A report focusing on agricultural, urban and environmental water use in the West suggests several ways to share and transfer water among traditionally competing interests.
Rocky Mountain Ecology
Mountain pine beetle moving east in Alberta, jumping species from lodgepole to jack pine
Confirming widely held fears about the migration of the mountain pine beetle, Alberta scientists found that the mighty insect is moving east in Canadian forests.
Study: Yellowstone wolves not helping aspens regenerate
The reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park is not helping aspen groves, despite declines in the number of elk, according to a new study.
Climate change may alter Yellowstone meadows, plant diversity
Researchers measured the changes in the Yellowstone meadow plant community from 1997 to 2007, including a period of extended drought, and found that shrubs (such as sagebrush) that grow in the drier meadows increased, while flowering plants decreased in number.
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.