Most residents and many visitors to Vail and the Eagle River Valley know of Camp Hale as a former World War II mountain warfare training camp and current recreation mecca. Thousands of visitors flock to the area each year to enjoy camping, hiking, climbing, fishing, ATV riding, snowmobiling and skiing….

Editor’s note: This is the first of two parts. Click here to read Part 2. On Aug. 5, about 3 million gallons of contaminated water burst out of an abandoned mine above Silverton and sent a plume of cloudy, orange water down Cement Creek to the Animas River, through the…

Editor’s note: This is the second of two parts. Click here to read Part 1. As we all know, Colorado has a rich and fascinating history of mining that dates back to the late 1800s. Between 1991 and 1999, the Colorado Geological Survey inventoried abandoned and inactive mine sites on…

While the West has transformed and evolved greatly since the pioneer days, mining laws remain largely unchanged. Hardrock mining and extraction is, to this day, governed by President Ulysses S. Grant’s General Mining Law of 1872. Five U.S. Senators, including Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, have introduced the Hardrock Mining…

An assumption could be made that Coloradans are more attuned to their weather surroundings than most other people in the country. That’s why the words “El Nino” inspire such a sense of hope and anticipation when uttered to the wishful ears of ski-hungry Colorado residents. Instead of visions of sugarplums,…