Sacred Places, Trees, and Songs

  Barely noticed in the flurry of executive orders during the new Administration last week was the pronouncement of an "Energy Emergency" allowing oil and gas developers to proceed to drill and bulldoze without worrying about pesky environmental concerns.This includes development on fragile wetlands, around rivers and streams, and on banks and beaches. The damage that could be caused would be permanent and far-reaching, not only to water quality and stream flow, but also to plant and wildlife, habitat, historical and sacred sites, and future viability.  Colorado is well familiar with the harm that extractive industries can cause. With its history of mining, the state has been dealing with polluted waters from mine runoff for over a century. Such metals as gold, silver, copper, molybdenum, lead, and uranium have been mined in the mountainous regions of the state. Often, chemicals were used to extract the metal from the ore, compounding the toxicity. Many waterways have never r...

Participation by Indigenous Groups Needed in Boarding School Issue Dr. James Jefferson, an elder of the Southern Ute tribe, has maintained that many more children died at the sites of Indian boarding schools than have been reported. The state of Colorado funded research into the matter and History Colorado issued a report in October, 2023. It was found to be woefully inadequate by many advocates of Native America, including the Association for Native American Sacred Trees and Places (NASTaP) of which Dr. Jefferson is the president.  A study recently published by the Washington Post confirmed this shortcoming. By examining records, it was determined that at least 76 children died during incarceration at the Colorado sites, more than three times the number in the History Colorado report. According to NASTaP, this is just the beginning. More grave sites are yet to be discovered.  Last year, Governor Polis of Colorado allocated $1 million more to studying the Indian boarding sch...

Five Hundred Million Acres of Public Lands at Risk  Last month we were alerted to the dangers to old-growth forests from logging interests eyeing our national forests. That danger has grown with a hiring freeze at the National Forest Service and DOGE cuts sure to come. The U.S. Department of Agriculture oversees our national forests...does that give you a clearer idea of how these irreplaceable forest lands are viewed? Learn more about the threat in my blog post here ,  Now, we turn to the other public lands, our national parks, monuments, and wildernesses, as well as national trails, seashores, wild and scenic areas, battlefields, cemeteries, memorials, etc. There are also wildlife refuges in every state and conservation areas. Millions of acres, all managed by the Department of the Interior. Now, North Dakota, along with 11 other states, is suing the federal government to turn over these public lands to the states so they can be sold off for development by oil and gas compan...

The Colorado River, which arises in Rocky Mountain National Park near the Continental Divide of North America, is tasked with quenching the thirst of 40 million people as well as plants, animals, fish, and wildlife in seven states and Northern Mexico. Where does water in the vast Colorado River Basin go? A new survey from the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University answers this question comprehensively. The report takes into account all uses of the water, including for the first time evaporation from waterways as well as reservoirs and lakes. The results were surprising. Most people assume that the population growth of the cities in Colorado, Arizona, and California are leading in the drying up of the river's waters. In contrast, it is agriculture that receives the lion's share. The report concludes: "Irrigated agriculture is the dominant consumer of water from the Colorado River."  The report further breaks down agricultural uses into crops. The ...

Today we recognize the children who never came home and the families who were harmed by the Indigenous boarding school policies. Here are some ideas about how we all can observe:   1.              Learn about this part of our history. There are many resources available. “I Am Not a Number” is a book by Kathy Kacer. “ Sugar Falls ” is by David A. Robertson. Many more books for children and teens, recommended by Orange Shirt founder Phyllis Webstad, are here .   2.              Urge your friends, family and connections to learn about and observe on September 30. There were more boarding schools in the U.S. than in Canada, but our neighbor to the north has been more proactive in uncovering the truth. In fact, if Canada hadn’t revealed how many children’s graves are on the grounds of boarding schools, we may have never learned about the U.S. boarding schoo...

New NFS Landscape Plan Guidance Threatens Modified Trees in Old Growth Forests The first I heard about new Old-growth forest regulation changes was on September 18th when I read an op-ed by Dr. Peter Brown in the Colorado Sun . He cautioned that the oldest trees in these forests may not look very old and may have a smaller circumference than many younger trees.  He should know. Dr. Brown is a dendrochronologist, a scientist who can date trees by analyzing their growth rings. He has found that circumference doesn't necessarily equate to age and is concerned that if smaller trees are removed from the landscape haphazardly, old growth trees may disappear.  This is already happening. In the foothills above Boulder, Colorado, I visited a landowner's newly acquired property adjacent to her home. She purchased the 13-acre plot to keep it from being developed into a large residence or ranch. All over her original land as well as the new property, trees were marked for removal with blu...