Mountain Biking: Rubber side down- Time for a TurnaroundWell, my friends, things are finally looking up, and good timing, too, since I’m sure you’re all sick of me bitching. Recent bike build, including wheels… fun! In what feels like a fairly short time, I’ve come from sitting around … Continue reading → […]
- This Raised My PulseHey, baby… wanna ride? I may be injured, but I’m not dead yet. I can still have racy thoughts. Here’s more info. In other news, UBI was an awesome success! I had a blast. I highly recommend it. Overhaul day…. … Continue reading → […]
- Time for a Turnaround
- Edgy Veggie
Well-known Estes bull elk killed illegally
A poacher killed — slowly, inexpertly and with a single arrow — the bull elk widely recognized as the current largest elk in the area. Now, officials are offering a reward for information leading to the poacher’s identification:
“This was probably the biggest bull in the Estes Valley,” said Rick Spowart, district wildlife manager for Estes Park. “For about a month, I saw him every day on the golf course with a big harem, bugling and doing the whole rut thing. Whoever did this stole a great watchable wildlife opportunity from all of us.”
8-foot-high wildlife fence tries to separate cars from beasts
A herd of elk wanders through Estes Park on Monday to the delight of tourists | Walt Hester, Estes Park Trail Gazette
The Colorado Department of Transportation will begin installing an 8-foot-high wildlife fence along Colo. 82 between Glenwood Springs and Carbondale to keep elk and other animals from wandering onto the road, according to the Aspen Times.
That section of highway — part of the connection between Aspen to I-70 — has earned the dubious distinction of having one of the worst rates of vehicle-animal collisions in the entire state. There were 39 such accidents in 2005, the last year data was taken.
The project will also include six wildlife escape ramps — earthen berms that allow animals a way to jump down off the road without letting them hop back up.
The wildlife fence may reduce animal-vehicle collisions, but it doesn’t solve the larger problem of habitat fragmentation, some environmentalists say. In Colorado, swaths of valuable forest and wilderness lands have been sliced up by busy roads, keeping animals from safely using all the available resources.
Keep reading after the jump to find out about proposed wildlife bridges on I-70 and what Boulder County is doing to help elk cross the road (and make it to the other side). Read more
