public lands

Post-fire specialists are assessing soil damage, debris flows and watershed risks after the Ferris Fire, as parts of the burned landscape begin to recover.

The Interior Department defended reductions to Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante after a survey found most Utah voters favor restoring protections.

The Bureau of Land Management says few immediate changes will be visible as the agency begins developing a replacement management plan.

Ferris Fire officials say crews are shifting from active suppression to mop-up and suppression repair. Forest Service and BLM closures remain in place, and officials warn burned areas will have new hazards when they reopen.

President Trump is expected to reduce Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. Conservation groups are preparing legal challenges, while Dolores County has reduced some Ferris Fire evacuation levels.

The Montelores Coalition’s first Strike Team projects will support cleanup at Hawkins Preserve, Mancos River restoration and derelict fence removal near Rico.

Republican Jeff Hurd and Democrats Alex Kelloff and Dwayne Romero weigh in on some of the big environmental issues in Western and Southern Colorado.

The Colorado River Wildfire Collaborative hired a program manager to raise funds for mitigation work between Glenwood Springs and De Beque. That region is one of the most fire-prone in the state, and has lacked the resources to address the risk.

It's not clear yet how the money would be distributed among several states in a river basin where political fights and an impasse over how to share water long term have persisted even during historic drought.

The San Juan Mountains Association will host a guided wildflower walk at Canyons of the Ancients National Monument on May 16, highlighting native plants and the high desert ecosystem.