Colorado’s gray wolves expanded their range in northern Colorado in April, traveling further into watersheds in Moffat, Routt and Larimer counties, state wildlife officials reported Wednesday. Collars on two of the 10 wolves released by Colorado Parks and Wildlife in December stopped working, but those two wolves are still alive and traveling with other wolves with functioning collars, state officials said in a news release Wednesday. One of the collared wolves was found dead in Larimer County last week from apparent natural causes. A map released by Colorado Parks and Wildlife shows coll ..read more

Colorado has led the nation on regulating methane emissions and now companies in the state are major contributors to a new satellite expected to be an important tool in identifying and quantifying the emissions globally. Space & Mission Systems, formerly Ball Aerospace, built the instrument that will identify and measure methane, a prime contributor to the heat-trapping emissions that are driving climate change. The company, acquired earlier this year by British-based BAE Systems, tested the instrument, integrated it with the spacecraft and is commissioning the spectrometer as it orbits Ea ..read more

Utilities that provide drinking water to nearly 268,000 Coloradans will need tens of millions of dollars over the next five years to comply with new federal limits on harmful “forever chemicals,” but finding the money will be a challenge — especially for small, rural systems. The 27 water systems identified by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment as exceeding the new standards range in size from Thornton, which serves about 155,000 customers, to Dawn of Hope Ranch, a religious retreat in Teller County that serves 55 people. Some of the larger utilities on the state’s l ..read more

Wolves killed several yearling cattle in north-central Colorado this week, bringing the total number of wolf kills of livestock this month to six. Colorado Parks and Wildlife on Thursday confirmed that wolves killed three yearlings on a Grand County ranch between Monday night and Tuesday morning. The carcasses were discovered Wednesday, agency spokesman Travis Duncan said in an email. On Thursday, wildlife officials investigated a fourth yearling killed on the same property and determined the animal was killed by a wolf. The wolves in the area at the time of the attacks were among the 10 wolve ..read more

It’s the time of year when homeowners are ready to start fixing up their yards, and Colorado residents who want to pour less pollution into the air have new opportunities to receive discounts on electric and battery-powered equipment. Colorado residents this year can receive a 30% discount on electric lawnmowers, leaf blowers, weed trimmers and other equipment through a state rebate program that runs through 2026 at participating retailers. And beginning Saturday, residents in 13 zip codes in Adams and Denver counties can receive a separate $300 voucher for an electric lawnmower when they trad ..read more

Twenty-nine of the more than 2,000 water treatment facilities in Colorado do not meet strict new federal limits on the amount of dangerous “forever chemicals” in their drinking water supplies and it will cost millions to clean those toxins out of the water. The public water systems that do not meet new standards of 4 parts per trillion for the chemicals, which generally are referred to as PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, include the cities of Brighton, Thornton and Keenesburg, as well as water districts in Boulder, Douglas and Jefferson counties, according to a status re ..read more

One of the world’s most intriguing dinosaur trackways, located in Ouray, is now part of the public domain. This week, the U.S. Forest Service bought three mining claims in the San Juan Mountains, totaling about 27 acres, where a sauropod trackway was excavated in recent years. The agency paid $135,000 for the land, known as the West Gold Hill Dinosaur Tracksite, using money from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. Sauropods were herbivorous dinosaurs with long-necks like Brontosaurus, for example. Or Little For from “Land Before Time.” Pictured here is an exhibit at the American ..read more

The Biden administration on Wednesday finalized strict limits on certain so-called “forever chemicals” in drinking water that will require utilities to reduce them to the lowest level they can be reliably measured. Officials say this will reduce exposure for 100 million people and help prevent thousands of illnesses, including cancers. The rule is the first national drinking water limit on toxic PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are widespread and long-lasting in the environment. Health advocates praised the Environmental Protection Agency for not backing away from ..read more

Colorado’s first Buc-ee’s is nothing short of a phenomenon. On March 18, the Texas-born travel center opened one of its largest locations in the nation in Johnstown with a 74,000-square-foot convenience store, 116 gas pumps, and enough beaver nuggets to feed the entire Rocky Mountain region. Hundreds of fans attended its grand opening, some coming from other states just to bask in the red and yellow “aura,” as one fan put it, of mascot Buc-ee beaver. Even in the weeks after, cars full of visitors backed up from the gas station to the highway exit ramp, which sits in a mostly rural section of C ..read more

A wolf killed a calf over the weekend in Jackson County, the second time in less than a week that the death of livestock in Colorado has been attributed to a wolf, wildlife officials confirmed Monday. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials on Sunday morning responded to a report of possible depredation of a calf after the animal was found dead with a partially consumed hindquarter. In a news release Monday, CPW said that type of injury is consistent with wolf depredation and partial wolf tracks were found in the area. The agency said it knows of four wolves in the area where the calf was found ..read more