GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK, CO — In the mountains of Great Sand Dunes National Park in the San Luis Valley just north of Alamosa, Medano Creek flows down into the valley. The river helps shape the dunes. “A key piece of this is the role of water,” said Fred Bunch, chief of resource management…
CRESTONE – The San Luis Valley holds 3.1 million acres of land, and the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council advocates for keeping its ecosystem protected. “I represent the people who care about this valley and systems who don’t have a voice,” the council’s director, Christine Canaly said in a recent interview. Canaly enlists the public…
ALAMOSA – Agriculture has been the base of the San Luis Valley’s economy since before farmer Cleave Simpson can remember. “I’m the fourth generation in my family trying to eek out a living here,” Simpson said during a recent meeting with Colorado College students at his Rio Grande Water Conservation District office. Like most farmers…
SAN LUIS VALLEY– The tradition of ranching is dying. Zapata Ranch is home to around 2000 bison located in the San Luis Valley. The bison roam on 50,000 acres of the total 110,000-acre ranch. Each year, ranch workers harvest 500 bison. They are sold under their label, Lasater Grasslands Beef. Among the buyers is Whole Foods. Ranch manager Duke Philips said his goal is to mimic…
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK– Fighting light pollution to preserve starry night skies and securing water flows amid climate changes are growing concerns at the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. It falls to Fred Bunch, the parks natural resources manager, to face these challenges. Bunch has been working at the dunes for the past 30 years. Visitor rates have skyrocketed. In 2017 a record 487,000 people visited, up from 230,481 visitors…
ALAMOSA- Cleave Simpson, a local alfalfa farmer and general manager of the Rio Grande Water Conservation District, is fighting for the future of farming in the San Luis valley. Agriculture is under threat as water sources dwindle and valley leaders anticipate thousands of acres of irrigated crop land will dry up. “Our community, our culture…
SUMMITVILLE MINE- Located 25 miles north of Del Norte, the old Summitville gold mine now functions as a water treatment facility. Many in charge at the facility hope to open up the land to recreational use. Situated at 11,500 feet, Summitville Mine had a foreboding presence on a recent snowy day. The river running through…
COLORADO SPRINGS — America runs on electricity. It powers our phones, turns the gears in our machines, and keeps our homes cool in sweltering heat. The United States consumes around 18 percent of the world’s energy supply, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Only 17 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources.…
SUMMITVILLE — The Summitville cleanup site, between towering San Juan Mountain peaks in southwest Colorado, has cost taxpayers almost $300 million thus far. It will continue to cost an additional $2 million every year, according to site manager Mark Rudolph of the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment. He oversees an industrial water-cleaning…
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE — On a Monday morning, stuffed inside a conference room, Fred Bunch took a moment to lean back and bugle like an elk. Then he chuckled. In 1968, Bunch hopped on an old cruiser in Alamosa, Colorado and pedaled through the San Louis Valley until he arrived at…
