Bug buzz: Colorado lawmakers move to study insects and rare plant populations

Coloradans venturing into the backcountry in spring and summer might find themselves complaining of tick bites, mosquito swarms and other creepy crawlers, but some say there’s something more terrifying than a spider in a sleeping bag: a future without enough insects. 

Studies conducted across the globe and in Colorado show there have been declines in the populations of invertebrates, which play vital roles in the food chain, pollination and the decomposition cycle. That’s why a bipartisan group of Colorado lawmakers are proposing legislation that would allow the state to begin tracking insect populations. 

“These ecosystems that these invertebrates provide for are experiencing pressures and loss of biodiversity driven by climate change and habitat loss and other invasive species,” said Rep. Karen McCormick, D-Longmont, a prime sponsor of the bill. “We don’t have adequate data to know what’s happening in our state.”

House Bill 1117 — also sponsored by Rep. Matt Soper, a Delta Republican and Sen. Janie Marchman, a Loveland Democrat — was approved by the House on third and final reading Monday. Next, it will be considered by the state Senate. 

If approved, it would allow Colorado Parks and Wildlife to study and determine the conservation needs of invertebrates and native plants at risk of extinction in the state. They would also develop voluntary programs to help protect those species.  

Soper believes the bill could also help prevent unnecessary requirements from the federal government, which at times has created policies for a species it believes is endangered based on incomplete data, he said on the House floor. 

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials would be able to decide how they want to go about the studies and would hire six people to help with the work. The program would cost about $1 million annually, according to a fiscal note on the legislation. Bill sponsors expect nonprofit groups, many of whom have already been conducting these studies, would help in conducting the surveys. 

While no groups have filed in opposition to the bill and there was limited debate on the measure, several Republicans voted against the bill Monday.

Republican minority leader Rep. Ty Winter of Trinidad voted against the bill in its earlier committee hearing as well. 

“I haven’t been here very long but I have seen data come through this building that has been taken by activist groups later on to push an agenda,” he said in the hearing. “That is what my biggest fear with this is.”

Local coalition forming in Routt County to support proposed mountain rail link

Local officials and private entities are hoping a yet-to-be-signed memorandum of understanding will help clear a path for a passenger rail service serving Steamboat Springs and the surrounding communities.

A draft of the document provided by Steamboat Springs City Council member Michael Buccino shows the agreement includes the city of Steamboat Springs, Routt County, the Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp. and the town of Hayden.

The memorandum, which intends to create an ad-hoc Mountain Rail Coalition entity, further lists partner entities as the Craig Chamber of Commerce, the Yampa Valley Community Foundation, the town of Winter Park and Intrawest/Winter Park Operations Corporation.

The document sets out a framework for the creation of a steering committee for the Mountain Rail Coalition, an organization that would, through the passage of the memorandum, “provide a temporary mechanism for coordination of the entities with local, state and federal stakeholders on mountain rail related matters,” according to the draft document.

“The benefits of mountain rail include meeting transportation needs for residents, visitors and commuters; supporting a just transition for coal-impacted communities; improving access to attainable housing for resort communities; and reducing congestion and greenhouse gas emissions,” the memorandum states.

The infrastructure for the mountain rail line already exists and is currently used for coal transportation. But as the region moves away from the coal industry, the plan is for the rail line to transition to a mix of commercial freight and passenger rail.

The proposed memorandum states the Mountain Rail Coalition “will be a consensus-based body that strives for robust representation among interested stakeholders.”

The draft memorandum was agreed upon Wednesday night at a meeting that was not noticed or accessible to the public and included members representing the signing parties.

Routt County officials announced the proposed memorandum of understanding Friday, and included the names of Routt County Commissioner Sonja Macys and Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp. Director of Social Responsibility Sarah Jones as contacts.

“At that particular meeting, it was conveyed to us by (the Colorado Department of Transportation) and (Gov. Jared Polis) that it would be really important for us to start forming as more of a formalized coalition,” Macys said, adding that the memorandum process was started to formalize meetings held by the group, which is not yet a public body. “It has just been a collective of individual people representing organizations, and we haven’t had any two county commissioners or City Council members in the room to have it be required to be a public body.”

Macys added that the memorandum is really the first step in creating a broader coalition that would become some form of entity, likely with a nonprofit-type status.

“And that is where the bigger advisory committee of all the local governments who have an interest in this project will be invited in and, at that point in time, that is when this becomes an actual real coalition with robust membership and agendas and minutes and public process and all of those things,” Macys said.

The draft memorandum document proposes that the Mountain Rail Coalition serves “as the liaison between communities along the mountain rail corridor and state and federal entities to support the creation and development of mountain rail across multiple counties.”

The document goes on to say that, generally, the work needed to achieve the mountain rail project would require a set of goals in the short term to include addressing “legislative issues” and to “conduct outreach to mountain rail stakeholders to invite advisory committee members and general members of the coalition.”

Additional goals outlined in the document include “communicating with mountain rail communities about current studies, legislation and opportunities for engagement at the state and federal level.”

Macys said the aim for the coalition behind the passenger rail plans is focused on connecting an established mountain rail line linking Denver to Winter Park with Steamboat, but is also aiming to establish local commuter links within Routt County.

“Basically, what the deal is, is you have two different pots of money at the federal level that we can access, and one of them is for what is called, ‘inner-city rail,’ and that is connecting Denver to rural areas,” Macys said. “The second pot of money is for commuter rail, and that is what we are talking about from South Routt to Craig. So, two different pots of money, I mean, one consolidated project but very different needs, very different funding sources and all of that.”

Macys estimated there could be billions of dollars available at the federal level to complete the projects, and she said the development of local passenger rail service would pose no additional costs to local taxpayers.

Routt County commissioners are expected to discuss signing the memorandum Tuesday. The town of Hayden has the memorandum on its agenda for Thursday.

The private entities involved with the memorandum, including the Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp., will sign the document on their own timeline.

“It really just means that we are formalizing the first step in a very long process of creating an interested group of individuals and entities for advancing mountain rail,” Macys said of the proposed memorandum.

This story is from Steamboat Pilot & Today.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife 2024 Regional Partnerships Initiative grant application open

The Colorado Parks and Wildlife 2024 Regional Partnerships Initiative grant application period opened Feb. 29 with letters of interest due April 5 and final proposals due April 30. 

“Colorado’s distinct landscapes inspire healthy fun and exciting adventure for locals and visitors alike and continue to be a key economic driver for our economy,” said CPW Director Jeff Davis. “The Regional Partnerships Initiative grants provide essential funding for community-centered planning efforts that create a shared vision for recreation and conservation across the state, ensuring that everyone can enjoy them now and for generations to come.”

Coalitions are invited to join a network of Regional Partnerships working to ensure that Colorado’s land, water and wildlife thrive while also providing equitable and quality outdoor recreation experiences. Grant funding supports coalitions at all stages of development, including those just forming and those already funded under the RPI.

Since its inception in 2021, the Regional Partnerships Initiative Grant Program has awarded $3.5 million, supporting coalitions dedicated to preserving Colorado’s world-class outdoor recreation experiences in concert with the conservation of natural resources.

With 18 funded coalitions, the Regional Partnerships Initiative covers about 70% of Colorado, offering new and innovative approaches to conserving Colorado’s outdoors for future generations. With this new grant round, CPW hopes to garner interest from Colorado’s northeast corner, southeast corner and additional gap areas as seen on this map

The spring 2024 funding round is offering two types of grants:

  1. Partnership Capacity grants for up to $150,000 support new and existing coalitions working to ensure that Colorado’s land, water and wildlife thrive while also providing equitable access to quality outdoor recreation experiences. Coalition work focused on areas where there are no established Regional Partnerships is a priority for capacity funding — see the RPI map.
  2. Planning grants for up to $250,000 support new and existing Regional Partnerships’ work to complete regional conservation and recreation plans that complement Colorado’s Outdoors Strategy, a collaborative vision for conservation, climate resilience and sustainable recreation. These grants can also include funding for capacity. 

If considering whether to apply and would like more information, please contact Morgan Anderson at morgan.l.anderson@state.co.us. To learn more about this grant opportunity, visit the CPW webpage.

This story is from Steamboat Pilot & Today.

Indy Pass signs new resort in Western Colorado, releases 2024-25 pass to the public at same price as last 3 years

The Indy Pass went on sale to the general public on Friday and, for Colorado residents, now offers a new perk that skiers will find attractive.

The pass will offer two days of access to Powderhorn Mountain Resort in Mesa County starting in the 2024-25 season, making the Indy Pass now available at five Colorado ski areas.

The Powderhorn addition marks a growing sector for the Indy Pass. The independent ski area-focused pass has been aggressive in signing Colorado ski areas since adding its first Colorado ski area, Sunlight Mountain in Glenwood Springs, in 2022.

But despite the addition of the new ski areas, the pass has not increased in price in that time, standing in contrast to its competitors Epic and IKON, which have increased substantially over the last two seasons.

In the runup to the 2022-23 season, as the Indy Pass was announcing its first Colorado ski area, the Epic Pass launched at $841, while the Ikon Pass launched at $1,079. Today, a 2024-25 Epic Pass costs $982, its highest launch price yet, while a 2024-25 IKON Pass is $1,249.

Meanwhile, the Indy Pass has held steady at $350 for adults ($279 for renewing pass members).

“We refuse to make arbitrary and extractive pricing decisions,” Indy Pass owner Erik Mogensen, of Entabeni Systems, told the Vail Daily on Friday. “Keeping the pass the same price for the last three years is something that the Indy Pass is very proud of.”

The Indy Pass is now based in Grand County following a 2023 ownership transfer to Entabeni.

“We are proud to be based in Colorado as a company, and offer access to independent resorts across the state where the skiing experience remains humble, welcoming, and down to earth,” Mogensen said. “With the Indy pass giving affordable access to Echo Mountain, Granby Ranch, Howelsen Hill, Sunlight Mountain Resort, and now Powderhorn Mountain Resort, we are seeing many Coloradans making the choice to ditch the mega pass chaos and buy an Indy Pass.”

Lots of youngsters learn to ski at Granby Ranch. The uncrowded resort offers groomed, wide open runs that are good for children (and adults) who are skiing or snowboarding for the first time.
Meg Soyars Van Hauen/Sky-Hi News

Powderhorn Mountain Resort was one of seven new ski areas to join the Indy Pass on Friday. In joining the Indy Pass, Mogensen said Powderhorn will drop its affiliation with Ski Cooper’s reciprocal season pass, which did not offer a revenue-sharing arrangement for its resort partners.

Mogensen said the Indy Pass’ revenue sharing capabilities are what sets it apart from other small ski area passes. The Indy Pass offers two days of access to more than 200 ski areas across the U.S., Canada, Europe and Japan, and the pass also offers what it calls an “add-on” option ($269) for those who already have a season pass to one of its partner ski areas.

The Indy Pass add-on functions similarly to a reciprocal pass like Ski Cooper’s pass or the Powder Alliance, which offers three free days at partner resorts. But unlike reciprocal passes, the Indy Pass pays out 85% of its revenue back to its partner ski areas based on redemptions.

The Indy Pass can track those redemptions due to the sophistication of its software, administered by Entabeni Systems which was, prior to its acquisition of the Indy Pass, primarily a tech company focused on ski areas.

Brundage Mountain in Idaho, like Powderhorn, participated in a reciprocal pass program before joining the Indy Pass.

Brundage General Manager Ken Rider said the problem he had with the reciprocal pass program was there was no way to track how many people were visiting.

“You’re getting these visitors that are coming, and hopefully they’re buying a beer and a hamburger,” he said. “But there’s no way to track it.”

Rider said he had the idea to do a revenue share-type program with a few other resorts but wasn’t able to work it out.

“We tried to put something together, but it was the resorts managing it … collectively, we didn’t have the bandwidth or the power to really make that thing work,” he said.

When Doug Fish, the Indy Pass’ original founder, launched his new idea, he knew the back-end software would be the key to making it work.

“The technology behind the Indy Pass is what makes it work so beautifully because it’s easy for consumers and it’s easy for resort to administer it, and that’s to the credit of Entabeni,” Fish said.

This story is from Vail Daily.

In elk population reduction, Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologist finds a silver lining

For 36 hours last month, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Biologist Eric Vannatta rode in a McDonnell Douglas 500 helicopter as a part of a team tasked with counting the number of elk ranging in the state’s northwest region.

Taking off from the Steamboat Springs airport and flying across Routt and Jackson Counties at an altitude of 200 to 400 feet off the ground, the biologist said it was easy to spot a bull moose by its rack of antlers. But with a herd of elk, the helicopter would need to drop down to between 100 and 200 feet of elevation to take a closer look.

“At that elevation, you can distinguish between a calf and a cow,” Vannatta noted. “We are actually trying to find these animals and classify them into age and sex classes.”

Distinguishing between the number of calves, cows, two-and-a-half-year-old bulls (or rag horns), and mature bulls allow CPW biologists to produce ratios to determine the size and health of the local elk population.

The figures, collected annually from CPW districts across the state, are then used to set the number of licenses issued to hunters as part of a wider effort to control population for the big game animal.

This year’s count in CPW Area 10 is particularly important after record-setting snowfall levels recorded in the 2022-2023 winter season took a toll on the local elk population, which is known as the Bears Ears Elk Herd.

Between 2015 and 2022, the state’s wildlife agency recorded the Bears Ears Elk herd’s population at between 15,000 and 24,000 animals each year. The herd — which ranges in an area north of U.S. Highway 40 between the continental divide to the east and the Little Snake River in Moffat County to the west — is one of the largest in Colorado, where 303,190 elk were counted in 2022, according to CPW’s estimates.

Vannatta said the agency’s goal is to keep the Bears Ears Herd numbers between 15,000 and 18,000 elk each year, but last winter’s precipitation brought those numbers closer to between 9,000 and 10,000 animals — a population reduction of more than 30% compared to the year prior.

“Last year was probably one of the worst winters we have had on record from a wildlife standpoint,” Vannatta said. “Certainly, if you are a skier, it was phenomenal, but the unique thing about last winter was how much snow we had at low elevations.”

While between 300 and 800 elk — referred to as the “resident Steamboat herd” — stay put in the area during the winter, most of the animals migrate to Moffat County to enjoy low-elevation winter rangeland where they feast on sagebrush and other vegetation.

“That is a huge area of winter range and that got hit way harder than it typically does,” Vannatta said. “There were three to five feet of snow out in the sage and it just persisted, it lasted a really long time — we had snow that lasted clear until April of last year.”

Typically, Vannatta said calf survival rates for the Bears Ears Herd vary between 60-80% and cow survival rates range between 85-90%.

“Last year, calf survival was around 20 to 25%, so we lost 75 calves out of every 100 that went through the winter,” Vannatta said. “And cow elk was around a 60% loss, so both cohorts took a substantial hit.”

As a result of the heavy snowfall last winter, CPW published a news release last week warning local hunters to be ready for a reduction in big game hunting licenses in 2024 for northwest Colorado ahead of the primary draw application period set to open March 1.

But while hunters may be disappointed with the number of licenses issued to hunt the big game animal, there is cause for encouragement over the ability for the local elk population to bounce back.

“The silver lining is all of that moisture,” Vannatta explained. “Moffat County has been experiencing really a prolonged drought over there, and the quality of that winter range is not great because there’s very little precipitation in the summer … As a society, our attention is sometimes limited and we want to see really quick changes, but we just need to remind ourselves that the next couple of years, there are going to be fewer animals, but five years from now I could see us coming up to that population range we want to see.”

The CPW biologist noted that the heavy layer of snow covered the sagebrush to a point where the elk could not access their main food source. The vegetation then entered the spring season in solid condition and enjoyed the benefit of “an incredible amount of moisture,” while “the remaining (elk) that did survive probably had a really exceptional year as far as nutrition goes.”

Vannatta predicted that if the region strings together two or three average snowfall winters, such as the one being experienced this year, the elk population would likely rebound to the 15,000-18,000 levels, allowing the agency to issue more hunting licenses.

Additionally, he said fire mitigation work planned by the U.S. Forest Service for the Rabbit Ears Pass area could also present a boon to elk population growth.

In November, the federal forest agency announced plans to pursue a project aimed at dealing with roughly 3,000 acres of timber impacted by a mountain pine beetle infestation in a section of the Routt County National Forest area. The work is expected to last for up to 10 years and would include a mix of timber harvesting and prescribed burns to eliminate the presence of the beetles and create shaded and unshaded fuel breaks.

Vannatta said the U.S. Forest Service project, and the pastures and meadows it would create within the continuous forest area, would create conditions beneficial to the local elk population.

“Elk really rely on grasses and flowering plants to eat, so if you have more sunlight hitting the forest floor, you are going to have better vegetation response — that is going to bode well for them and fire does that, too.”

This story is from Steamboat Pilot & Today.

Colorado lawmakers pump brakes on keeping I-70 truckers from the passing lane from Morrison to Glenwood Springs

Commercial vehicles such as semitrailers wouldn’t be able to use the left lane in certain sections of Interstate 70 through the mountains under an amended version of a bill being considered by the Colorado legislature. 

The original version of Senate Bill 100 would have made it illegal for big-rig truckers to use the left lane in the entire mountainous portion of the interstate from Morrison to Glenwood Springs. But Wednesday, lawmakers scaled it back to include only four segments. 

Under the legislation, the restriction would exist on Georgetown Hill, the Eisenhower Tunnel, Vail Pass and Glenwood Canyon. Future iterations of the bill may also include Floyd Hill, according to the bill sponsors.

While the Colorado Department of Transportation already has a rule in place for truckers using the left lane on those segments, Senate Bill 100 would allow them to enforce those rules with tickets. 

The bill would also require truckers to carry chains when traveling on I-70 or any U.S. highway west of Morrison. 

The bill would commission a study by the Colorado Department of Transportation to determine where to build more chain stations in that area. CDOT would also be required to create an awareness campaign for the new rules and restrictions, under an amendment approved Wednesday. 

That’s also scaled back from the original version of the bill, which would have had the same requirements for I-25 and all highways west of it.

The Senate Transportation and Energy Committee on Wednesday forwarded the legislation to the Appropriations Committee with a 5-2 vote. 

“This is about safety along our key corridors, this is about our economy, this is about preventing avoidable accidents,” said Sen. Dylan Roberts, a Frisco Democrat and prime sponsor of the bill. 

Greg Fulton with the Colorado Motor Carrier Association, which represents truckers in the state, asked the sponsors during the committee hearing to consider amending the bill’s chain requirements. He said while he appreciated the rules being pared back from the original bill, they’re still excessive and costly. No groups have filed formal opposition to the bill. 

“Frankly, you can’t drive on the West Slope for more than a day or two without getting on a U.S. highway,” he said. 

The bill would also make Glenwood Canyon a “heightened speed limit enforcement zone,” which means commercial vehicles would be subject to double the fees for speeding in the area. 

The bipartisan bill is also sponsored by Sen. Perry Will, R-New Castle, Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, D-Glenwood Springs and Rep. Rick Taggart, R-Grand Junction. It will next be considered by the Senate Appropriations Committee. 

Representatives from CDOT, Colorado State Patrol, the Glenwood Springs Chamber Alliance, Colorado Ski Country USA and Vail Valley Partnership were among those speaking in support of the bill.

Scavenger weasels move a step toward state reintroduction

Thirty-year Routt County resident Katie Kiefer, who grew up as an outdoors woman in northern Minnesota, is one of a handful of residents who believe they have experienced a rare sighting of a wolverine.

In September 2000, coming back at dusk to the Slavonia trailhead parking in northern Routt County, Kiefer spotted the loping carnivore.

“I could see the claws and the teeth,” Kiefer said. Bigger than a badger, the animal seemed to be a wolverine “because of the way it moved on the ground and length of the tail.”

“This is probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see this animal,” thought Kiefer, who has spotted two mountain lions, pine martens and numerous bears and moose during backcountry adventures.

Jake Ivan, a wildlife research scientist with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said although the northern Routt sighting would have been extremely rare, it is not out of the question.

“They do travel incredibly far; we know that from time to time we have had the odd, single, juvenile male in the state,” Ivan said.

Wildlife experts hope the encounter of one young male wolverine on the hunt for a new home range will change in a few years. They hope Colorado will once again become home to a viable breeding population of wolverines in high Alpine areas. Trapping and poisoning wiped out the animals in the state some 100 years ago.

The Cascades Carnivore Project shared this photo of a young male wolverine approximately one year old taken in the wild in January 2022 at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington.
Kayla Shively/CascadesCarnivore.org

Experts believe less than 400 wolverines exist in the lower 48 states today.

“They are just this amazing Alpine species that we lost from Colorado,” said Stefan Ekernas, a wildlife biologist and director of field conservation for the Denver Zoo. “Ethically speaking, we killed the last wolverine, trapped and poisoned every last wolverine in Colorado, so it’s up to us to be the solution now and help the species come back.”

The wolverine is the largest land-dwelling member of the weasel family, and the solitary scavenger has a fierce reputation. Wolverines reach up to 35-40 pounds and live at high Alpine elevations primarily eating rodents and carrion.

CPW officials have worked on a wolverine reintroduction plan since 2010. Wolverines have long been a state-protected species, and in November, the North American wolverine received federal protection as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

“Current and increasing impacts of climate change and associated habitat degradation and fragmentation are imperiling the North American wolverine,” according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

On Friday, Colorado Senator Perry Will, a retired wildlife officer, planned to introduce a bill that would give CPW the authority to reintroduce wolverines into the state. In his Feb. 22 online newsletter, Will noted, “By introducing and hopefully passing this bill we can take the bull by the horns on this issue. The goal is to provide the legislature with oversight authority of the reintroduction to allow for more public participation in the process.”

“The species can have the greatest chance at a successful reintroduction when state and federal agencies work hand in hand with farmers and ranchers, ski industry, mining industry,” said Will, a Garfield County resident.

Wolverine experts and reintroduction modeling say high elevation areas in Routt County with extended snowpack into spring would be prime wolverine habitat. Females den very deep in the snow, so areas that hold snow longer are the best habitat. Ivan said the weasels have wide feet well-suited to traveling on snow and live most of their lives above 10,000 feet.

Megan Mueller, who grew up in southern Routt County, now works as a conservation biologist for nonprofit Rocky Mountain Wild, a science-based organization working to conserve wildlife and wildlands in Colorado.   

“I spent a lot of time hiking and backcountry skiing in the Flat Tops and the Sawtooth Range, which have excellent habitat for wolverines, but had to travel all the way to Denali National Park in Alaska to see a wolverine in the wild,” Mueller said. “It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.”

“As the climate changes, Colorado’s high elevation mountains are expected to stay snowier and colder than other places where wolverines live,” Mueller explained.

Wolverines currently exist in the contiguous U.S. only as small populations in Idaho, Montana, Washington, Wyoming and northeast Oregon due to habitat loss, trapping and human disturbance, according to Rocky Mountain Wild.

Ivan said the closest breeding population to Routt County is in the Wind River Range in west-central Wyoming. However, since young female wolverines remain near the range of their mothers, females migrating to Colorado is very unlikely.

“The reason we need an active reintroduction is female wolverines are simply not going to disperse into Colorado,” Ekernas said.

Assuming the reintroduction process moves forward in Colorado, releasing wolverines likely trapped from Canada would not happen before 2026, Ivan said. The initial plan is to release 10 females and five males each year for three years in three high-elevation zones.

The CPW biologist said he is certain there is no viable population of wolverines in Colorado due to the extensive amount of wildlife research, surveys and baited game cameras, especially as the agency studies lynx that were reintroduced in 1999.

Experts say wolverine reintroduction is not expected to be controversial because of the solitary scavenging nature of the weasel, with only two documented cases of wolverine killing sheep in the past 100 years.

“There’s always fear about carnivores, but with wolverines, it’s more about the perception than what the reality will be,” Ekernas said. “Colorado has a long and rich history of reintroduction including river otter, Canadian lynx, bison, black-footed ferret and grey wolves. The last species remaining that we have not brought back is wolverines.”

This story is from Steamboat Pilot & Today.

Western Slope lawmakers introduce bill to license funeral home operators in Colorado after multiple ‘gruesome and unacceptable’ incidents

When Sheila Canfield-Jones’ daughter died in October 2019, she and her grieving family stumbled upon the website for Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose.

“They said they would give us a nice tree when they cremated her,” she told a room full of reporters Monday. 

Four years later, the FBI called.

“I found out our daughter had been in Penrose for four years, decaying, piled up on top of other bodies,” she said. “From that moment on, I started making phone calls — I said there’s a reason this happened. There’s something wrong.”

Canfield-Jones told her family’s story at the state Capitol on Monday during the unveiling of a new bill aimed at putting an end to the string of gruesome incidents of mishandled human remains by funeral homes in the state over the past few years.

The bill would address one glaring issue with the funeral home industry in Colorado: it’s the only state in the country that doesn’t license funeral home operators. 

“Colorado is the laughing stock of the industry because we don’t have licenses,” Canfield-Jones said. 

Two Western Slope lawmakers — Sen. Dylan Roberts, a Frisco Democrat, and Rep. Matt Soper, a Delta Republican — will sponsor the bill, which would create stringent requirements for licenses enforced by the state’s Department of Regulatory Agencies. 

“Too many Colorado families have had to face the gruesome and unacceptable reality that their loved ones’ remains have been mishandled, lost, improperly cared for, sold, and completely disrespected,” Roberts said Monday.

Roberts and Soper both represent parts of the state where high-profile funeral home incidents have taken place. In 2020, two funeral home operators in Montrose were charged with transferring bodies or body parts to third parties for research without families’ knowledge on dozens of occasions.

That same year, a woman reported receiving ashes from a Leadville funeral home that she thought were excessive for her five-pound baby. The ashes were found to also include remains from another, larger person, scrap metal, a piece of an earring and surgical staples. The operator, who also ran a funeral home in Silverthorne, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges related to the commingling of cremated remains last year. 

Also in 2023 in Penrose, in the case that included Canfield-Jones’ daughter’s remains, nearly 200 other decaying bodies were found in a building run by the Return to Nature Funeral Home, about two hours south of Denver.

Most recently, last month, a former funeral home owner in Denver was arrested on allegations of keeping a woman’s corpse in the back of a hearse for two years and hoarding the cremated remains of 35 people.

Bill details

The bill, which will begin in the state Senate, would require any funeral home operators in the state, including directors, embalmers, mortuary science practitioners, crematory operators and natural reductionists to have licenses. 

To get a license, applicants would have to submit an application, pay a fee and get a criminal background check. Anyone who has been convicted of crimes related to operating a funeral home in another state would be denied a license. 

Funeral directors, mortuary science practitioners and embalmers all would be required to have graduated from an approved mortuary science school, passed relevant sections of a national board examination and served apprenticeships of one year or longer. 

The bill would also give the director of DORA the ability to investigate and discipline license holders. 

The bill also includes a “grandfather in” option for those who already operating funeral homes but haven’t met the new requirements, which are set to kick in in 2026. The option would require 6,500 hours of work experience and a criminal background check to get a provisional license that would become a full license after two years without discipline. 

To renew a license, funeral home directors would have to retake short classes on the applicable law, ethics and public health requirements. 

The bill has bipartisan support in both chambers, with the other prime sponsors being Sen. Bob Gardner, a Colorado Springs Republican and Rep. Brianna Titone, an Arvada Democrat. 

While the Colorado Funeral Directors Association has come out in support of the bill, Service Corporation International, a company offering funeral services across North America, is asking lawmakers to make amendments. 

The company is concerned that creating mortuary science degree requirements for funeral home directors, who they say are essentially the salesmen of most operations, will deplete their workforce. 

“It’s like if I worked at a law firm, but I was the event coordinator, and you’re making me go to law school,” said Jason Hopfer, a lobbyist for Service Corporation International. 

They’re also concerned that the requirements for the “grandfathered in” option will force many from the industry. 

Patty Salazar, the executive director for DORA, spoke in support of the bill Monday. 

“We all know the several egregious incidents that have been highlighted on the national scale, which demonstrates how the legislative and regulatory framework has failed Coloradans,” she said. 

Last month, the House Business Affairs Committee unanimously voted to introduce another bill, which would bring Colorado’s regulations more in line with nearly all other states by requiring routine inspections of funeral homes, including after a home’s registration has expired. It would also give the agency that oversees the industry greater enforcement power.

Abnormal, thinning ice conditions to be expected at Lake Granby, Shadow Mountain Reservoir and Grand Lake

The Bureau of Reclamation is expected to release Colorado-Big Thompson Project water to the Big Thompson River due to ongoing work at Pole Hill Power Plant in Larimer County.

The repairs being done at the Pole Hill facility mean that water sources like Carter Lake and Horsetooth Reservoir in Larimer County have been depleted throughout the winter with little replenishment. The water release from Olympus Dam in Estes Park is intended to fill these bodies of water. Water released from Lake Granby will then be used to replenish Estes Park’s water.

The movement of water from Lake Granby is expected to cause a change in ice conditions for Shadow Mountain Reservoir and Grand Lake as well. Anglers and other recreationists should be mindful of ice conditions beginning March 5.

Northern Water says the water releases from Olympus Dam will begin slowly. The beginning release rate will be “40 cubic feet per second” and increase to “as high as 440 cubic feet per second by mid-March,” according to the press release.

The lower volume releases, increased daylight hours and increasing temperatures is expected to slowly melt ice in the river. As a result of this release, the Big Thompson Canyon will experience flows that are above average for this time of year. Northern Water warns anglers and people with property near the stream banks to prepare accordingly and maintain awareness of river conditions.

Jeff Stahla from Northern Water explains that normally Lake Granby’s water is diverted into water sources like Lake Carter and Horsetooth Reservoir over the winter.

“In a normal year if you start bringing water down in December or January, the ice adjusts with that,” Stahla said.

However, since repairs have been ongoing at the Pole Hill facility, the water from Lake Granby hasn’t been moved like normal. Water from Grand County is normally used to fill these reservoirs as they’re being depleted during the winter so that there is sufficient water levels by the time growing season comes around. This flow of water also helps prepare Lake Granby to receive snow melt.

“Lake Granby right now is actually a little bit higher than it normally would be, because no water has been moved out of it,” Stahla explained.

As a result of the March release, ice conditions in Grand County are expected be different than what people are used to.

“They’re going to start moving water out of Lake Estes, into the Big Thompson River to fill up Horsetooth,” Stahla said. “We don’t want to draw down Lake Estes to nothing and so we’re going to replenish that with the water that’s going to come through the tunnel from Lake Granby and Shadow Mountain Reservoir, so in other words, it’s kind of a big cycle.”

A map of the Colorado Big-Thompson Project helps show how water from Grand County travels to other parts of Colorado. More information on the project is available on Northern Water’s website.

Introduced bill intends to protect water resources after wildfires in national forests

The Watershed Protection and Forest Recovery Act would create a new Emergency Forest Watershed Program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to aid and streamline watershed recovery efforts on U.S. Forest Service lands. The bill is intended to help communities protect their water supply after natural disasters on U.S. Forest Service lands.

The bill was introduced by U.S. Senators Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Mitt Romney, R-Utah alongside U.S. Representatives Joe Neguse, D-Colo., Celeste Maloy, R-Utah, Yadira Caraveo, D-Colo. and John Curtis , R-Utah.

According to a press release sent by Bennet’s office, following the East Troublesome Fire, water providers faced obstacles that limited their ability to protect drinking water supplies for communities downstream of the fire. The existing Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Emergency Watershed Program was designed to help non-federal lands recover, While, the U.S. Forest Service’s Burned Area Emergency Response Program focuses on the protection of federal assets, which can leave drinking water supplies for communities downstream at at risk.

“We need to make it easier for local water managers and the U.S. Forest Service to collaborate to restore the health of our watersheds following a natural disaster,” Bennet stated. “This common-sense bill cuts red tape and helps ensure that communities and landscapes recovering from wildfires don’t face unnecessary hurdles in their efforts to protect their drinking water.”

Lawmakers feel there is a critical need for a program focused on the recovery of U.S. Forest Service lands which also serves downstream private property and water resources. The Watershed Protection and Forest Recovery Act is designed to fill in this gap.

“Across the west, our communities continue to grapple with devastating wildfires. These wildfires put watersheds and the drinking water supplies for many of our communities at risk. Our bill, the Watershed Protection and Forest Recovery Act, aims to ensure that critical federal resources are available to assist communities address these watershed risks in the aftermath of catastrophic wildfires,” Neguse said.

The Emergency Forest Watershed Program would be a dedicated funding source for the protection of downstream private property and water resources following natural disasters on U.S. Forest Service lands.

The bill would also authorize watershed recovery measures following a natural disaster that has caused a sudden impairment to natural resources on U.S. National Forest land. These measures would include any work necessary to address runoff retardation, soil erosion prevention and flood mitigation.

This bill would allow allow organizations like local governments and water utilities to enter into agreements with the U.S Forest Service to implement watershed recovery protection measures.

“Senator Bennet’s bill shows visionary leadership in addressing urgent watershed restoration needs on National Forest after events like the 2020 East Troublesome Fire,” Brad Wind said, who is the general manager at the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District. “The ongoing damage to watersheds and the threat to drinking water for millions highlight the critical nature of this initiative. Bennet’s dedication to fire recovery is commendable, and this new authority is vital for future wildfire recovery, stressing collaborative efforts across governments and partners to protect our communities and resources.”

Project timelines would also be sped up by minimizing environmental reviews and requiring project sponsors to complete recovery work within two years after the conclusion of a natural disaster. Liability protections would also be given to project sponsors. The bill would also fund projects on federal lands by waiving matching requirements of the project sponsors.

The full bill can be read here and a summary of the bill by Bennet’s office can be read here.