Colorado makes bid for federal drone test site

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
FORT scientist and Raven-A sUAS pilot Leanne Hanson launches the drone in the San Luis Valley as part of an effort to monitor sandhill cranes. USGS photo.

Federal biologists use a drone in the San Luis Valley as part of an effort to monitor sandhill cranes. USGS photo.

Political leaders pitch Colorado in a letter to the FAA

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Colorado could be in the mix as the Federal Aviation Administration prepares to select six sites around the country to test drone technology, or Unmanned Aircraft Systems, as they are formally known.

Federal and state wildlife biologists are already testing drones to monitor birds in Colorado. NASA is also using drones to study tropospheric climate drivers, as well as hurricanes.

Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet, Gov. John Hickenlooper and five of Colorado’s members of the U.S. House of Representatives recently sent a letter to the Federal Aviation FAA, urging the agency to choose Colorado. The bipartisan letter notes Colorado’s “unique mix of qualifications” for one of the test sites, including its thriving aerospace industry presence and the state’s world-class institutions of higher education. (more…)

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Sen. Udall keeps pushing for release of torture report

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO).

Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO).

Vice President Joe Biden says secret congressional report should be released

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — While many Americans may have a vague idea of some of the atrocities committed against prisoners and detainees in the war on terror, Congress knows much more, and most of the information is included in a still-secret report compiled by the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Along with a few allies, Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) has been pushing the Obama administration to declassify the report and to make it public, and Udall said recent remarks from Vice President Joe Biden are encouraging.

In a policy forum with Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, Biden said very clearly that the report should be made public, and McCain left no doubt that the United States violated international law and broke treaty commitments when the CIA and its private contractors tortured detainees. You can watch the discussion on YouTube (the discussion starts at minute 40). (more…)

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Colorado: Forest Service revamps fees for bikepath events

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Policy change enables agency to charge per-person fees

The 2012 Colorado Cyclist Copper Triangle, a cycling tour in Lake, Summit, and Eagle Counties, and based in Copper Mountain, Colorado, on Saturday, Aug. 4, 2012. Photo Steve Peterson

Cyclists cruise the Summit County recpath on Forest Service land during the 2012 Colorado Cyclist Copper Triangle, a cycling tour in Lake, Summit, and Eagle Counties based at Copper Mountain, Colorado. Photo courtesy Steve Peterson/Copper Triangle.

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — The White River National Forest has revamped its fee structure for special events using local bike paths that cross national forest lands. Under the changes, organizers of cycling events like the Copper Triangle will pay a graduated per-person fee ranging from $1 per person, up to $2 per person for larger events.

The new fees, authorized under a local special use amendment, will affect special events using three specific bike paths: Vail Pass, Glenwood Canyon and the recpath system around Dillon Reservoir in Summit County, according to WRNF supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams. (more…)

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Travel: U.S. Senate acts to avert more airport delays

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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The U.S. Senate wants to keep air traffic moving.

Budget shuffle could enable FAA to avoid furloughs

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — With the busy summer travel season already winding up, the U.S. Senate acted to try and prevent more delays at U.S. Airports. The bipartisan deal to give the FAA more budget flexibility was led by Senators Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine).

The Reducing Flight Delays Act gives the U.S. Secretary of Transportation the flexibility to transfer discretionary funds into the FAA’s operations budget to prevent essential employees, such as air traffic controllers, from being furloughed.  (more…)

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Colorado: Federal funds to help restore watersheds in High Park, Waldo Canyon fire areas

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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A burned watershed in the footprint of he Waldo Canyon fire.

Critical work in High Park, Waldo Canyon fire areas to protect against flooding and erosion

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Federal agencies will continue to assist local Colorado governments with critical watershed restoration and protection work.

The projects include mulching, seeding, channel stabilization measures in areas hard-hit by last summer’s High Park and Waldo Canyon fires. The $19.8 million is  funded through the the Emergency Watershed Protection program.

Residences and neighborhoods built in fire-prone forest zones are at risk of flooding in burned areas; local and regional water supplies are also threatened.

(more…)

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Sen. Mark Udall votes against assault weapons ban

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Colorado lawmaker says bill was too broad, bu supports expanded background checks and limits on high-capacity ammo clips

Sen. Mark Udall said Coloradans are entitled under the second amendment to own weapons that can be used to commit mass murder.

Sen. Mark Udall says Coloradans are entitled under the Second Amendment to own weapons that can be used to commit mass murders.

By Bob Berwyn

FRISCO— Facing reelection next year, Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) this week voted against a proposed ban on assault weapons, saying the measure was too broad for his gun-toting Colorado constituents.

Udall did support a background check bill, which failed when four Democratic senators, all up for reelection next year, voted against it. According to many polls, more than 90 percent of Americans support stronger background checks.

Udall dusted off the Second Amendment and said, “Coloradans, including sportsmen, hunters and responsible gun owners, agree that we need to keep dangerous military-style weapons off of our streets and out of places like our schools and movie theaters. (more…)

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Environment: Can forest health be legislated?

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Proposed Senate bill would require widespread national forest logging

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Healthy undergrowth and lodgepole regeneration in an unlogged stand of beetle-killed lodgepole pines near Frisco, Colorado. Bob Berwyn photo.

Salvage logging in a stand of beetle-killed lodgepole pines in Frisco, Colorado. Bob Berwyn photo.

Salvage logging in a stand of beetle-killed lodgepole pines in Frisco, Colorado. Bob Berwyn photo.

*This story has been corrected to include Sen. Michael Bennet as the primary author of the proposed bill. That information was left out of the previous version due to an editing error.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Federal land managers could get wider authority for more backcountry logging under a new bill proposed in the U.S. Senate by Michael Bennet (D-CO), along with co-sponsors Mark Udall (D-CO), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Max Baucus (D-MT).

The National Forest Insect and Disease Treatment Act is being pitched as a way to   help Forest Service treat insect and disease epidemics and promote overall forest health. As drafted, it directs the agency to treat threatened watersheds while prioritizing preservation of old-growth and large trees when possible. (more…)

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Colorado: Sen. Udall hosts session on Browns Canyon plan

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Cherished stretch of river lands up for better protection

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If you have questions about the Browns Canyon National Monument and Wilderness proposal, head over the Nathrop Saturday, April 13, when Sen. Mark Udall will host a listening session to get community feedback that will help fine-tune the plan.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Residents of central Colorado will get a chance to offer some input on a proposed new wilderness area along the Arkansas River this weekend (Saturday, April 13), when Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) holds a listening session in Nathrop. The session is set for 10 a.m. at Noah’s Ark Whitewater Rafting Company, 23910 U.S. Highway 285 in Nathrop.

Udall’s draft proposal for the Browns Canyon National Monument and Wilderness Area is based on more than a year’s worth of community input. It would cover 22,000 acres between Salida and Buena Vista on the Arkansas River, including 10,500 acres of new wilderness. (more…)

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Saturday mail delivery to continue — for now

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Look for increased fees as U.S. Postal Service strives for financial viability.

U.S. Postal Service board says it will continue to push for service cuts in order to trim costs

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — A plan by the U.S. Postal Service to cut Saturday mail deliveries has been blocked by Congress. “Restrictive language” in the budget prohibits the service cuts, according to a statement from the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service.

The new delivery schedule, which which would consist of package delivery Monday through Saturday and mail delivery Monday through Friday, and which would have taken effect the week of Aug. 5, 2013. (more…)

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Colorado: Sen. Udall floats Browns Canyon National Monument bill

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Existing uses would continue in popular boating and fishing area

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By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — After a year-long grassroots process, Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) says the proposed 22,000-acre Browns Canyon National Monument is ready for prime time.

Udall, who chairs the U.S. Senate National Parks Subcommittee, this week introduced a draft bill that would also create 10,500 acres of wilderness within the monument and protect the most-used rafting destination in the country.

“I am proposing a new national monument for Browns Canyon so that future generations of Coloradans can enjoy the unique mix of exciting whitewater and wilderness so close to Colorado’s Front Range,” Udall said in a statement. (more…)

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