Author: I-70 Scout

 

DENVER- This year marks the 147th annual Colorado Day, and ahead of August 1, Governor Polis encourages Coloradans to celebrate safely and highlights upcoming events happening statewide during this year’s Celebrate Colorado. August 1 marks the day Colorado officially entered the Union and became a state, and now serves as a time to look back on the history of our state, promote local businesses, and come together to celebrate everything that makes Colorado great. Community organizations, restaurants, businesses and state agencies have added free and discounted events statewide starting July 28, 2023 through August 6, 2023.  

“Let’s Celebrate Colorado and wish Colorado a very happy birthday! Every year, I look forward to the opportunity to celebrate Colorado and its 147 years of unique history,” said Governor Polis. “I am thrilled to see the excitement from communities, businesses, and Coloradans this year – over 250 events – I encourage everyone to visit the Celebrate Colorado map to find an event in their community, spend time with neighbors and friends, support local businesses, and have fun celebrating the many reasons Colorado is the best place to live!” 

This year there are a variety of celebrations and local events promoting our great Colorado culture statewide. Events will be happening around the state and include many free or discounted events, historical learning experiences, opportunities to support Colorado businesses, and events that bring neighbors and friends together. 

A few of the events happening next week include: 

• Free tours at the Governor’s Residence and events at the State Capitol on Colorado Day, August 1st
• Colorado Day at History Colorado which includes free entry to exhibits on August 1
• The Loveland Museum is offering free admission to the main gallery floor on August 1 from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
• Free admission, with a reserved ticket, to the Denver Broncos training camp practices 
• A free Lendon James concert in Grand Junction 
• Discounted tickets are being offered for:
  • The United States Olympic and Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs, with a Colorado license
  • Denver Museum of Nature and Science is offering 50% off ticket sales during the week and discounted memberships
  • Wings Over The Rockies is offering 50% off general admission tickets with the code COLO50
  • Discounted youth tickets to Grand Junction Back to School Splash. 
  • The Denver Zoo is offering 50% tickets from July 31- August 4. 
• The historic Bronc Day Festival in Green Mountain Falls Colorado starting July 28th.   
• Countless farmer’s markets across the state to buy local food and support farmers and ranchers. 

The Celebrate Colorado map is open to anyone to add an event.  Events can still be submitted through next week and can be sent by visiting this form.To see the full list of over 250 events the state is highlighting visit https://celebrate.colorado.gov/. 

CPW ranger saves three in dramatic, midnight rescue on Arkansas River

BUENA VISTA, Colo. – It was nearly bedtime, after 10 p.m., when Jeff Hammond, a river ranger with Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area, received a call for help from the Chaffee County Sheriff’s office.

“They told me a boat with three people in it had flipped in Zoom Flume in Browns Canyon,” Hammond said. “They had made contact with one person and two were unaccounted for. All three were still in the canyon and needed to be rescued. So I quickly got back in uniform, grabbed my gear and jumped in my truck.”

Late-night rescues of boaters on the Arkansas River are not common. And it would not be easy searching in Browns Canyon, a 13-mile boulder-strewn gorge between Buena Vista and Salida carved over eons by the Arkansas. 

But Hammond didn’t hesitate even knowing he’d be fighting exactly what makes Browns Canyon one of the most popular stretches of whitewater in Colorado: its series of Class 3 rapids that draw people from across the nation to experience.

On this July 6 night, Hammond headed a few miles south of Buena Vista to Nathrop to rendezvous with the Chaffee County Search and Rescue (SAR) North Team and begin the search. The plan was for two SAR members on all-terrain vehicles (ATV) to take Hammond down the abandoned railroad tracks that parallel the river through the canyon until they reached the Zoom Flume rapids.

“I was told an off-duty commercial raft guide had taken two people out on a private trip around 7:30 p.m.,” Hammond said. “That should have given them enough time to reach their take-out spot at Hecla Junction. But they never made it.”

Cellphone service in the canyon is unreliable but the guide was able to send a 9-1-1 text for help, alerting authorities of the incident.

It was approaching 11:30 p.m. when Hammond hopped on the back of an SAR ATV with his gear, kayak and paddle and off they rode into the darkness, bouncing down the railroad tracks as the river roared below them through the rapids of the canyon.

As the trio headed south down the tracks, another team from Chaffee County SAR South, headed northbound from Hecla Junction on electric bikes that they ferried on a raft across the river.

It took Hammond and the SAR team about 20 minutes to reach Zoom Flume where they began hearing shouts for help from the other side of the churning river.

“We found the two friends who had been tossed out of the raft,” Hammond said. “They were on the river bank on the west side. They couldn’t hike out because they were cliffed out by the canyon walls.”

So Hammond bushwhacked down through the brush from the tracks to the water’s edge. In the pitch black, he studied what he could see of the river using his headlamp.

“There was no moonlight in the canyon and the water was roaring through the rapids, just upstream,” Hammond said, describing the scene. “I scouted the river, plotted a course to the two victims and put my kayak in the water.”

Hammond said the water was calm where he entered, but it quickly turned into whitewater and it was unnerving even to someone like him – an expert kayaker who has logged many days on the Arkansas since he joined the AHRA in 2017.

“It’s still whitewater and you are trying to judge the rapids through the relatively small beam of light from your headlamp,” he said.

Hammond was aided by the two SAR members who used spotlights to help guide him to the victims as he paddled the 25 yards across to the two victims. After assessing their condition and determining they were uninjured and in no imminent danger, he left them with a promise to return. Then he paddled back across the river to resume the search to locate the guide.

A mile downstream he found her and the raft, also on the opposite river bank. Hammond repeated his process of bushwhacking, scouting the river and paddling across. The guide was also uninjured. So he loaded her and his kayak into her raft and they paddled back across the river to the waiting SAR members.

“We basically hopped from boulder to boulder, resting in the calm water below the boulders before resuming our paddling,” Hammond said.

Then they loaded the guide, the raft and the kayak onto the ATVs and went back upstream a mile to the two friends left on the riverbank.

Hammond made his third and final roundtrip crossing of the river that night on the raft with the guide. They reached the two friends who climbed aboard and the four paddled back across where the two ATVs were waiting.

The SAR members drove the two friends to Nathrop, then returned to get the guide, Hammond, and his kayak.

At 2:30 a.m., Hammond said he texted his fiance’ he was coming home for the night.

As wild an incident as it was, Hammond said it could have been much worse and ended tragically.

“First, they were all wearing life jackets,” Hammond said. “That’s the biggest thing. And they had a cellphone. Even though they couldn’t make a call, they could send a text for help.”

Best of all, they didn’t panic, Hammond said. When they realized they wouldn’t be able to hike out, they stayed put and planned to wait for daylight when commercial rafting trips would provide a means for rescue.

“If things go wrong, don’t compound the problems,” Hammond said. “Call for search and rescue. It’s free and safer than wandering off into the wilderness. We’d rather get a call early and start searching than get a late call and face a more complex rescue.”

PHOTO CAPTIONS:

As midnight approached on July 6, 2023, Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Jeff Hammond, a river ranger with the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area, hung on the back of Chaffee County Search and Rescue all-terrain vehicle as part of a search for three people who were trapped in Browns Canyon after their raft flipped on a private trip. Hammond and the SAR team rode down dirt trails and then railroad tracks until they found the stranded boaters in the river. Photo courtesy of Colorado Parks and Wildlife / Jeff Hammond

The rescue team on July 6, 2023, included two Chaffee County Search and Rescue members on all-terrain vehicles, two on electric bicycles, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Jeff Hammond, a river ranger with the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area, who brought his kayak and ended up making three trips across the Arkansas River at midnight to rescue three people who were tossed into the water in a rapid in Browns Canyon. Photo courtesy of Colorado Parks and Wildlife / Jeff Hammond

Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Jeff Hammond, a river ranger with the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area, in a recent file photo. Photo courtesy of Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Jeff Hammond, a river ranger with the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area, paddled a raft across the Arkansas River to rescue stranded boaters who became lost in Browns Canyon when their boat flipped in Zoom Flume rapid. Photo courtesy of Chaffee County Search and Rescue.

DENVER – Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is hosting a 24-hour fundraising campaign, CPW Day of Giving, on July 27, 2023, to raise funds in support of CPW’s programs and projects while increasing awareness of how donors can support CPW in a valuable way.

CPW’s mission is to perpetuate the state’s wildlife resources, provide a quality state parks system, and provide enjoyable and sustainable outdoor recreation opportunities that educate and inspire current and future generations to serve as active stewards of Colorado’s natural resources.

Colorado is home to 42 world-class state parks, more than 960 species of wildlife and 23 million acres of public lands, ranging from wetlands to forests, canyon landscapes to mountain lakes. Join us in keeping Colorado, Colorado.

Donors make a big difference in the work of CPW. Every contribution goes a long way to help protect our wildlife and natural spaces, support our state parks and outdoor recreational opportunities, and introduce new people to all the wonders of Colorado’s great outdoors.

All dollars raised through the Day of Giving will sponsor CPW programs and projects. Below are five programs our donors help support:

• Agents of Discovery is an augmented reality gaming platform, inspired by Pokémon GO, that provides free self-guided experiences to learn about our state parks in fun and engaging ways. Agents of Discovery is available at 14 Colorado state parks and guests have played more than 17,700 missions.
• Colorado’s Conservation Data Explorer (CODEX) is an interactive mapping tool that hosts critical natural resource data for conservation planners and decision-makers in Colorado. The project allows users to screen a project area for potential impacts on threatened, endangered and special concern species and their habitats. CODEX brings together data to support conservation planning, recreation planning, the conservation easement process, environmental review, evaluation of conservation portfolios, education and more.
• Macroinvertebrate Monitoring: River Watch is a CPW program composed of volunteers from 122 different public, private, and charter school groups, watershed organizations, and dedicated individuals who monitor 274 river sites throughout Colorado. Each year these volunteers gather the samples that provide CPW scientists with data about aquatic habitat quality, including measuring the levels of nutrients and metals in streams.
• CPW K9 Program: CPW has three extraordinary officers that come to work on four legs. K9s Cash, Sampson, and Sci put their talents to use helping their two-legged colleagues find and gather evidence in poaching cases, release bears that are being relocated away from populated areas to safer spaces, and have even sniffed out endangered species like Boreal Toads and Black Footed Ferrets. They also are some of CPW’s most popular teachers and participate in educational presentations at schools and communities across the state.
• The Aquatic Toxicology Program has allowed CPW to increase the technical and scientific services provided and conduct much-needed research on Western Slope threatened and endangered fish species. From invasive species like zebra mussels to monitoring survival and stress hormones of Cutthroat Trout, measuring the effect of water temperature on Colorado’s native fish populations, and extensive sampling of the state’s fish hatcheries, the Aquatic Toxicology Program is providing valuable data to improve water quality policies and inform management decisions.

Give back to the outdoor spaces we love. Support Colorado Parks and Wildlife and donate today!

For more information on CPW’s philanthropy program, visit cpw.state.co.us/donate.

CENTENNIAL, Colo. – Gov. Jared Polis and The Adjutant General of Colorado U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Laura Clellan will welcome His Excellency Marjan Šarec, the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Slovenia, and delegation, July 14-17, 2023, to Colorado to commemorate the 30th anniversary of a fruitful, strategic partnership between the State of Colorado and the Republic of Slovenia.

Colorado’s enduring partnership with Slovenia commenced July 14, 1993.

“Colorado’s partnership with Slovenia has ensured the peace and security of the region, interoperability with NATO forces, and the modernization of our militaries,” Clellan said.  “Slovenia is a key ally and capable partner.”

Slovenia was among the first nations to collaborate with the National Guard, laying the foundation for the strategic State Partnership Program, which now encompasses more than 100 countries worldwide.

Over the past 30 years, there have been over 500 military-to-military and military-to-civilian engagements that have facilitated valuable knowledge in various areas. These engagements have encompassed cultural understanding, air operations, civil engineering, civil-military cooperation, cyber defense, emergency response operations, logistics, medical support, mountain warfare, and responses to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear incidents.

The primary objective of this visit is to provide the MOD and his delegation with comprehensive insights into the State of Colorado, the CONG, and the SPP relationship between Colorado and Slovenia.

The Slovenian delegation will visit prominent locations in Colorado, including the Executive Residence of the Governor at the Boettcher Mansion in Denver and CONG Headquarters in Centennial.

The SPP is a U.S. Department of Defense program that pairs National Guard units from states and territories with partner countries worldwide. The primary goal of the SPP is to foster long-term relationships and enhance international security cooperation through military-to-military and military-to-civilian engagements.

By SETH BORENSTEIN and ADAM BEAM
Associated Press

Long the hottest place on Earth, Death Valley put a sizzling exclamation point Sunday on a record warm summer that is baking nearly the entire globe by flirting with some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded, meteorologists said.

Temperatures in Death Valley, which runs along part of central California’s border with Nevada, reached 128 degrees Fahrenheit (53.33 degrees Celsius) on Sunday at the aptly named Furnace Creek, the National Weather Service said.

The hottest temperature ever record was 134 F (56.67 C) in July 1913 at Furnace Creek, said Randy Ceverny of the World Meteorological Organization, the body recognized as keeper of world records. Temperatures at or above 130 F (54.44 degrees C) have only been recorded on Earth a handful of times, mostly in Death Valley.

“With global warming, such temperatures are becoming more and more likely to occur,” Ceverny, the World Meteorological Organization’s records coordinator, said in an email. “Long-term: Global warming is causing higher and more frequent temperature extremes. Short-term: This particular weekend is being driven by a very very strong upper level ridge of high pressure over the Western U.S.”

On Sunday in Death Valley, meteorologists were tracking high clouds in the area that could keep temperatures in check.

“The all-time record seems fairly safe today,” said Matt Woods, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service`s Las Vegas office, which monitors Death Valley.

The heat wave is just one part of the extreme weather hitting the U.S. over the weekend. Four people died in Pennsylvania on Saturday when heavy rains caused a sudden flash flood that swept away multiple cars. Three other people, including a 9-month-old boy and a 2-year-old girl, remained missing. In Vermont, authorities were concerned about landslides as rain continued after days of flooding.

Residents in the western U.S. have long been accustomed to extreme temperatures, and the heat appeared to prompt minimal disruptions in California over the weekend. Local governments opened cooling centers for people without access to air conditioning to stay cool. The heat forced officials to cancel horse racing at the opening weekend of the California State Fair as officials urged fair-goers to stay hydrated and seek refute inside one of the seven air-conditioned buildings.

In Las Vegas, temperatures reached 115 degrees F (46.11 degrees C) early Sunday afternoon, approaching the desert city`s all-time high of 117 degrees. Temperatures in Phoenix hit 112 degrees F (44.4 C) on early Sunday afternoon, the 17th consecutive day of 110 degrees or higher. The record is 18 days, set in June 1974. Phoenix is on track to break that record on Tuesday, said Gabriel Lojero, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Heat records are being shattered all over the U.S. South, from California to Florida. But it’s far more than that. It’s worldwide, with devastating heat hitting Europe along with dramatic floods in the U.S. Northeast, India, Japan and China.

For nearly all of July, the world has been in uncharted hot territory, according to the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer.

June was also the hottest June on record, according to several weather agencies. Scientists say there is a decent chance that 2023 will go down as the hottest year on record, with measurements going back to the middle of the 19th century.

Death Valley dominates global heat records. In the valley, it’s not only hot, it stays brutally warm.

Some meteorologists have disputed how accurate Death Valley’s 110-year-old hot-temperature record is, with weather historian Christopher Burt disputing it for several reasons, which he laid out in a blog post a few years ago.

The two hottest temperatures on record are the 134 F in 1913 in Death Valley and 131 F (55 degrees C) in Tunisia in July 1931. Burt, a weather historian for The Weather Company, finds fault with both of those measurements and lists 130 F (54.4 C) in July 2021 in Death Valley as his hottest recorded temperature on Earth.

“130 degrees is very rare if not unique,” Burt said.

In July 2021 and August 2020, Death Valley recorded a reading of 130 F (54.4 degrees C), but both are still awaiting confirmation. Scientists have found no problems so far, but they haven’t finished the analysis, NOAA climate analysis chief Russ Vose said.

There are other places similar to Death Valley that may be as hot, such as Iran’s Lut Desert, but like Death Valley are uninhabited so no one measures there, Burt said. The difference was someone decided to put an official weather station in Death Valley in 1911, he said.

A combination of long-term human-caused climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas is making the world hotter by the decade, with ups and downs year by year. Many of those ups and downs are caused by the natural El Nino and La Nina cycle. An El Nino cycle, the warming of part of the Pacific that changes the world’s weather, adds even more heat to the already rising temperatures.

Scientists such as Vose say that most of the record warming the Earth is now seeing is from human-caused climate change, partly because this El Nino only started a few months ago and is still weak to moderate. It isn’t expected to peak until winter, so scientists predict next year will be even hotter than this year.

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Borenstein reported from Washington and Beam reported from Sacramento, California.

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Follow AP’s climate and environment coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

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Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

En español abajo

Denver – Protégete, dedicated to building Latine environmental leadership and power to help drive climate, land, water, and environmental justice policy forward, will join events to celebrate Latino Conservation Week (July 15-23), which promotes participation of the Latino community in outdoor recreation and conservation efforts.

“Latinos have been contributing for centuries to the conservation of our lands, water and the natural resources in Colorado. It is imperative that our stories, climate solutions and love for our Madre Tierra be an integral part of the conservation movement,” said Beatriz Soto, Director of Protegete. “Latino Conservation Week in Colorado has been a success for several years. From urban neighborhoods like Montbello to rural communities like Rifle, we bring our community together not just to advocate, but to celebrate our contributions.”

In celebration of Latino Conservation Week’s 10th anniversary, the theme is “Disfrutando y Conservando Nuestra Tierra” (Enjoying and Conserving Our Land). Communities, nonprofits, faith-based, and government organizations and agencies are participating in events throughout the state to promote conservation efforts and provide an opportunity for Latinos to show their support for protecting the land, water, and air. These events will honor the generations-long ties to conservation by Latinos in Colorado and will raise their voice in the decision-making process.

“As the first Latina representative to be elected on the western slope, I am proud to honor Latino Conservation Week. The quality of our lives, and our livelihoods, depend on having a future with clean air, clean water, and thriving wild lands. As Latinos we have a deep history of relationship with the outdoors, and we are an integral part of the Colorado outdoors – through recreation, work, play, and conservation and climate justice efforts,” said Colorado State Representative Elizabeth Velasco of the 57th District. 

“I am proud to stand with my colleagues in recognizing Latino Conservation Week. As Coloradans and Latinos, we have a deep appreciation for our natural resources and the role they play in our way of life. Latino Conservation Week celebrates the contributions of the Latino community to conservation efforts and provides an opportunity for all Coloradans to engage in outdoor recreation and environmental stewardship. I am honored to be a part of this important initiative and look forward to continuing to uplift this message,” said Colorado State Senator Julie Gonzales of the 34th District and Majority Whip of the Colorado State Senate.

Learn more about Latino Conservation Week and find an event near you.

Protégete celebra la Semana Latina de Conservación con eventos alrededor del estado

Denver — Protégete, organización dedicada a la creación de liderazgo y poder latino ambiental para ayudar a impulsar políticas de justicia climáticas y ambientales, se unirá a los eventos de la Semana Latina  de Conservación del 15 al 23 julio. Esta semana promueve la participación de la comunidad latina en actividades de recreación al aire libre y unirse para contribuir a los esfuerzos de conservación. 

“En Colorado los latinos han contribuido por siglos a la conservación de nuestras tierra, agua y recursos naturales. Es indispensable que nuestras historias, soluciones climáticas y amor por la madre tierra sean parte integral del movimiento de conservación”, mencionó Beatriz Soto, directora de protégete. La Semana Latina de Conservación en Colorado ha sido un éxito por varios años. Desde los vecindarios urbanos como Montbello hasta comunidades rurales como Rifle, nos unimos como comunidad no solo para abogar, sino también para celebrar nuestras contribuciones”.

Celebrando el 10 mo aniversario de la Semana Latina de Conservación, con el tema “Disfrutando y Conservando Nuestra Tierra”, comunidades, organizaciones sin fines de lucro, religiosas, gubernamentales y agencias participan en eventos en todo el estado para promover los esfuerzos de conservación y brindar la oportunidad a latinos de mostrar su apoyo para proteger la tierra, el agua y el aire. 

Estos eventos honrarán los lazos generacionales de latinos en Colorado a la conservación. Y alzarán su voz en el proceso de toma de decisiones.

“Como la primer representante latina electa de la cuesta occidental. Me complace  honrar la semana latina  de conservación. La calidad y sustento de nuestras vidas, dependen de contar con aire y agua limpios en el futuro. Como también de tierras silvestres prósperas. ​​​Los latinos tenemos una profunda historia de relación con los espacios libres y somos una parte integral de estos a través de la recreación, trabajo, juego y los esfuerzos de conservación y justicia climática”, dijo la Representante del Estado de Colorado, Elizabeth Velasco del Distrito 57.

“Me enorgullece apoyar a mis colegas destacando la Semana Latina  de Conservación. Como Coloradanos y latinos tenemos un fuerte aprecio por los recursos naturales y el rol que juegan en nuestro estilo de vida.  La Semana Latina de Conservación celebra las contribuciones de la comunidad latina por sus esfuerzos a la conservación.  Proveyendo a todos los Coloradanos la oportunidad de comprometerse en actividades recreativas al aire libre y la administración ambiental. Me complace ser parte de esta importante iniciativa y espero seguir transmitiendo y elevando el mensaje”, dijo la Senadora del Estado de Colorado Julie Gonzales del Distrito 34 y Líder de la Mayoría del Senado del Estado de Colorado.

Aprende más acerca de la Semana Latina de Conservación y encuentra un evento cerca de ti.

ALAMOSA, Colo. – At its June 22 meeting in Alamosa, the Parks and Wildlife Commission unanimously approved changes to regulations that standardized and clarified language for permissible activities on State Wildlife Areas. This is the next phase of work that began in 2020 to address impacts to State Wildlife Areas due to increased visitation and the impacts to wildlife habitat.

“These revisions will help CPW protect critical wildlife habitat across the state for current and future generations,” said CPW Director Jeff Davis.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife manages about 350 State Wildlife Areas. SWAs are paid for primarily by sportspersons and managed for the benefit of wildlife. These areas may also offer wildlife-related recreation and potentially opportunities for other forms of recreation when not in conflict with wildlife or wildlife recreation.  

In December 2019, the Area Wildlife Managers, in consultation with CPW staff managing the SWAs, began analyzing what negative impacts were occurring and coming up with ideas and solutions to these problems.

To help manage increasing recreation at SWAs, CPW began requiring either a valid hunting or fishing license, or an SWA access pass, for anyone 16 or older accessing most SWAs.

Additionally, a working group of CPW staff and stakeholders proposed updates to the SWA general provisions (regulations applicable to all SWAs) and property-specific regulations. General provisions are regulations that are applicable to all SWAs, except for State Trust Lands (or if explicitly allowed or disallowed in property-specific regulations). 

The public was also invited to submit comments on the proposed changes before adoption by the Parks and Wildlife Commission. The comment period was open for a six week period from April 12 through May 24, 2023. 

You can refer to the regulation changes document to view all of the changes (beginning on page 6) and learn more about how the changes affect SWAs near you (property specific provisions begin on page 13).

While the general provision changes include new restrictions, some restrictions may not apply to all SWAs (e.g., allowing camping at certain properties). 

These new regulatory changes will go into effect on August 1, but Lamb said CPW wildlife officers would be implementing an education campaign for the first year to ensure everyone is aware of how new regulations may be affecting their favorite SWA before handing out citations for any violations of new regulations.

“Making these updates to our regulations was the culmination of a lot of hard work by staff, stakeholders and with key input from the public throughout the process,” said Lamb. 

The 2023 Colorado State Recreation Lands Brochure has all the updated regulations for SWAs and will be available online and in CPW offices in early August.