Tag: Hayman fire

Ranchers, anglers and big-city water bosses raised a white flag in Colorado's long-running water wars this week by setting aside bullying and threats of lawsuits and permit appeals.

ASPEN -- Public policy and political will must shift as dramatically as the winds that have whipped Colorado’s record wildfires, experts say, or the state’s residents will continue to pay a higher and higher price for forests that are dying due to global climate change.

DECKERS, Colo. – State wildlife officials recently released 12 more Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep into the recovering landscape of the 2002 Hayman fire – Colorado’s largest in terms of area at 138,000 acres. Sparked by a disgruntled U.S. Forest Service employee during one of the state’s most severe droughts, the Hayman fire also destroyed 133 homes and caused $40 million in damages. Last summer’s Fourmile Canyon fire surpassed Hayman in terms of property damage, with 169 homes destroyed near Boulder.

DENVER — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday gave the strongest indication to date that the draft of Colorado's roadless rule, which allows road-building exemptions for wildfire mitigation in wilderness areas, will at least be closely considered as the Obama administration moves toward a comprehensive national rule.

The state’s largest ski-resort operator will pony up three-quarters of a million bucks over the next three years to help restore forests damaged in...