The latest research was based on snowpack reconstructions from 66 tree-ring chronologies, looking back 500 to more than 1,000 years. A network of sites from north to south in the Rocky Mountains was chosen to characterize the range of natural snowpack variability over the long term.
Rocky Flats Nat’l Wildlife Refuge: Remembering to not forget
Chapters in the long Rocky Flats story include decades of weapons-grade plutonium production, fires, an FBI raid, closure of the facility, more than a dozen years of cleanup activities, and countless studies by government agencies.
Mountain pine beetle: Grim Reaper, widowmaker or natural ‘change agent’ for Colorado’s forests?
The tiny mountain pine beetle has feasted on Colorado’s lodgepole pine forests, turning countless acres of trees into dead wood. An autumn presentation on the tiny but powerful bug shed some light on how Colorado’s majestic forests will be impacted by the beetle infestation.
Wildfires in the West: From fanatical fire suppression to ‘stay & defend’
The history of wildfire and fire suppression in the U.S. is replete with stories of hubris, disaster and miscalculation. Stephen Pyne of Arizona State University shared some thoughts during a lecture in Boulder.
Grizzly bear ‘wars’ continue in backcountry, courtroom
The reintroduction of the grizzly bear into the northern Rocky Mountains has been rife with controversy — author David Knibb visited Boulder to discuss issues related to the grizzly.
The Ditch Project: Man-made tributaries of Boulder County transform natural landscape
By taming the water cascading down from the high mountains, water engineers turned the high-altitude, semi-arid desert of short-grass prairie into a lush, green urban landscape surrounded by irrigated farmland.
Northern Rocky Mountain wolves lose endangered species status
The USFWS said wolf populations have exceeded biological recovery goals and are now thriving.