The agricultural extension service in Colorado (1887–present) links individuals, organizations, and communities with research experts to address agrarian issues. These issues encompass rural problems associated with farming and ranching, as well as urban…

Beneath the glacier-carved peaks and valleys of Rocky Mountain National Park, below the alpine lakes and rushing streams, a concrete-lined tunnel belies the illusion of a pristine wilderness. In 1944, the two ends of the Alva B. Adams Tunnel were…

The brilliant foliage of the quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) provides some of the most iconic and striking scenery in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. These altitude-loving deciduous trees grow up to fifty feet tall, and their leaves turn a vibrant gold,…

The United States Reclamation Service, later renamed the Bureau of Reclamation, was created in 1902 to advance settlement of the West through construction of large dams, reservoirs, canals, and other projects. Since then, the service has played an…

Carter Lake is a reservoir located in the foothills northwest of Berthoud and southwest of Loveland. Created by three dams, it is approximately three miles long, with twelve miles of shoreline, a maximum depth of 180 feet, and a capacity of 112,228 acre…

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a New Deal program aimed at reducing unemployment among young men by giving them steady work improving the nation’s landscape, public lands, and infrastructure. When it was implemented in 1933, the CCC was the…

Colorado, home to the headwaters of the Colorado River, the Arkansas River, the Rio Grande, and the South Platte River, offers a diverse palette of fisheries to the angler and nature enthusiast. The most iconic of these fishing opportunities are those…

In Colorado, water is a valuable and limited resource, and competition is only becoming more of a challenge. That’s why the Colorado Foundation for Water Education (CFWE), a non-advocacy nonprofit organization, works statewide to promote increased…

The Earth beneath the rugged mountains and serene plains of Colorado records an ancient saga. Broad tropical seas teemed with life, while reptiles roamed on shore. Continents converged and collided, building massive mountains, only to be torn apart by…

The Colorado Mountain Club (CMC) has been a potent force in shaping environmentalism in Colorado. Its members developed an intimate relationship with nature through the CMC’s conservation work and recreational activities. The CMC’s appreciation of…

The Colorado is the premier river of the American Southwest. Rising in the mountains of Colorado and Wyoming, this river and its tributaries provide water and hydroelectric power for nearly 35 million people in the United States and Mexico, as well as…

The Colorado River Water Conservation District, generally known as “The River District,” is a public agency dedicated to protecting and developing Colorado’s share of the Colorado River.
 
 Origins and Establishment
 
 The River District…

The Colorado Water Institute (CWI), an affiliate of Colorado State University (CSU) since 1965, exists for the express purpose of focusing the expertise of higher education on evolving water concerns and problems in the Centennial State.
 
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The Colorado–Big Thompson Project (C–BT) is the largest transmountain water diversion in the state of Colorado. Built between 1938 and 1956, the C–BT Project provides supplemental water for municipal, industrial, and irrigation purposes in…

The term New Energy Economy refers to the transition of a state’s energy economy from one based purely on fossil fuels to one that includes a higher percentage of renewable energy sources. State-level energy policies have been the primary force moving…

Colorado’s “Second Fur Trade” was typified by the burgeoning popularity of mink fur coats, a luxury item that enjoyed great popularity during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. As one of Colorado’s leading productive industries for several decades, mink…

From the tall, straight lodgepole pines in the high Rockies to the short, gnarled piñons that guard the state’s canyons and grasslands, coniferous trees dominate Colorado’s natural environments and hold together important ecosystems. Commonly referred to…

One of the most ecologically and culturally significant trees in Colorado, the plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides monilifera) thrives near rivers and riparian areas throughout the state. It is one of the only tree species to grow on Colorado’s Great…

Culturally Modified Trees (or CMTs) are trees that exhibit peels, ax cuts, delimbing, wood removal, and other cultural modifications. Numerous CMTs are found in the foothills and mountains of Colorado. Research has shown that these trees are artifacts…

Like most places in the arid American West, Denver could not possibly sustain itself without water from irrigation systems. While easy to overlook, disputes over water rights began with the onset of irrigation and persist to the present day. Today,…

The controversy over the proposed Echo Park dam in the mid-1950s was a crucial episode in the conservation history of Colorado and the West and proved to be a milestone in American environmental history. Following years of debate, the US Congress decided…

Snow in the high country sometimes accumulates faster than it melts, leading to the formation and continuation of glaciers. Colorado is home to seven glacial regions that reside mainly in central and northern Colorado. Each area sustains unique…

The story of irrigation in Colorado’s Grand Valley speaks volumes about the reciprocal relationship between land and community in the arid American West. Early white colonizers of Colorado’s Western Slope espoused concepts of landscape and water control…

The Great Western Sugar Company was co-founded by Charles Boettcher in 1900 after he observed the hardy, profitable sugar beet crop while vacationing in Europe. In Colorado, the sugar beet industry he helped launch proved a boon to the state and local…

The Gunnison River is a major tributary of the Colorado River, contributing about one-third of the Colorado’s flow at the Colorado-Utah state line. The basin drained by the Gunnison stretches from alpine meadows and forests along the Continental Divide…

Horsetooth Reservoir is located in the foothills just west of Fort Collins. The Bureau of Reclamation began construction of the reservoir in 1946 as part of the larger Colorado–Big Thompson Project, which provided additional irrigation water for the…

The tension between aridity and irrigated agriculture has been a defining characteristic of Colorado for much of its modern history. On average, the state receives less than fifteen inches of annual precipitation, making it the seventh driest state in…

The ideologies of conservation and preservation have profoundly shaped Colorado’s physical landscapes and continue to shape Coloradans’ attitudes toward nature. Agencies such as Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) and the United States Forest Service (USFS…

Lewis B. France (1833–1907) was a nationally renowned nature writer in the late 1800s and early 1900s, best known for his works on fly-fishing. France represented an emerging trend in the American West—the melding of natural resource utilization, tourism…

Forests across Colorado's Rocky Mountains look very different today than they did twenty years ago: millions of trees have been killed by mountain pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosae). The mountain pine beetle is a native insect that is roughly the…

From the 1850s to the 1920s, gold and silver mining drove Colorado’s economy, making it into an urbanized, industrial state. The rapid development of Colorado’s mineral resources had political, social, and environmental consequences. The mining of gold…

Sagebrush (genus Artemisia) is one of the most common and recognizable plants on Colorado’s Western Slope and arid Great Plains. A woody, fragrant, faded-green bush, sagebrush is ubiquitous throughout drier parts of the American West, covering some 106…

The San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council (SLVEC) helps to safeguard over 3.1 million acres of public lands and natural resources in the six counties comprising the San Luis Valley, noted for their unchanged landscapes, biological richness, early settlement…

Colorado’s ski industry anchors the state’s thriving tourist economy. Built primarily on national forest lands, the state’s numerous ski resorts attract upwards of 12 million visitors annually, generating billions in revenue. Introduced to the state in…

Colorado is known for its snow, which sustains the ski industry and supplies much of the water that flows into major rivers of the American West. Snow falls in the winter in all parts of Colorado, and the deepest snowpacks are in the high mountains…

Uranium mining in Colorado dates to the late nineteenth century, when uranium resources were discovered in the southwestern part of the state. The region’s Uravan Mineral Belt is rich in carnotite, the ore that produces uranium and vanadium. Both…

Colorado enjoys a proud public lands heritage and a prominent place in US Forest Service (USFS) history. The state hosts many of the first forests reserved under federal law, which today are some of the most popular destinations within the national…

Water has profoundly shaped Colorado’s past and will play a vital role in its future. The resource is essential to the state’s agriculture, cities, industries, energy supply, and environment. Furthermore, eighteen other states and parts of Mexico rely on…

Known collectively as “The Colorado Doctrine,” the state’s water laws arose primarily from the practice of farmers diverting water from streams through ditches onto irrigable land to grow food for homesteading families, miners, and growing towns. …

Wetlands are ecosystems that are at least periodically saturated or inundated by water, creating unique habitats that support a wide variety of plant and animal species. Colorado wetlands include a diverse range of ecosystem types, each with distinctive…

Coloradans have coevolved with fire. From early indigenous people to Euro-American colonizers, to modern government agents, humans have influenced the direction of fire as much as fire has influenced the course of people. The fire-adapted landscapes we…