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KSJD Newscast - December 31st, 2015

  • The U.S. Forest Service has changed a proposed rule designed to protect water for ski areas.
  • Biologists with Colorado Parks and Wildlife are pleading with citizens not to feed big-game animals despite the cold and snow.

The U.S. Forest Service has changed a proposed rule designed to protect water for ski areas. Four years ago, the agency proposed a revised rule it said would make sure water rights that support ski areas couldn’t be transferred to developers downstream. Critics charged it was a water grab and a federal overreach. Now, the Salt Lake Tribune reports that ski-industry representatives are pleased with a final directive posted Wednesday on the Federal Register. It gives up the idea of a water-rights transfer to the federal government and puts the onus on ski areas to show they have an adequate long-term water supply. However, Colorado Congressman Scott Tipton remains skeptical. In a release, he said while the latest version is improved, it still places “unnecessary restrictions” on private water-rights holders.

Biologists with Colorado Parks and Wildlife are pleading with citizens not to feed big-game animals despite the cold and snow. In a release, the agency says every winter, wildlife officers see signs of people feeding animals. But the digestive systems of deer, elk, moose, and bighorn sheep are not adapted to items such as hay, corn, grains, and alfalfa. When they eat an unnatural diet, it can cause a reaction that dehydrates and may kill them. Feeding wildlife is also illegal. Anyone who suspects that big-game animals are being fed should call the nearest CPW office.

Gail Binkly is a career journalist who has worked for the Colorado Springs Gazette and Cortez Journal, and was the editor of the Four Corners Free Press, based in Cortez.
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