News

• Mountain Village Addresses Wildfire with Forest Management
• Cat Movie Fisher with Risho Unda
• Telluride Yoga Festival Brings Longevity and Service

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Mountain Village Addresses Wildfire with Forest Management

Wildfire is top of mind this summer, and Mountain Village is working to mitigate impacts through its forestry program.

“2025 was a very active season for Mountain Village forestry,” said Mountain Village Forester Rodney Walters, during an update at a recent Mountain Village Town Council meeting.

“We initiated 42 forestry, hazard, tree mitigation and defensive space projects and finished 38 of those projects,” he said.

Mountain Village received grant funding to support mitigation work on the hillside toward the Valley Floor.

“It includes the removal of all standing dead and down fuels, and selective thinning to reduce competition and stress on trees,” Walters said. “This produces a shaded fuel break area that reduces fuel density, but retains a forest that is more resilient to spruce budworm and competition stress. This reduce stress decreases tree morality rates and produces a more resilient and aesthetically pleasing forest that is designed to reduce the intensity of a crown fire and slow the rate of an advancement of a fire.”

During this work, Mountain Village flew out trees to the Valley Floor to support habitat and river restoration. It also conducted prescribed burns. According to Walters, the town burned 485 piles this winter and plans to build roughly 500 more piles to burn.

There was defensive space work, especially around Village Court Apartments, to remove hazard trees and brush within 10 feet of buildings.

The forestry department also distributed more than 2,000 pheromone packets to help protect vulnerable trees from bark beetles. The packets were concentrated on the north side of Mountain Village, from Granite Ridge to Lawson Overlook.

The department also created a demonstration forest — a roughly 3.5-acre parcel on Adams Ranch Road — to showcase what a healthy forest area should look like.

“This work included thinning of large trees, removal of ladder fuels — which include conifer saplings, immature trees, dead trees that are leaning against live trees,” Walters said. “This is a great area where residents can go and take a look and see what a well-maintained forest area looks like.”

There is also an aspen sapling protection area along Mountain Village Boulevard to help keep the forest alive.

“The elk just absolutely love this hilltop, and they’re browsing down all the new aspen sapling regeneration,” Walters said. “The overmature trees in that area are declining and they’re dying out. So, we’re trying to protect the saplings to encourage regeneration and keep this area as an aspen forest.”

With a full year of work completed in 2025 and more scheduled this year, Town Council members shared their support and appreciation for Walters and his team — with one question: How can Mountain Village do more?

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Cat Movie Fisher with Risho Unda

It’s time for another installment of Cat Movie Fisher with Risho Unda.

This week, Unda is stepping away from the silver screen and into the climbing gym, where he’s chatting with high school student and fellow climber Hannah Jurecki.

Story begins at 3:40.

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Telluride Yoga Festival Brings Longevity and Service

Snow may be covering the ground, but the Telluride Yoga Festival is bringing the sun salutations.

“It’s four days of wellness, and yoga, and so much more than just asana practices,” said Erika Henschel, co-owner, producer and director of the festival.

“We offer everything from wisdom talks to sound healings to fireside chats,” Henschel said. “It really is a gathering of likeminded people who want to get into the mountains and have an opportunity to gather in community.”

The theme for this year is “Thriving Together: Longevity, Purpose, and Seva” – the art of giving back and serving others.

Henschel said those themes will serve as an undercurrent throughout the weekend’s workshops.

Now in its 18th year, the festival continues to evolve, bringing in new practices and opportunities for connection, she said.

Workshops include “Yoga – Aging: Perimenopause & the Art of Transitions,” “Rise Together: Breath-Led Warrior Practice,” aerial yoga, and “Sacred Sauna + Cold Therapy: The Science of Feeling Alive.”

With more than 1,000 yogis planning to attend, Henschel said there is something for everyone.

“Our hope is really for people to get out of the weekend what they’re seeking,” she said. “A lot of people who are called to the yoga festival are in transition, or they look forward to spending time with good friends or family members. Everybody’s ‘why’ can be different, and that’s what’s special about the yoga festival. We’ve got 50+ teachers you can choose from, so you can choose a lot of different tracks.”

The festival will also include a number of free events for the community, including open and closing ceremonies with Leslie and Jeff Jones, focusing on “Air: The Breath that Connects Us” and “Water: Flowing Toward Healing & Care.”

“They’re the founders of afro-flow yoga,” Henschel said. “They’re coming with a ton of instruments and it should be really magical.”

Additional free offerings include yoga in Elks Park, nightly music and fireside chats.

For Henschel, the festival is about connection and renewal.

“At the heart of it, it’s community,” she said. “It’s connecting with nature. It’s connecting with self. It’s connecting with a greater power outside of yourself, and just an opportunity to get out of their normal groove and hit the reset button if they need to.”

The Telluride Yoga Festival is scheduled for June 25-28. The full lineup and passes are available at tellurideyogafestival.com.

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Spring Cleanup in San Miguel County

It’s time to say goodbye to broken televisions, unused computers and outdated electronics as EcoAction Partners and San Miguel County host spring cleanup and recycling events across the region.

Electronic recycling will take place in Telluride, Mountain Village and Norwood.

Recyclable items include cellphones, wires, batteries, TVs, projectors, printers, copy machines and microwaves.

In Telluride, recycling will be held May 15-16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Carhenge Parking Lot. Individuals can drop off electronic waste, household waste, used gear, household hazardous waste and plastic waste.

In Mountain Village, electronic waste recycling is scheduled for May 15 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Bridge to the Market Plaza Parking Lot.

In Norwood, recycling will take place May 16 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the San Miguel County Fairgrounds, where residents can drop off household waste, green waste, metal, electronic waste and shredded paper.

The Telluride Mountain Club will also collect used outdoor gear at the Carhenge parking lot May 15-16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The gear will be redistributed to the community at the Community Fiesta in Town Park later this summer.

Separately, the Town of Mountain Village will host its annual Community Clean Up Day to help maintain the natural environment.

The event will expand to two days this year: May 13 at Village Court Apartments and May 14 in the Meadows neighborhood. The entire community is invited to participate in one or both events.

Registration begins at 2:30 p.m., with cleanup scheduled from 3 to 5 p.m. both days. The town will provide gloves and bags.

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DOE keeps Craig Coal Plant Running Despite Planned Retirement

The U.S. Department of Energy is keeping an aging coal-fired power plant in northwest Colorado online, even though it was set to shut down last year.

Officials said the decision stems from rising electricity demand and concerns about grid reliability.

Craig Station Unit 1, owned by Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and the Platte River Power Authority, had been slated for retirement for more than a decade due to Colorado’s clean energy regulations and increasing coal costs.

The Department of Energy has previously used Section 202 C of the Federal Power Act to issue emergency orders during natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods, but it is now applying the authority to Craig Unit 1.

Attorneys representing the state of Colorado, Platte River Power Authority and Tri-State Generation argue there is no emergency in the Mountain West that would justify keeping the plant online.

Michael Lenoff, senior attorney in Earthjustice’s clean energy program, said coal is no longer economically competitive in today’s energy market.

“It’s expensive. And so coal plant owners have decided to retire those plants. And this Trump administration and its Department of Energy doesn’t like that and is using a variety of tools at its disposal, including Section 202 C unlawfully in order to advance its policy preferences,” Lenoff said.

The Trump administration’s Department of Energy has issued similar emergency orders to coal plants in Michigan, Indiana and Washington state.

Earthjustice said operators in Michigan have spent $135 million to keep an aging plant running and that similar costs in Colorado could ultimately be passed on to ratepayers.

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Denver Pitches Bid to Host 2028 Democratic National Convention

Denver is making its case to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention as a party delegation visits the city this week.

During the three-day showcase, city leaders plan to highlight hotels, restaurants and major venues, including the Colorado Convention Center and Ball Arena. Officials also intend to showcase Denver’s transportation and broader infrastructure.

Denver is one of five finalist cities under consideration for the 2028 convention. Atlanta, Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia are also in the running.

Democrats are expected to select the host city early next year.

If chosen, Denver would host tens of thousands of visitors for the national political convention.

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Lawmakers Seek Compromise with New AI Bill

Another year at the Colorado capitol, and as Bente Birland reports for the Colorado Capitol News Alliance, another AI bill to try to find a compromise on the state AI law set to go into effect.

Colorado’s law is meant to prevent discrimination in AI systems. It targets AI used to make consequential decisions about people’s lives, from bank loans to college admissions to hiring. The law takes effect in June and is already facing a lawsuit from Elon Musk’s AI company.

A new bill seeks to find a compromise on how it would be enforced and implemented. The issue has divided tech companies and AI developers against some business and companies that use AI systems, along with consumer rights advocates.

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The Stability and Stress of Employee Housing

Affordable housing is difficult to find across the Mountain West, particularly in resort communities. As a result, many areas offer some form of employee housing, where workers live in accommodations provided by their employer.

In Jackson Hole, a local ski resort, along with the school district and hospital, have recently opened or are building multifamily housing projects.

But workers who move in know there is a catch: if they lose their job, they can also lose their housing.

For Rocky Mountain Community Radio, KHOL’s Evan Robinson Johnson spent time with workers living under a roof owned by their boss.

Story beings at 15:20.