said.

She finds the uncertainty unnerving after the  forced the family off their usual allotment to another area. VanWinkle and her husband, Howard, spent 122 days on horseback, moving their animals from water to food and at times through flames. The firefighters worked closely with the family to keep them and the cattle safe.

“The good news is we didn’t lose a single cow in the fire,” said VanWinkle, whose son works with her and husband.

As the family heads into what could be another dry summer, wildfires are a concern. “We’ve never talked about this, but I know this is the fear that’s been in my son’s heart. It’s the fear that’s in mine and my husband’s: What if there’s another one?” VanWinkle asks.

The statewide snowpack was at 21% of median Wednesday, the reported. This year’s level is the worst since measurements were recorded starting in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

In addition, the snow water equivalent, the amount of liquid water stored in the snow, was 3.3 inches, just 22% of the 30-year median, as of April 1, said Russ Schumacher, state climatologist and director of CSU’s Colorado Climate Center. The previous low was 9.1 inches in 1987.

“That’s the metric we pay attention to for water because that’s the water that’s going to flow into the rivers” and increase soil moisture, Schumacher said.

A year when the water content is 70% to 80% of average in early April would be considered a bad year, he added. “This year, we’re looking at 20% of the average, which is so far beyond that.”

Colorado has been hot as well as dry.

“That heat wave in March was just astonishing in terms of how unusually warm everything was across the state,” Schumacher said.

It was Colorado’s warmest March on record, according to the . Averaged across the state, the month was 13.1 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 20th century average and 4.3 degrees above any previous March.

Relief might come this summer in the form of El Niño, the weather phenomenon that warms the ocean surface in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.

“Globally, it tends to raise temperatures. Here in Colorado, that tends not to be the case. We tend to be wetter and somewhat cooler, later in the summer and fall,” Schumacher said.

The said April 9 that the chance of an El Niño was 61% and a one-in-four chance that it might be strong.

David Gottenborg, whose family owns Eagle Rock Ranch in South Park, is hoping for a change. Park County typically doesn’t get a lot of moisture in winter, but this winter was even drier than usual. And warmer.

“We sit on Tarryall Creek and we’re running about 15, 14 cubic feet per second versus normally about 30 or so. So we’re about half,” Gottenborg said.

The Gottenborgs, who raise cattle and hay, irrigated a little in the last couple of weeks.

“Irrigation season typically starts April 1. In most years, it’s almost kind of a moot point because our head gates are frozen,” Gottenborg said.

Not this year. And there’s no ice now in Tarryall, a tributary of the South Platte River.

Besides cattle, hay is one of the Gottenborgs’ main income sources. They partnered with Colorado Parks and Wildlife to donate 48 tons of hay in December to Western Slope ranchers whose land was burned by the Lee wildfire last summer.

But their hay crop was down last year and they’ve halted sales for now.

“The old-timers here in the valley, they would always keep at least half of what they would need the following year in their stack yards. We’re trying to do that,” Gottenborg said.

The ranch gets calls almost every day from people looking to buy hay. Gottenborg said a woman told him that she had contacted more than 30 people. “We had to tell her ‘no’ as well.”

Karney Spaur of Colorado Cattlemen said she’s heard of hay selling for $300 to $350 a ton. This time of year, she said $150 to $175 a ton is more the norm.

One bright spot for ranchers is that in large part because of low cattle numbers nationwide.

“If you have to sell cows, it’s a good time to sell cows because they’re worth a lot of money,” said Russell, the rancher from Sugar City. “On the other hand, if El Nino comes in like they’re talking about this summer and we get a lot of rain and people have already sold cows and need to buy cows back, it’ll cost a lot of money.”

Visitors on e-bikes will be charged a $5 fee to enter the scenic area starting in May, which is the same fee motorcycle riders pay, the U.S. Forest Service said in a news release.

The number of people using e-bikes on Maroon Creek Road has “skyrocketed,” federal officials said, with more than 8,000 e-bikes entering the area last year, compared to 700 motorcycles.

People riding motorcycles, e-bikes and bicycles do not need a reservation to enter Maroon Bells, and most of the visitors using e-bikes rented them specifically to visit the scenic area, the forest service said.

E-bikes are already considered motorized vehicles under Forest Service policy. Nonmotorized bicycles can still access the scenic area for free.

More than 200,000 people visit Maroon Bells between mid-May and the end of October, most on a shuttle that costs $16 per person. The road to access Maroon Bells opens May 15, and reservations for parking and the shuttle can be made online.

“Roxborough State Park is closed this morning, Sunday April 5th due to smoke and potential wildfire threat from the Bear Creek Fire located in the Pike National Forest southwest of the park boundary,” officials said on social media at 8:30 a.m.

The 11-acre fire, which is about 2 miles northwest of Rampart Range Road and S. County Highway 67 near the Indian Creek Campground, was marked as “still active” as of 3 p.m. Crews reports that the fire is moving slowly and “not posing a significant threat,” according to West Metro Fire officials.

Good morning, West Metro:
The smoke you might be seeing or smelling today is from a wildfire burning in the West Douglas Fire Protection District area in Douglas County, approximately two miles northwest of Rampart Range Road and S. County Highway 67.
The fire was discovered…

— WestMetroFire (@WestMetroFire)

“The U.S. Forest Service is taking over management of the fire, and you may notice increased activity from air resources and ground crews today,”

Nearby Sharptail Ridge Open Space was also temporarily closed Sunday because of the fire. It reopened at about noon, according to a

Located near Ridgway and Telluride, the Blue Lakes are among the most popular places to hike in the San Juan Mountains thanks to their alluring turquoise waters, robust wildflowers and access to the roughly 14,150-foot Mount Sneffels. The three lakes are so popular, in fact, that the U.S. Forest Service is now implementing a plan to reduce foot traffic to the area in hopes of restoring the natural environment, which has suffered over the years.

In addition to requiring permits in the future, that plan included last summer’s closure, which enabled the agency to upgrade some of the visitor amenities and lay the foundation for future restoration projects in the area, said Dana Gardunio, Ouray District Ranger for the USFS. Crews focused on remediating and re-seeding human-made campsites that eroded the soils, ripping up user-made trails, clearing dead trees, and cleaning up human waste.

“We found a lot of piles of human feces and toilet paper behind almost every tree that was up there,” Gardunio said.

Reducing traffic to the area for one summer may have an impact on the wildlife there, too. Gardunio said crews saw moose at Lower Blue Lake, as well as bears, deer and elk.

As hikers and campers prepare to return this summer, there are new guidelines they should be aware of to avoid overcrowding and to enable more restoration to be done. The forest service and its partners, like the , will have personnel at the trailhead, along the trail and at the Lower Blue Lake to help ensure compliance, Gardunio said, “because we don’t really want to lose the investment we’ve made in the work if it¶¶Ňőap not being respected.”

Here are five things you should know before making the trip to the Blue Lakes in the summer of 2026.

Crowds and conditions

In the past, the Blue Lakes saw about 35,000 visitors per year. Gardunio expects traffic to reach those levels in 2026, though it¶¶Ňőap possible there may be an increase as people seek to visit prior to the permit system launch next year.

Peak hiking season runs June 1 through Sept. 30, with the most foot traffic coming through on weekends and holidays. Given the warm and dry conditions Colorado experienced this winter, it¶¶Ňőap possible the trail may be accessible earlier than normal. However, Gardunio advised anyone who plans to visit in the spring to monitor the weather and be prepared for evolving conditions in the alpine terrain.

Parking capacity limits

In 2025, forest service crews reconstructed the trailhead parking lot to delineate specific spots for cars and added an overflow lot for oversized vehicles or those with trailers. In total, there are 45 first-come, first-served parking spots, and if they are full, visitors should be prepared to change their plan.

“Right now, the rule is that you should be parking in designated spots only, and if there aren’t spots, then you would leave,” Gardunio said.

Parking is prohibited along County Road 7 leading up to the trailhead, and agency personnel planted trees along the road’s edge to deter drivers from stationing their cars there. “We’re going to be working on trying to watch that and see where we may need to put some more signage or build some little fences, if needed, to try and discourage that use,” Gardunio added.

When nature calls, pack it out

Speaking of the trailhead, hikers will find a new bathroom with more stalls than previously available. The rest of the wilderness, however, is no longer a toilet. Visitors now must pack out their human waste. This requirement comes after unsustainable use and improper burying on the part of innumerable people. That was probably the top issue the environment faced, Gardunio said, as she and her crew found the landscape littered with “little white toilet paper flowers.”

“Typically, you’re supposed to dig a cathole at least six inches deep and bury it,” she said. “The soils up there are really challenging, there’s so many roots and rocks. I was up there trying to plant some of the trees, and it¶¶Ňőap really hard to dig in that soil, which is why we decided to do the pack out waste. The environment¶¶Ňőap just really not conducive for that.”

Gardunio recommends bringing or some comparable product to carry and dispose of excrement. And remember, it is also poor form to pee near lakes, which can cause contamination. advise urinating at least 200 feet away from trails, campsites, high-use areas, and water sources.

Camping changes

As people prepare to camp overnight near the Blue Lakes, there are both new and existing rules to consider.

Dispersed camping will still be available near the Lower Blue Lake this year, and while there will not be a cap on the total number of people who stay overnight, the forest service is limiting groups to a maximum of six people. Also new this year, campers are required to carry bear-resistant food storage containers, which must be approved by the .

Camping has long been prohibited at the middle and upper Blue Lakes, and that restriction remains in place. Additionally, camp spots must be at least 100 feet away from both water and trails, and avoid natural areas that are being restored. Those who cannot find a compliant spot should have a secondary plan in mind, Gardunio said.

“There is still a possibility, depending on numbers, that you could get up there and find yourself without a campsite,” she said. “So visitors should still be prepared that is the case and if they don’t have anywhere to camp, they’ll need to have another plan — either not camp up there, go back down the trail or find another spot somewhere else along the trail, which I know there’s not a lot because of how steep it is.”

Another existing rule worth repeating: Campfires are prohibited in the wilderness area. Forest Service personnel dismantled numerous man-made fire rings when they remediated the area, Gardunio said.

No permit required to hike to Colorado’s Blue Lakes in 2026

What¶¶Ňőap next on permits

The forest service is now building a digital permit system and continues to discuss proposed fees. Gardunio said to expect to hear more about the agency’s proposal around June 1, and that there will be a 60-day window to solicit public feedback. The agency’s proposal will likely include a fee that goes back to the local office that is intended to support the management of Mount Sneffels Wilderness and Blue Lakes recreation area, Gardunio said.

In response to criticism about implementing a fee for visitation, Gardunio said she believes this is a necessary strategy to protect the wilderness for future hikers and campers. She also believes it will lead to a better experience in 2027 and thereafter.

“Although it may feel restrictive, the hope is that when you are able to visit those areas, whether it¶¶Ňőap with a permit or outside of permitted season, that your experience is a much higher quality without it and that you also have an area to enjoy that doesn’t feel like it¶¶Ňőap overrun or degraded to the extent that we've seen at Blue Lakes,” she said.

CORRECTION 11:24 a.m. on April 2: A previous version of this story erroneously stated the Forest Service planned to build fire rings at the designated campsites it has identified for future years at Lower Blue Lakes. No fires are allowed in that part of the wilderness.

is a female-focused event that brings women and nonbinary individuals together for a weekend of skiing, live music and all-around good vibes each spring. Started in 2021, the festival has become famous for its naked lap, during which attendees disrobe and ski a run with their unmentionables to the wind.

That is, during a normal snow year anyway — and the 2025/26 winter has been anything but normal. In addition to experiencing an uncharacteristically dry winter, a so-called has brought summer-like temperatures to Colorado in recent weeks. Snow has been melting quickly, inspiring many ski resorts to close early.

So when Boot Tan Fest comes to Sunlight Mountain Resort near Glenwood Springs on April 10-12, skiing and snowboarding likely won’t be possible. The resort to the public on March 22, two weeks earlier than originally planned, and chairlifts won’t be spinning during the event, said festival founder Jenny Verrochi.

“We asked Sunlight if we could run just the lower lift, and there’s no possible way,” she said on Wednesday. “My producer and I visited Sunlight yesterday and there’s a river running through it. There’s zero snow and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Weather was probably the biggest challenge to face Boot Tan this year, but not the only one. According to Verrochi, the U.S. Forest Service received two complaints about the festival being open exclusively to women. To be able to continue on with the event, she had to revise certain language used to market the festival, such as “private,” “no men allowed,” and “naked lap” — even though nakedness is not prohibited on federal land, Verrochi said.

Despite all that, the show will go on. This year, Boot Tan Fest will host both a fashion show and a talent show that attendees can participate in, as well as DJ and band performances. There will also be yoga classes, saunas, cold plunges, onsite tattoo artists, a tailgate competition for campers, raffles, art and a vendor village spotlighting female-owned small businesses.

Skiing naked is the ultimate form of female empowerment at this Colorado festival

In lieu of the naked lap, Verrochi plans to have a “guided movement to music” session. She did not comment on the dress code, citing the aforementioned marketing restrictions.

Since changes to Boot Tan Fest were publicized, about not being able to get a refund since this is a ski festival that no longer includes skiing. Verrochi said it is commonplace for festival and event tickets to be nonrefundable, adding that refunds were available up to a month ahead of the event.

She hopes the 740 people who already bought tickets will still come to Boot Tan Fest so that it can sustain and return next year. Hopefully, snow will too.

“We hope Boot Tan Fest survives,” Verrochi said. “It's still a one-of-a-kind festival. People who have been understand the magic is within the safe space Boot Tan creates... we know people will show up to celebrate womanhood in the mountains."

Boot Tan Fest comes to Sunlight Mountain Resort, 10901 Co Rd. 117 in Glenwood Springs, on April 10-12. Tickets cost $275 at . Don't forget to bring glitter.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Forest Service that it anticipates requiring advanced-purchased permits to hike the famed lakes beginning in 2027. However, there are new rules that adventurers need to be aware of this summer if they plan to enter the Mount Sneffels Wilderness, near Ridgway and Telluride, where the Blue Lakes reside.

Starting on May 31, visitors will be required to pack out human waste and carry bear-resistant food storage containers, which must be approved by the . Additionally, camping is prohibited at the middle and upper Blue Lakes and overnight groups are limited to six people. In its announcement, the Forest Service reiterated that campfires are not allowed anywhere in the wilderness area.

The Blue Lakes are an international destination for hikers and mountaineers seeking to enjoy the Instagram-worthy alpine lakes and scale Mount Sneffels’ 14,150-foot summit. Years of overpopulation, however, have had severe effects on the local environment.

According to a 2023 environmental impact report, the most common issues are improper disposal of human and animal waste; overrun vegetation and threatened wildlife habitats due to the proliferation of dispersed campsites and user-created trails; campers building fires illegally; and frustration among visitors caused by crowding at the trailhead.

That¶¶Ňőap why, several years ago, the Forest Service decided it would limit the number of visitors each year by implementing a permitting system.

“Anyone who has visited Blue Lakes, or even seen photos, understands why we need to protect this area,” said Dana Gardunio, Ouray District ranger, in the recent announcement.

Permits will be required during the peak season, from June 1 through Sept. 30, likely starting next year. In the meantime, the Forest Service has been restoring parts of the area, such as the trailhead, which now has a new bathroom and reconstructed parking lot.

Those looking to hike the Blue Lakes this year should be prepared for heavy crowds. The trail was closed during summer of 2025 due to the aforementioned restoration projects, and there may be people hoping to see the iconic lakes before competing for a permit to do so.

The Forest Service estimates about 35,000 people recreate in the Mount Sneffels Wilderness annually, the vast majority of whom come from June to October. A permit system would slash the number of visitors to about 8,000 people per summer, Gardunio previously told The Denver Post.

In the coming year, the agency will be discussing fees for permits and soliciting feedback from the public.

Summit County deputies responded to an explosion at the trailhead for Straight Creek Trail near the Dillon Valley neighborhood shortly before 7 a.m. Friday, according to a .

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Summit Fire and Emergency Medical Services, the Red, White, and Blue Fire Protection District and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Residents in the area reported hearing an explosion and seeing smoke, sheriff’s officials said. When deputies arrived, they found a vehicle fully engulfed in flames.

One man was inside the car when it exploded, and he died from his injuries at the scene, according to the release. He will be identified by the Summit County Coroner’s Office.

“Anytime there is an explosion and a tragic death, there will be a significant investigation,” Summit County Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons said in a statement. “We have brought together a team of experts to determine exactly what happened. What we know right now is that a person has died, and our thoughts are with their loved ones as we work to find out exactly what happened.”

Investigators believe the explosion was an isolated incident.

Anyone with information about the deadly incident is asked to contact the Summit County Sheriff’s Office at 970-668-8600.

The Straight Creek Trail is an old double-track road that parallels Interstate 70 up to the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnel, .

Hikers on the trail cross Straight Creek several times as they climb up the valley through a pine forest, U.S. Forest Service officials said. Straight Creek is the main water supply for Dillon.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

The 47-year-old and 50-year-old climbers had reached roughly 14,000 feet on Kiener’s Route when they called for help, according to a news release from RMNP. The two “reported they were incapacitated, unable to continue their route, and had not planned to remain overnight,” the release stated.

, also known as the Mountaineer’s Route, is a popular climb in RMNP that scales the east face of Long’s Peak, according to the . The website allows climbers to share, rank and review routes across the country.

Park rangers stayed in contact with the climbers overnight and launched a rescue operation early Saturday morning, including two Rocky Mountain National Park search and rescue teams and members of , RMNP officials said. The crews hiked into the Longs Peak area on foot while officials tried to arrange an air rescue.

Strong winds prevented a U.S. Forest Service helicopter and a Flight For Life helicopter from reaching the climbers Saturday morning, RMNP officials said in the release.

After the two aborted flights, a Chinook helicopter and its crew from the Colorado National Guard Army Aviation Support Facility at Buckley Space Force Base successfully landed on the summit of Longs Peak at about 2:15 p.m., officials said.

The climbers were rescued from the summit and flown to Upper Beaver Meadows Road within the national park, according to the release.

“Park rangers remind visitors that winter conditions can persist in the high country even when overall snowpack is below average,” officials stated in the release. “Those recreating in alpine environments should plan ahead and be prepared for ice, snow, high winds, and subzero temperatures.”

Wolverines are beagle-sized carnivores related to weasels, ermines, badgers, martens, otters, and black footed ferrets, all of which are native to this state. Colorado’s high alpine environment can support 100-180 wolverines, a species considered threatened under the Endangered Species Act, without posing a threat to livestock or the state budget. CPW has successfully reestablished viable populations of elk, lynx, moose, bighorn sheep, black-footed ferrets, grouse, and wild turkeys in Colorado.

Unlike the wolf reintroduction debacle, thrust upon the state by a narrowly passed ballot initiative, wolverine reintroduction comes after decades of careful consideration by wildlife experts and lawmakers with input from ranchers and the broader public. This is how it should be done.

In the late 1990s, scientists with the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Colorado Division of Wildlife (now Colorado Parks and Wildlife) met to discuss the restoration of lynx and wolverine in Colorado. These reclusive mid-sized predators share the same high alpine forest. While lynx subsist primarily on snowshoe hare, both species eat marmots, squirrels, pika, birds, and occasionally larger animals that are young or injured. Wolverines especially favor carrion which they cache for later. Thanks to their high alpine habitat, solitary nature, and small size, neither species present a threat to livestock or humans.

Wolverine and lynx were both common throughout the Rocky Mountains until overhunting, trapping, and poisoning severely diminished their numbers a century ago. Thanks to state and federal conservation efforts, populations are slowly being restored. There are now around 400 wolverines in the contiguous US.

Having successfully established a breeding population of lynx, CPW began looking at restoring wolverines to their native habitat. Unlike highly migratory species, wolverines are unlikely to reestablish here on their own. It¶¶Ňőap an anomaly that lone wolverine male wandered into Colorado from Wyoming in 2009. Wolverines, females in particular, don’t roam far from where they were born.

In 2024, after hearings and amendments, a bipartisan bill to reintroduce wolverines passed and was signed into law. Senate Bill 171 was introduced by then-Sen. Perry Will (now Garfield County Commissioner), a Republican with a wildlife biology degree, a family background in ranching, decades of wildlife management experience and a singularly impressive wild west mustache. Since then, CPW has worked to meet each of the obligations set by the law. The agency is currently producing a plan for communicating with stakeholders on proposed release sites and working with the federal government to get a needed waiver.

Altogether, the process has been driven by scientists and elected officials, supported by compromise, inclusive of the public and those potentially impacted, bipartisan, and transparent.

Contrast this with the process of wolf reintroduction which was driven by advocacy groups, dismissive of ranchers’ concerns, supported by the barest majority many of whom are rethinking their support, highly partisan, and far from transparent.

Advocates said it would cost taxpayers $800,000 a year but the price tag has exceeded $8 million. Much of the increase is because the cost to reimburse ranchers for depredated livestock is much higher than advocates anticipated. For last year alone, taxpayers will pay more than a million dollars to cover the costs of killed and injured cattle and sheep. Ranch and pet dogs have also been attacked. This should have been foreseen; of all the Rocky Mountain states, Colorado has greatest human population density and the highest number of sheep and cattle. This is not Montana.

When critics blame CPW for the slain livestock and the 12 dead wolves, they should be reminded that the choice to reintroduce wolves was taken out of the hands of the agency’s wildlife experts and removed from the representative lawmaking process. It isn’t just time to rethink wolves but the initiative process that put them here. Ballot box biology isn’t.

Krista Kafer is a Sunday Denver Post columnist.

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