$1.7 million grant boosts Rocky Mountain Greenway

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
greenway map

The Rocky Mountain Greenway will help connect residents if the Denver metro area with the great outdoors. Map courtesy USFWS.

Open space vision aims to connect cities with wildlife refuges, parks and open space

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — A $1.7 million grant from the federal government will help move the metro Denver area closer to the final vision of the Rocky Mountain Greenway, with uninterrupted trails and open space connecting communities in the region.

“The Rocky Mountain Greenway is a shining example of what happens when strong federal, state, local and private partnerships align to take the vision of this uninterrupted trail and open space network and turn it into a reality for the Denver metropolitan area,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement. “Already we’ve constructed important links in the Greenway, and today’s funding will help complete another critical section to connect Denver’s hundreds of miles of trails.” (more…)

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Colorado: Rocky Mountain NP eyes multi-use trails

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Park service taking comment to help shape plan

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Multi-use trails could help ease congestion in Rocky Mountain National Park.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Rocky Mountain National Park planners are taking comment on a plan for a multi-use trail system that would extend approximately 15.5 miles from the Fall River Entrance to Sprague Lake, with potential connections to three visitor centers, three campgrounds, and numerous hiker shuttle stops.

The trail update is based on a 2009 feasibility study that looked at the developed eastern portion of the park. The current study will examine the possible options for the multi-use trail alignments and analyze potential environmental impacts.

The new park trail system could connect with trails being developed in the Estes Valley, helping to reduce traffic congestion, and to evaluate multimodal options (including connections to the shuttle system) along the developed corridor of roads on the east side of the park. If constructed, the trail would be located outside designated wilderness. (more…)

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Colorado: Fern Lake Fire flares up; 583 homes in Estes Park area evacuated

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Bob Berwyn
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The Fern Lake Fire, in Rocky Mountain National Park, burns through tree tops in this Nov. 27 photo by Dennis Geving.

Lake Dillon firefighters respond to call for assistance

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Colorado’s continued snow drought manifested Friday night in Rocky Mountain National Park, where the Fern Lake Fire flared up in an area that’s usually covered with snow this time of year.

Winds of up to 75 mph pushed the fire to the southwest, where a spot fire ignited in the horseshoe of unburned fuel west of the confluence of Spruce and Forest canyons.

The flare-up resulted in new evacuation orders along Highway 66 and all adjacent streets, including the YMCA, High Drive and all adjacent streets, Marys Lake Road up to Moraine Ave. to Marys Lake on the west side. More than 1, 100 contacts made through this original reverse notification. (more…)

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Colorado: Fern Lake Fire uncontained at 660 acres but incoming weather could help firefighters gain upper hand

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Smoke from the Fern Lake Fire as seen from Moraine Park campground. Photo courtesy Ann Schonlau/NPS.

Some park roads and trails remain closed

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Firefighters battling the uncontained 660-acre Fern Lake Fire in Rocky Mountain National Park should get a little help from the weather, with some significant moisture forecast to move through the area Friday night.

The fire is burning west of the Fern Lake Trailhead on the east side of Rocky Mountain National Park. A national fire management team took over command at the fire Friday, as park officials announced a full suppression strategy for fighting the fire. (more…)

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Wildfire burning in Rocky Mountain National Park

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Several roads and trails closed

The 300-acre Fern Lake Fire is burning west of Estes Park, Colorado.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — National Park Service officials say a a 300 acre fire burning about two miles west of the Fern Lake Trailhead in Rocky Mountain National Park has spurred the closure of several roads and trails, including Bear Lake Road, Moraine Park Campground, all trails west of Bear Lake Road and south of Trail Ridge Road, and Upper Beaver Meadows Road.

According to the Larimer County emergency services website, the fire is burning about .25 to .5 miles west of  “The Pool,” about 1.5 miles east of Fern Lake  Smoke is easily from the town of Estes Park. Movement  is toward the east and north due to gusty winds. This is well away from any structures but there is some concern for the area in the vicinity of the Moraine Park Campground should the fire move east. The cause is under investigation.

Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Fire personnel and equipment are standing by and Larimer County Emergency Services unit also responded to the fire Tuesday afternoon.

A single engine air tanker has been ordered to the scene, and Larimer County officials said it’s not known what other air attack resources have been ordered.

For more information, call the Rocky Mountain National Park information line at 970-586-1206. 

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Rocky Mountain NP BioBlitz documents 490 species

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Science event draws thousands of visitors

One of 490 species inventoried during the 2012 BioBlitz at Rocky Mountain National Park. Photo courtesy Clay Bolt/National Geographic Society.

Students participate in the 2012 BioBlitz at Rocky Mountain National Park’s Lily Lake in Colorado, a 24-hour species inventory and Biodiversity Festival Aug. 24-25, hosted by National Geographic and The National Park Service.
©Karine Aigner/Meet Your Neighbours/iLCP.

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — In the age of video games and handheld virtual reality, it’s not always easy to drag kids out of the house and into the great outdoors. But an Aug. 24-25 BioBlitz at Rocky Mountain National Park drew more than 5,000 participants, including both leading researchers as well as Front Range school kids who had a chance to visit the park for the first time.

Along with some scientific research that will pay dividends for months and years, the two-day event was marked by an amazing number of personal discoveries, said chief of resource stewardship Ben Bobowski, who coordinated the bioblitz. (more…)

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Environment: EPA approves Colorado clean air plan

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Regional haze reduction efforts should help reduce pollution along Front Range and in Rocky Mountain National Park

A computer-generated split-screen image a split-image simulates the average 20 percent best (left) and 20 percent worst 20 percent (right) visibility at the Long’s Peak vista based on an average of monitored data for years 2000-2004.

Ozone damage on the leaf of a cutleaf coneflower manifests in the form of black stipules. Photo courtesy RMNP.

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — A new EPA-sanctioned clean air plan could be just what the doctor ordered for Rocky Mountain National Park, where rangers had to hoist ozone warnings 17 times this summer, after an average of about five to seven each of the last few years.

Ozone readings also spiked at numerous other locations, especially along the Front Range, and farther out into the eastern plains, where ozone previously hasn’t been a big problem.

Officials blamed the long, hot summer, which cooked the deadly mix of nitrogen oxides and other compounds into a smoggy soup that stresses respiratory systems, clouds visibility and harms plants even in the high alpine zone of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Clean air advocates say that, despite tough state rules, increasing oil and gas drilling along the Front Range are contributing to the increased frequency of ozone spikes, and say that global warming adds to the challenges of controlling ozone smog.

The regional haze plan approved by the EPA this week is a good step in the right direction, according to Environmental Defense Fund attorney Pam Campos, explaining that the plan includes hard targets for reducing emissions by retiring some old coal-burning power plants, converting some to natural gas and making sure other industrial facilities cut emissions. (more…)

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U.S. and Costa Rica parks strengthen conservation ties

Posted on August 25, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Rincón de la Vieja Volcano, in Guanacaste National Park, Costa Rica. Photo via the Creative Commons.

New agreement to boost joint planning efforts

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — A new international agreement between U.S. National Park Service and Costa Rica’s Sistema Nacional de Areas de Conservacion will step up cooperation for planning, development, management and operation of protected natural parks and cultural sites.

The two agencies will also share information in fire management and control, climate change adaptation, marine protected areas and the development of educational and public information.

National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis and his Costa Rican counterpart, Rafael Gutierrez Rojas, signed the deal this week, formalizing historic conservation partnerships between the two countries. (more…)

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Colorado: Exploring the Ute Trail

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Escape to the high country of Rocky Mountain National Park

A bull elk resting in a cool breeze on Trail Ridge, overlooking Ute Trail.

Story and photos by Kim Fenske

Rocky Mountain National Park is a major tourist destination. Recognition of that fact alone has been enough to deter me from visiting the area during the summer season for decades. But this year I decided to to spend a few early summer days with some friends at the Moraine campground.

Trapped in the valley between Trail Ridge Road and Longs Peak with temperatures soaring above a hundred degrees in the lowlands east of the Front Range, I was committed to any plan that took me to the highest elevation available. (more…)

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New CU study shows that nitrogen compounds from cars, power plants and agriculture threaten alpine ecosystems

Posted on July 7, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Part of Colorado’s alpine landscape may face irreversible changes from nitrogen pollution. Photo by Bob Berwyn.

Acidification of soil is nearly irreversible

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Nitrogen compounds from power plants, auto emissions and agriculture is starting to change the alpine vegetation in Rocky Mountain National Park in “subtle but important” ways, according to a University of Colorado Boulder study conducted at the school’s Mountain Research Station.

In other regions of the world, higher amounts of nitrogen pollutants correlate with decreased biodiversity, acidified soils and dead stream organisms like trout, said research station director Professor William Bowman.

“There is evidence that indicates once these changes occur, they can be difficult if not impossible to reverse. It is best to recognize these early stages before the more harmful later stages happen.” (more…)

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