News

• Beaver Business in Mountain Village
• Cat Movie Fisher with Risho Unda
• Listening Club Lingers on 69 Love Songs

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Beaver Business in Mountain Village

Big buck teeth for chomping, a paddle-flat tail for slapping — beavers are a keystone species in the environment due to their ability to shape freshwater habitat.

But their impressive engineering can also be a challenge for humans.

This week, the Mountain Village Town Council got an update on how to best live among the beavers with a Beaver Coexistence Work Plan.

“There’re action items that could happen today, that help today, but what I’m advocating is that it’s in your best interest to establish a long-term management plan, that you’re crosschecking when you make a decision on spending money to put a pond lever in at one location this year and another location next year,” said Rory Cowie with Alpine Water Resources, a Silverton-based consulting group that supports governments and organizations with water resource needs. “You’re actually going with a document that gives standard guidance.”

“So, you’re not making decisions on one location this year and another location next year depending on the interest of the adjacent property owners. It’s a uniform thing,” Cowie said.

A management plan is just one piece of Cowie’s recommendations when it comes to better coexistence with beavers in Mountain Village. He also suggests education and outreach with the community, wildlife cameras, signage on beavers and history of the wetlands, culvert fences, and pond levelers.

He notes a plan will help when it comes to things like adding pond levelers — tools that help keep the water level in a pond consistent if there’s a beaver dam. A management plan could help identify an ideal water level.

“If an activity of beavers is changing that water level above a certain elevation, that enacts step two, which is a mitigation procedure — such as a pond leveler — so therefore you have direct guidance of what you’re doing with the pond leveler. You’re trying to maintain x water elevation because this elevation doesn’t affect infrastructure,” Cowie said.

It could also help with deciding which trees get beaver fencing around them.

“Our management tree says any tree of value on public property — that provides shade — has the right to a fence around it. Then you wrap the trees and there’s no discussion around which tree do we wrap? If it’s in your plan that’s how you address your open space management in that respect,” Cowie said.

Of course, developing a full management plan could take time, so Cowie notes there are some actions that can take place before a plan is fully implemented.

“I know that wrapping trees to protect them from beavers was a community issue. Let’s hit the ground now. There’s no reason to wait for the next tree to be chewed down,” he said.

There’s also space for signage along the Meadows Trail.

“Around the wetlands. So, it would provide history on what they used to be — so that context of where we were and how we got here. As well as beavers in general, their habitat, why they’re a keystone species, what their family make up is,” said Lauren Kirn, sustainability and grant projects manager at the Town of Mountain Village.

Cowie also suggests a beaver camera. Kirn said they could have a livestream that showcases the full wetlands area and animals interacting in the environment.

“Another idea is to have an underwater camera so it can show the beaver activity at the dams. We think that would bolster the interest in beavers and appreciation for what they’re doing,” she said.

Mountain Village plans to hit the ground running this May with several beaver-themed events, including tree wrapping and wetlands education.

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Cat Movie Fisher with Risho Unda

In Cat Movie Fisher, Telluride High School’s Risho Unda chats with members of the community about what they’re watching and reading. But this week, Unda’s in the hot seat.

Story begins at 4:15.

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Listening Club Lingers on 69 Love Songs

This Monday, the Wilkinson Public Library hosts its monthly Listening Club. It’s like a book club — but for albums.

Laura Colbert will lead the April club with her work of choice: The Magnetic Fields’ 1999 album 69 Love Songs.

The April Listening Club on 69 Love Songs on Monday, April 28, at 6 p.m. at the Telluride Music Company. More information is available at telluridelibrary.org.

Story begins at 7:50.

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West End Vision Project Invites Community Input on Regional Future

What should the future of the West End look like?

That’s the question at the center of the West End Vision Project. For the past six months, the project has connected with more than 600 West End residents to share, discuss and brainstorm where the region should go.

Now, the project is entering a new phase: creating a shared, community-led vision and goals for the future.

Next week, the project will host a “Let’s Taco ‘Bout the Future” event for the community to discuss what should be preserved, what can be improved in the region, and how to work together to make it happen.

The event will take place Wednesday, April 30, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Nucla Community Center. There will be a free taco bar, drinks and kid-friendly activities. Everyone in the West End region of Montrose and San Miguel counties is invited.

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Gray wolf found dead in Rocky Mountain National Park

Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists, along with the National Park Service, have confirmed the death of a female gray wolf last weekend in Rocky Mountain National Park.

As gray wolves are a federally listed species under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is conducting an investigation into the death — including a necropsy. The final cause of death will not be released until the investigation is concluded.

The wolf was part of the group of wolves relocated to Colorado from British Columbia.

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Trump Administration Pushes to Cut Public Media Funding

Last week, the White House revealed plans to ask Congress to rescind already-allocated funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

Sixteen of 20 Rocky Mountain Community Radio stations receive federal funding in some form. KOTO receives about 30% of its budget from CPB through a Community Service Grant.

In addition to national news, public radio provides local voices, DJ communities, and, in emergencies, a critical lifeline—especially in remote areas with limited news sources and unreliable cell service.

“That’s why public radio is so important,” said Breeze Richardson, board chair of Rocky Mountain Community Radio. Richardson is also the executive director of Aspen Public Radio, where CPB funding accounts for about 10% of the station’s budget.

“When power is out, when cell service is down, it’s FM radio that’s gonna keep this community safe. And all politics aside, that’s why there has been bipartisan support for public broadcasting since its inception,” Richardson added.

Congress is expected to decide whether to rescind or keep the funding within 50 days.

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Polis Vetoes Social Media Regulation Bill

Gov. Jared Polis has vetoed a bill aimed at regulating social media sites, potentially setting the stage for a showdown with the legislature if lawmakers attempt to override the decision.

The Colorado Capitol News Alliance’s Bente Birkeland has more.

Story begins at 15:30.

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Cloud Seeding Seen as Potential Solution for Drought in the West

The drought-stricken West is in desperate need of every drop of water it can get. With mountain snow being the single largest source of water for the Colorado River, experts say humans have the technology to increase snowfall.

KUNC’s Alex Hager recently visited the nation’s largest cloud seeding program to explore how it works and why some are calling for it to be used more frequently.

Story begins at 16:22.