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A chunk of a controversial barbed-wire fence around some 1,400 acres on the San Juan National Forest north of Mancos was taken down Thursday afternoon.
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Farmers, landowners and local government agencies will come together on Wednesday in Towaoc for the latest listening session on a plan to protect and manage the Mancos River. The group behind the plan is made up of municipalities and organizations that lie along the river, like Mesa Verde National Park, the Mancos Conservation District and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, that have voluntarily joined together to coordinate on management. The listening session is intended for tribal members and ag producers who rely on the river to give feedback on a new watershed stream management plan. It’ll serve as a guide for communities to better use and conserve water resources, and could include voluntary or compensated changes to irrigation rules during drier years. More outreach sessions will take place starting this spring and summer for feedback on the first draft. And the Bureau of Land Management says it plans to remove roughly 91 wild burros from rangelands near Canyonlands National Park.
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A Mancos resident is investigating the Indigenous history of the Dolores River in southwest Colorado. Amorina Lee-Martinez completed her PhD on water management around the Dolores River at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She’ll be speaking at the Dolores Public Library on Thursday. The talk will cover the history of Indigenous peoples in the Four Corners, and then turn to the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and the origins of McPhee Reservoir. Lee-Martinez says the reservoir is a rare example of a tribal community negotiating for and successfully receiving at least part of their share of water rights in the Colorado River basin. The discussion is open to the public, and will start at 6 p.m.
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A collective of bike enthusiasts in rural Montezuma County, Colorado wants to open up outdoors spaces to more folks in the LGBTQ+ community. They see it as a good alternative to more well established queer gathering places like bars and clubs.
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Since 2017, a Mancos resident named Rosa Sabido has been facing the threat of deportation by Immigration Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Sabido – who is originally from Mexico – says she’s lived in the United States since she was 23 years old, but has had to seek sanctuary at a local church while she works to remain in her community. And a bipartisan bill to expand Coloradans’ access to prosthetic devices moved forward at the State Capitol Tuesday.
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This summer, Mesa Verde National Park will embark on a mission to bolster the health and resilience of the Mancos River. The park will start implementing restoration efforts in the stretch of the river south of the Mancos Valley. And a bill that would expand child labor protections cleared its vote in the state House of Representatives Friday.
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In Mancos, a new program is giving students the opportunity to explore entrepreneurial endeavors while earning college credit. The Mancos Career Pathways program is led by Todd Cordrey, superintendent of the Mancos School District, and Jason Armstrong, the town’s community and economic development coordinator and local champion for the program. And a bill advancing at the State Capitol to limit the price of Epinephrine auto-injectors, or EpiPens, passed a preliminary vote in the House Tuesday.
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A new report by Todd Cordrey, superintendent of the Mancos School District, shows that there are major issues with teacher retention and recruitment in Mancos. And bills dealing with gun waiting periods, controlled substances and school discipline are getting their first hearings Monday.
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The Montezuma County Board of Commissioners held a public workshop on Monday to discuss plowing and maintenance at Chicken Creek near Mancos. And legislation to create a task force for high-altitude water storage was put on hold Monday afternoon during the state legislature’s Agriculture, Water and Natural Resources Committee hearing.
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The Mancos Common Press, in collaboration with the town of Mancos, plans to build housing units to help fight the town’s affordable housing crisis.