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The I-70 Scout & Eastern Colorado News

Category: Nature & Science

  • Regional Summit on Groundwater for Irrigated Agriculture — Garden City, Kansas — Notice of Registration Deadline

    Regional Summit on Groundwater for Irrigated Agriculture — Garden City, Kansas — Notice of Registration Deadline

    The Eight Ogallala Region States Come Together for Interstate Collaboration

    The Ogallala Aquifer Summit will bring together water-use decision makers in Garden City, Kansas, April 9-10. Summit participants will be discussing current management and policy best practices as well as exploring interstate approaches to managing the aquifer for the long-term benefit of the region’s communities and the ag industry.

    Eight states in the Ogallala region include: Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, South Dakota and Wyoming. 

    The Summit will take place over two half-days, the afternoon of April 9 and the morning of April 10, and includes a social on the evening of April 9 that will feature producers involved with Kansas’ Water Technology Farm program.

    The importance of groundwater used for irrigated agriculture in the Ogallala Aquifer Region cannot be overstated. We’ve recognized through our work on implementing Kansas’ Long-Term Vision for the Future of Water Supply that we needed to bring together water management leaders including producers, commodity and tech leaders, researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders from across the Ogallala region to share and exchange valuable expertise. — Tracy Streeter, Director of the Kansas Water Office

    Logistical support for the Ogallala Summit has been provided by the USDA-NIFA-funded Ogallala Water Coordinated Agriculture Project (CAP) in partnership with the Kansas Water Office. Additional support in planning this event has been provided by individuals from all eight Ogallala states.

    April 5 registration deadline

    Visit the Ogallala Water CAP website to see a detailed agenda and access online registration. Pre-registration is required and space is limited. The registration deadline is Thursday, April 5.

    Policy and decisions about water management are often made at the local or regional level within states. This Summit will cover emerging innovations, research, and policies and help identify opportunities for working together across state lines to help address the water-related challenges facing this region. — Meagan Schipanski, assistant professor at Colorado State University and co-director of the Ogallala Water CAP

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  • Emerald Ash Borer Detected in Lyons — invasive, highly destructive tree pest

    Emerald Ash Borer Detected in Lyons — invasive, highly destructive tree pest

    LYONS, CO – State officials have confirmed the presence of emerald ash borer (EAB) – an invasive, highly destructive tree pest – in the Town of Lyons in northern Boulder County. This new detection is still just within a quarantine area established to try and prevent the human-assisted spread of EAB. However, it represents the fourth community with confirmation of EAB in Colorado outside the City of Boulder, where the pest was first detected in 2013.

    An estimated 15 percent or more of all urban and community trees in Colorado are ash species susceptible to being killed by EAB – and a majority of these trees are on private land. EAB attacks and kills both stressed and healthy ash trees and is so aggressive that trees typically die within two to four years after becoming infested.

    An arborist recently identified an ash tree on private land in the vicinity of 4th Avenue and Broadway Street in Lyons as potentially infested with EAB. The property manager notified members of the interagency Colorado EAB Response Team, which is working to manage the spread and impacts of the pest in Colorado. An adult beetle specimen found in the tree was provided to the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) and then confirmed by Colorado State University experts as being EAB. The infested tree and surrounding trees also are being examined by experts from the CDA and Colorado State University Extension.

    So far only the one tree has been identified as having EAB in Lyons, but town officials are looking into nearby ash on public property. Most trees in the immediate vicinity are on private property so assessment of other nearby ash will require coordination with private property owners.

    It is unknown whether EAB arrived in Lyons by natural spread or via accidental human transport, such as in firewood or other raw ash material. Populations of the insect are capable of spreading a half-mile each year on their own, and the City of Boulder is less than 15 miles to the south.

    EAB was first confirmed in Colorado in September 2013, in the City of Boulder. That fall, the CDA established a quarantine zone around Boulder County in an effort to protect the state’s ash trees.

    EAB has also been confirmed in Gunbarrel, Longmont and Lafayette – all within Boulder County. At this time, EAB has not been detected in Colorado outside the county or the EAB Quarantine area. However, the pest is extremely difficult to detect when its numbers are low in an area.

    The EAB Response Team remains committed to EAB outreach and detection efforts in Boulder County and surrounding areas, in addition to enforcing the quarantine. Over the past four years the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS), partnering with Boulder County and the City of Boulder, has set hundreds of traps targeting EAB to try and detect its presence along roadways within Boulder County. The CSFS also is currently developing detection strategies with communities in Larimer County – the southern border of which is only a few miles north of Lyons.

    EAB tips for Boulder County and Front Range Residents:

    Determine now if you have any ash trees. Identifying features of ash trees include compound leaves with 5 to 9 leaflets; leaflets, buds and branches growing directly opposite from one another; and diamond-shaped bark ridges on mature trees. More information about a related app for mobile devices is available at www.csfs.colostate.edu/emerald-ash-borer.  If you have an ash tree, start planning. Decide if the overall health of the tree merits current or future treatment or if it would be best to remove and replace it with a different species. If you aren’t sure, contact a certified arborist. If pesticide treatment is the preferred option, the applicator must be licensed by the CDA as a Commercial Pesticide Applicator.  Recognize signs of EAB infestation. Property owners with ash trees should be on the lookout for thinning of leaves in the upper tree canopy, 1/8-inch D-shaped holes on the bark and vertical bark splitting with winding S-shaped tunnels underneath. Report suspect trees by calling the Colorado Department of Agriculture at 1-888-248-5535 or filling out their EAB Report Form at https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/agplants/eab-identification-and-reporting.  Be aware of EAB imposters. Other insects like lilac/ash borer, ash bark beetle and flat-headed apple tree borer may look like EAB or cause similar tree symptoms. For more information, visit www.eabcolorado.com.  Help prevent further spread of EAB. Do not transport ash or any hardwood firewood, or any other untreated ash wood products, to other locations. Boulder County and some surrounding areas are under a federal EAB quarantine, allowing for significant fines for those who move untreated wood from the area.
    For more information about ash tree identification, the symptoms of EAB and treatment options, go eabcolorado.com or csfs.colostate.edu/emerald-ash-borer.

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  • ‘Thank you’ to ag industry for $23.2 million in donations to local food banks among highlights of Thursday’s Agriculture Day at the Capitol

    ‘Thank you’ to ag industry for $23.2 million in donations to local food banks among highlights of Thursday’s Agriculture Day at the Capitol

    Recognition of the Colorado agriculture industry’s $23.2 million in donations to local food banks last year will serve as one of the highlights at the upcoming Agriculture Day at the Capitol.

    The organizations that make up the Colorado Ag Council will host Agriculture Day at the Capitol on Thursday, March 22, in Denver – an event that will feature the teaming up of 14 local chefs with lawmakers and ag representatives in a cook-off competition of Colorado-grown foods, as well as a big “thank you” delivered by representatives of Colorado’s Feeding America food banks.

    The local agriculture industry’s product and monetary contributions to Colorado’s five Feeding America food banks totaled up to $23,218,914 during 2017. 

    Agriculture Day at the Capitol, which takes place at the State Capitol Building (200 E. Colfax Ave.), has become one of the most popular events under the Golden Dome – attended by about 1,000 people each year, including the governor, state legislators, farmers, ranchers and many others.

    The public and media are all invited to attend the event, which is held in conjunction with National Agriculture Week.

    Agriculture Day at the Capitol begins at 10:30 a.m., and lunch – the final product of the on-site, 14-team cook-off competition – will be served around 11 a.m.

    Each year, the event showcases all that Colorado’s ag industry does for our state, highlighting its efforts in feeding Colorado’s 5 million-plus people, its stewardship of our resources, and its $40 billion economic impact – a top two or three contributor to the state’s economy each year.
     

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  • National Agriculture Day Celebrates American Food and Fiber Production

    National Agriculture Day Celebrates American Food and Fiber Production

    Clarice Navarro

    State Executive Director

    Colorado Farm Service Agency

     

    It’s National Agriculture Day, a day designated each year by the Agriculture Council of America (ACA) to celebrate the accomplishments of agriculture. Colorado Farm Service Agency (FSA) joins the council in recognizing farmers, ranchers and foresters for their contributions to the nation’s outstanding quality of life.

    This year’s theme, Agriculture: Food for Life, spotlights the hard work of American producers who diligently work to provide food, fiber and more to the United States and countries around the world. To ensure a prosperous future for American agriculture, FSA provides continuous support to agriculturalists across the country.

    FSA is rural America’s engine for economic growth, job creation and development, offering local service to millions of rural producers. In fiscal year 2017, USDA Farm Loan programs provided $6 billion in support to producers across America, the second highest total in FSA history. FSA also distributed $1.6 billion in Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) payments to over 375,000 Americans to improve water quality, reduce soil erosion and increase wildlife habitat.

    For agricultural producers who suffered market downturns in 2016, USDA is issuing approximately $8 billion in payments under the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs. USDA also continues to provide extensive assistance in response to natural disasters throughout the country, including last year’s hurricanes in Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, drought in the northern high plains, wildfires in the west and central plains, floods, tornados, freezes and other catastrophic weather events.

    To support beginning farmers and ranchers, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue signed a Memorandum of Understanding with officials from SCORE, the nation’s largest volunteer network of expert business mentors, to support new and beginning farmers. The agreement provides new help and resources for beginning ranchers, veterans, women, socially disadvantaged Americans and others, providing new tools to help them both grow and thrive in agribusiness.

    I am honored to administer programs that enable our producers to manage their risks when the agriculture industry faces hardship. On behalf of the Colorado Farm Service Agency, I would like to thank our agricultural producers for continuing to feed our nation and the world.
  • It’s Finally Spring! Everything to Know About the Spring Equinox

    It’s Finally Spring! Everything to Know About the Spring Equinox

    Happy Spring Equinox and happy first day of spring! Today the length of night and day are nearly equal everywhere on Earth. The official start of the season, also known as the spring equinox or vernal equinox, is Tuesday, March 20, 2018, at 12:15 p.m (some years it occurs on March 21). The days will now become longer at the higher latitudes because it takes the sun longer to rise and set.

    • Earth’s rotation does not cause equinoxes.

    • Equinoxes occur when Earth’s tilted axis is perpendicular to the sun’s rays.

    • During an equinox at Earth’s equator, the sun appears almost directly overhead.

    How the Spring Equinox works

    The Earth orbits around the sun one time, every 365 days and 6 hours. Meanwhile, our planet is rotating itself one time in 24 hours, on a tilted axis. That tilt is about 23.5 degrees, which gives different parts of the world various intensities of light from the sun over the course of a year. The spring equinox occurs when the sun’s warming rays line up perpendicular to Earth’s axial tilt. The sun will set and rise roughly 12 hours apart during the equinox. If you stand directly on the equator at noon in the Eastern Time time zone at noon, the sun will appear more or less directly overhead. Your shadow will also be at its absolute minimum.  But this moment won’t last as the Earth makes its way around the sun at a speed of roughly 66,600 mph. 

    About the Equinoxes

    Our planet’s orbit is elliptical and its center of gravity slightly offset from the sun, so the time it takes to cycle through the seasons isn’t perfectly divvied up. About 92 days and 19 hours after the spring equinox, the Earth will reach its summer solstice, or when the most direct rays of the sun reach their northernmost latitude, called the Northern Tropic (or Tropic of Cancer). Another 93 days and six hours later, the fall or autumnal equinox will occur. Then it’s another 89 days and 19 hours to the winter solstice — when the most direct sunlight strikes the Southern Tropic (or Tropic of Capricorn) — and another 89 days to get back to the spring equinox.

    Around the World

    Groups around the world mark the date with celebrations. Easter and Passover both occur close to the equinox. In China, many people take part in a game of egg balancing to mark the time of new life. And in Iran, the date marks the Persian New Year and kicks off the festival of Nowruz, which is celebrated in several countries in the region. For practitioners of some ancient religions that worship nature, including pagans and druids, it’s an important day known as Ostara. Many people still gather at Stone Henge in the U.K. to watch the sun rise over the mysterious site. 

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  • Compensation for Bison Loss Boosted in 2018

    Compensation for Bison Loss Boosted in 2018

    USDA Boosts Compensation for Bison Losses in Livestock Indemnity Program

    No Word Yet on Request for Adjustment on 2017 Rates

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency has responded to a request filed by the National Bison Association by implementing a revised compensation level for 2018 bison claims filed under the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), with some rates more than double the previous levels.

    The National Bison Association praised the FSA’s action to adjust the 2018 rates but repeated its request to have the rates adjusted for claims filed in 2017 as well.

    We are extremely pleased that the Farm Service Agency looked at the market information and promptly adjusted the rates for bison producers. More importantly, they have developed a model that will allow for market-based adjustments in the years ahead. Now, we hope that they make the adjustments needed to provide compensation for producers suffering losses in 2017. — Dave Carter, executive director of the National Bison Association

    USDA’s LIP provides benefits to livestock producers for livestock deaths in certain conditions, including eligible adverse weather, wildfires, eligible disease and eligible predator attacks. LIP payments are supposed to equal to 75 percent of the market value of the applicable livestock on the day before the date of death of the livestock. However, the LIP published compensation rates for bison in recent years have averaged less than 30 percent of the market value of the animals. FSA agreed to re-examine its bison compensation rates last fall after the National Bison Association provided the agency with detailed information regarding current market rates.

    Under the new table published for 2018, compensation rates for bison calves less than 400 lbs. are increased to $1,223.84, from the previous level of $447.67. Yearling bison compensation rates were moved to $1,975.46 from the previous level of $951.06. And, mature cows losses are now compensated at the rate of $1,790.61, compared to $914.34 last year.

      

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  • Spring fishing is upon us… Jumbo Reservoir Opens to Boating & Annual Walleye Spawn prepares for stocked fish

    Spring fishing is upon us… Jumbo Reservoir Opens to Boating & Annual Walleye Spawn prepares for stocked fish

    Annual Walleye Spawn slated for March 19

    Colorado Parks and Wildlife will complete one of its hardest and most-rewarding tasks: the annual Walleye Spawn, on Monday, March 19th.  
    Walleye and Saugeye are Colorado’s most popular sportfish species, bringing in millions in economic growth and license sales. The Denver Walleye Spawn occurs each year at Chatfield and Cherry Creek state parks. This year it runs from March 14 through April 4.
     
    To ensure that there are enough fish to stock every year, Colorado Parks and Wildlife sets up spawn-collection sites at lakes and reservoirs across the state. Here, biologists net spawning fish and then collect roe (eggs) from the females and milt (sperm) from the males. The roe and milt are carefully combined by hand and then the fertilized eggs are transported to state fish hatcheries. CPW collects around 140 million eggs annually. Walleye, kokanee, brown trout and cutthroat trout are just a few of the species that provide eggs each year. 

     

    Jumbo Reservoir opens to boating March 16

    DENVER  —  With warm spring days upon us, Colorado Parks and Wildlife will begin offering boat inspections at Jumbo Reservoir starting on March 16. The boat inspection station will be operating from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset daily. Inspections are mandatory prior to entering the reservoir. Boating is only permitted during inspection hours and all boats must be off the water prior to the inspection station closing. 

    With Jumbo’s proximity to out-of-state waters, it is considered a high risk for introduction of aquatic invasive species such as zebra and quagga mussels. Through our mandatory inspection and decontamination program and with the continued support of the reservoirs users, we have successfully kept these invasive species out of Jumbo’s waters. —  Robert Walters, Invasive Species Specialist for Colorado Parks and Wildlife

    Based on 2017 fall sampling, anglers can expect a good walleye bite as soon as the boat ramp opens. For more information about the fishery at Jumbo Reservoir anglers can visit the Fish Survey Summary on the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website.

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  • SALIDA, CO – Grueling quest for wild rainbow trout resistant to disease

    SALIDA, CO – Grueling quest for wild rainbow trout resistant to disease

    Volunteers key in quest for disease resistant wild rainbow trout

     As snow piled up outside the Mount Ouray hatchery building late last month, inside a handful of Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff and volunteers from the Collegiate Peaks chapter of Trout Unlimited were huddled over large plastic tubs filled with rainbow trout swimming in 50-degree spring water.

    For six hours that snowy day, the heavily-bundled volunteers repeatedly reached inside the buckets with double-gloved hands, dipped out a 3-inch trout and used scissors to snip off the tiny left pelvic fin. Then they dropped the squirming fish into a concrete raceway in the hatchery and grabbed another from the bucket, stopping occasionally to warm themselves next to a propane heater.

    The snipping went on for four days until 20,000 trout had sacrificed a pelvic fin for science. The fish will be released in April into the Arkansas River downstream of Salida. When CPW biologists conduct surveys on the river, they’ll be able to identify these fish as unique and determine their rate of survival.

    CPW wants to track them because these are special rainbows. They are the spawn of wild rainbows from the Gunnison River – rainbows that have somehow resisted succumbing to the deadly outbreak of whirling disease that ravaged Colorado’s rainbow trout population after it first erupted in the 1980s.

    The effort of precisely marking 20,000 small fish was undertaken because CPW needs to know if the Gunnison River rainbows can establish themselves in the Arkansas and other rivers around the state.

    Restoring to the Arkansas and other streams a wild, naturally reproducing rainbow trout that is resistant to whirling disease would be a huge wildlife conservation victory for CPW. So snipping a pelvic fin, which does not hurt the mildly sedated fish, is an important part of this effort.  

    By 1997, Colorado’s wild rainbow trout population essentially vanished and brown trout, which are more resistant to whirling disease, took over most of the state’s major rivers. Ever since, CPW aquatic research scientists and biologists have worked to combat whirling disease and re-establish wild rainbow trout in Colorado.

    The effort included spending more than $13 million to clean up infected hatcheries and convert them to spring- and well-water rather than surface sources.

    CPW has been trying to create a wild reproducing population of rainbow trout in the Arkansas and other major Colorado Rivers for decades. There have been several obstacles in the Arkansas River including competition with brown trout, river flows and whirling disease, which is present in the river. These Gunnison River rainbows have shown resistance to the disease. This would be a big breakthrough if this project succeeds. —  Josh Nehring, senior aquatic biologist in the Southeast Region

    CPW biologists will stock the fish in a few weeks and return in October to survey the Arkansas to try to determine if and how many of the wild rainbow survived the summer.
     

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  • Researchers studying Rosy-Finches; Colorado’s birders and advid hikers can help

    Researchers studying Rosy-Finches; Colorado’s birders and advid hikers can help

    MONTROSE, CO – The Brown-capped Rosy-Finch goes by a delicate name, but it is one tough little bird that lives year around in Colorado’s high country. Because biologists don’t have much information about the bird and concern that its population might be declining, Colorado Parks and Wildlife researchers, along with other collaborators, have started a project to learn more about the species and are asking the state’s bird watchers for help in gathering information.
     
    In CPW’s State Wildlife Action Plan, the Brown-capped Rosy-Finch is identified as one of the 107 species of “greatest conservation concern” in Colorado. Based on anecdotal evidence from the annual Christmas bird counts that its numbers are down, scientists are concerned that climate change could be affecting the finch’s high-altitude habitat.
     

    2018 has been declared “the Year of the Bird” by National Geographic Society, the Audubon Society, BirdLife International and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This is also the 100th anniversary of the Migratory Bird Act Treaty, one of the most important laws ever enacted for wildlife conservation and protection. The treaty is between the U.S. and Canada. Click Here for more information.

    There are three species of Rosy-Finches ‒ Brown-capped, Gray-crowned and Black. All reside at high altitudes, but each occupies a different breeding range and has a distinct plumage. CPW researchers are specifically studying the Brown-capped Rosy-Finch, a bird almost solely endemic to Colorado.
     

    Anyone who has hiked above timber line or who lives in mountain towns has probably seen these birds. But there is relatively little known about their life history. They nest on cliff faces so it’s difficult to find and access their nests to determine how many eggs they typically lay, how their young survive and how far they travel throughout the year. — Amy Seglund, a species conservation coordinator for Colorado Parks and Wildlife in Montrose

     
    In February, Seglund and fellow CPW Conservation Coordinator Liza Rossi teamed up with staffers from the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies and Erika Zavaleta, Ph.D., from the University of California at Santa Cruz to begin the study. They are capturing all three Rosy-Finch species at feeders near Telluride, Evergreen and Gunnison. After capture, they examine the birds to determine sex, age and body condition. They also attach a small band to a leg of each of the birds.
     
    Banding has been used by avian researchers for decades to track birds’ movements. A blue or black band is being placed on the birds captured near Telluride, green bands are being placed on birds captured in Evergreen, and red bands are being placed on the birds captured in the Gunnison area.

    A researcher holds a Brown-Capped Rosy Finch. Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists have started a project to study this species. Little is known about the life history of these birds.

    Here’s how Colorado bird watchers can help with the study. With binoculars the colored bands are easy to see when birds are at feeders or close by in trees. Birders are being asked to report sightings with locations, species of Rosy-Finch, the number of birds and the band color to this email address: . Be as specific as possible regarding the locations. If you can determine which leg the colored band is on please make note of that.

    It will be extremely helpful to the study if people report sightings of banded birds. We know these birds are nomadic but we don’t know if their movements are localized or if they travel farther across the landscape. Getting an idea about their movements is very important to the study. By reporting sightings, bird watchers will contribute significantly to our understanding of the Rosy-Finch.— Seglund explained

     
    The researchers will continue capturing birds throughout the winter. When the finches move to higher altitudes this spring and summer, CPW researchers will fan out across the tundra to try to find birds in their expected habitat. This survey work is known as an occupancy study and will help scientists determine how well-distributed the birds are in Colorado. The surveys will also provide density estimates which allow researchers to evaluate long-term population trends.
     
    The Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, based on Colorado’s Front Range, is a conservation, education and research organization that aides agencies, private landowners and scientists with a wide variety of bird studies throughout the West. Zavaleta is focusing on the Brown-capped Rosy-Finch, but is also interested in the other two species.
     
    For more information about Colorado’s Wildlife Action Plan and bird species, go to CPW’s web site at http://cpw.state.co.us/.

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  • COLORADO FREEBIES: MARCH 2018

    COLORADO FREEBIES: MARCH 2018

     

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