Stephanie Maltarich

For community college students who study science, opportunities for fieldwork are rare. But one program in Boulder is trying to change this. Each summer, about a dozen students pair with mentors for a nine-week immersive experience studying science in all its forms. We hear about one of these students, who spent her summer catching and counting grasshoppers.

Following the pandemic, students from the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado, Boulder, venture out of the lab and classroom.

Laser technology is being used to more accurately measure mountain snowpack — crucial information for farmers and water managers in drought-stricken areas like the Colorado River Basin.

Water supply is regularly interrupted for residents in a Gunnison mobile home park. After years of bringing attention to the issue, they still haven’t seen solutions. At the same time, several members of the community have been working on a state-wide plan to bring more attention to water equity issues.

In the Upper Gunnison River Basin, the majority of water that melts from mountains is used for agriculture. Fields are irrigated for pasture and hay to feed cattle on nearly 100 ranches in the region. A centuries-old system determines who gets their water first and who gets it last.

Blue Mesa Reservoir once resembled a deep and healthy lake. But a 22-year drought - coupled with obligations to release water to downstream users - has left the reservoir almost 60 feet below the normal high watermark. Experts say it will take a lot more than one snowy winter to refill the reservoir.

In the second segment in the Headwaters reporting series, Stephanie Maltarich covers the continued progress being made to clean up the legacy of mining and water quality around Crested Butte, Colorado.

Over 150 scientists will research snow and water for two years near Crested Butte, Colorado. The project tracking weather patterns from ‘atmosphere to bedrock’ is the first of its kind.

As mines close, they leave behind a troubling legacy: leaking methane. Methane is a greenhouse gas, about 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide. In November, over 100 countries committed to taking the problem more seriously, pledging to cut methane emissions 30 percent by 2030. North Fork Valley entrepreneur Chris Caskey is already a step ahead, using his business, Delta Brick and Climate Company, to address methane emissions while tackling other environmental problems. For Rocky Mountain Community Radio’s series on fossil fuel transition, KVNF’s Stephanie Maltarich reports.

When the town of Crested Butte declared a housing emergency last summer, it opened the door to new and unique solutions. The first action item on the list was to purchase a local bed and breakfast that was then converted to housing for seasonal workers. Converting hotels to create housing isn’t new, but it’s a trend that’s growing in rural mountain communities. Stephanie Maltarich reports for KBUT in Crested Butte.