Happy Colorado Sunday, friends.
I hope you caught a glimpse of the lunar eclipse late Thursday night and that it helped remind you how beautifully natural systems work without human intervention. It really is a marvel.
Since I visited Yellowstone National Park back in 1988, a month or more into a particularly intense fire season, I’ve observed our forests with a similar sense of awe. Eighteen fires started by lightning had been allowed to burn inside the park that summer, the thinking being that fire is a normal part of the ecosystem. By the time we got there, drought had descended and firefighters were deployed to contain the flames of the natural fires. But by then, the forest floor had already begun to recover. Elk herds browsed in the shadow of huge pine trees that looked like charred toothpicks planted in newly green meadows. I was painfully aware of the damage the fire had done, but was more stunned by the resilience of the forest.
That’s why Tracy Ross’ cover story is so compelling. Her look at where extreme advocacy for leaving the forest alone intersects with the work of people aiming to preserve the forest in a different way — while protecting the people and creatures who live and recreate there — is one of those stories that really makes you think.
Dana Coffield
Editor
The Cover Story
Come again? We shouldn’t believe our elected fire officials?
Colorado State Rep. Tammy Story examines low plant life poking through the mulched remains of fire mitigation visible at Flying J Ranch Park near Conifer. (Andy Colwell, Special to The Colorado Sun)Call me naive, but I don’t think anyone wants to die or have their house burn down in a wildfire. And in this time of historically large, destructive fires, I think we can all agree that the local, state and federal agencies we support with our tax dollars should be doing all they can to keep not only the largest number of humans and houses safe but also forests, water, infrastructure and wildlife.
I also believe that’s exactly what elected officials, fire-fighting agencies, scientists, NGO’s, counties, municipalities and public-private fire collaboratives throughout the state are focusing on as we move ever farther down the road of climate change and the age of megafires becomes an increasing reality.
But there are people and organizations out there who don’t believe these agencies have our best interests in mind, and they’re the drivers of my story on Colorado wildfire mitigation this week. They say the experts we trust are trotting out questionable science and that money drives them. It was all a bit shocking to hear, when one of the reasons I’m able to keep living in my pocket of the Roosevelt National Forest is because these officials have taught me how to protect my home from fire and create defensible space around it, two things I can do, as a lowly resident, to help save the things I care about.
Personal actions like home hardening and defensible-space creation aren’t what the environmentalists fighting fire mitigation in my story oppose, though. You’ll have to parachute in and read it to smoke those out.
READ THIS WEEK’S COLORADO SUNDAY FEATURE
Tracy Ross | Reporter
The Colorado Lens
Every year, for millennia, noble creatures that have not changed since the age of dinosaurs have visited the San Luis Valley to rest and feed during their biannual migration. We sent photojournalist John McEvoy to the 42nd annual Monte Vista Crane Festival, where he witnessed these giant birds, 4 feet tall with a wingspan up to 6 feet, in a ritual that draws thousands of human observers. Though the festival is over, the birds typically remain at the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge through the end of March, refueling before they continue their journey to breeding grounds on freshwater wetlands far to the north.
A couple of birdwatchers set up their camera on a tripod March 8 in hopes of capturing images of the sandhill cranes at the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge during the Cranefest. (John McEvoy, Special to The Colorado Sun) Sandhill cranes in flight over the wildlife refuge with the snowcapped Sangre de Cristos in the background. (John McEvoy, Special to The Colorado Sun) A bird watcher with a Sony a7R V full frame mirrorless camera and long telephoto lens attempts to capture cranes at a distance during the festival. (John McEvoy, Special to The Colorado Sun) A life-size petroglyph in the Rio Grande National Forest depicting a crane. Retired forest archeologist Ken Frye estimates that the image was carved into the stone around 2,000 years ago. (John McEvoy, Special to The Colorado Sun)Dana Coffield | Editor
Flavor of the Week
Make mine a black sesame latte
The black sesame latte at Creature Comforts in Boulder is made with a housemade sesame sauce and steamed milk of your choice. (Parker Yamasaki, The Colorado Sun)There is no shortage of places to grab specialty caffeinated drinks in Boulder.
There’s the Scandinavian-inspired Suti + Co. heavily sprinkled with northerly spices — I’m thinking of cardamom here — and the bohemian flavors of Trident Booksellers and Cafe, with a tea selection so extensively curated they call it their “tea program.” Between Suti and Trident, along a mere six block stretch of Pearl Street, there are no fewer than six other coffee shops, all vying for your dollars with cherry vanilla this and strawberry matcha that.
On more than one occasion I’ve taken so long to read through some coffee concoction on a menu that I get nervous standing silently opposite the cashier and order a black coffee. (What does espresso, ube syrup and ginger beer taste like? I’m too slow for this exercise of imagination.)
Frankly, I’m here for it. The razzmatazz and yuzu essence of it all. If I’m going to throw down $7 for an afternoon caffeine burst, I do expect it to impress me at least a little bit. This is in stark contrast to my feelings about my morning coffee, which pretty much max out at: hot + black=good.
But I don’t really consider the afternoon pick-me-up in the same category as morning coffee. The a.m. joe is a rote, daily routine. The afternoon is an occasional treat.
While in Boulder the other day, I went into Creature Comforts, drawn in by their floor-to-ceiling windows and colorful paint job, which I recognized from photos of the Street Wise Mural Festival.
By some supermagnetic force, my eyes barely scanned the menu before landing on the only thing I needed to read: black sesame latte.
I’ll take it.
I love the flavor of sesame. My favorite ice cream I’ve ever tasted was a black sesame flavor that I haven’t been able to find since (honestly I don’t even remember where I got it). I prefer a drizzle of tahini to just about any salad dressing or rice bowl topping — it’s like a better version of peanut butter, or a more cost-effective version of almond butter. (Yes, I realize I just admitted to paying $7 for a latte. Occasionally!)
The sesame “latte” delivered. There’s no coffee in it, for one thing, which means nothing to overpower the flavor. No spices or infusions as far as I can tell. Just a simple, creamy, hot, sippable sesame drink.
If you share my passion for the flavor of sesame, then you will love this latte. It’s really that simple. And if you don’t, then honestly, I would not recommend the drink. But the atmosphere is nice in the cafe. And they also serve black coffee.
Parker Yamasaki | Reporter
SunLit: Sneak Peek
“Play of Shadows” introduces a monster and a worthy adversary
“I considered smiling to put her at ease. But a smile is submissive, and men like me do not submit. And while my disguise was good, I knew that after the events of tonight, the police would ask questions. I could not afford for this woman to remember me.”
— From “Play of Shadows”
EXCERPT: In a novel written from multiple points of view, author Barbara Nickless immediately puts the reader in the mind of a monster — the Minotaur — in “Play of Shadows,” a 2024 Colorado Authors League award winner for mystery. A bit later in the excerpt we experience the world through the eyes of her protagonist, Evan Wilding, a professor who happens to be a dwarf with a skillset suited to deciphering complex clues to track down killers. This is the third in Nickless’ series featuring a cadre of crimefighters.
READ THE SUNLIT EXCERPT
THE SUNLIT INTERVIEW: Nickless explains how her interest in Greek mythology, inspired in childhood by her mother, merged with her observations about international politics to lead her to the plotline for “Play of Shadows.” Those influences, combined with knowledge about the psychology of killers gleaned from research for previous books, created a (metaphorical) “marriage made in hell.” Here’s a small portion of her Q&A:
SunLit: What’s the most important thing that readers should take from this book?
Nickless: Questions of nature versus nurture. How to treat mental illness. Why we should look at someone’s backstory to help determine how they got from A to B. We’re really bad at that in America.
Our mental health system isn’t keeping up with the problems undermining our society. Depression. Loneliness. Teen suicide. Veterans’ issues. I have no answers. It’s the novelist’s job to raise the questions. Politicians must figure out how to find answers and make strategies work in the real world.
READ THE INTERVIEW WITH BARBARA NICKLESS
LISTEN TO THE SUN-UP PODCAST WITH THE AUTHOR
Kevin Simpson | Writer
Sunday Reading List
A curated list of what you may have missed from The Colorado Sun this week.
In Jim Morrissey’s world, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow might be coming from the backend of a chicken. (Jim Morrissey, Special to The Colorado Sun)? Should charter schools be allowed to open in troubled school districts without the OK of the local school board? It’s the question of the moment at the statehouse, where Senate President James Coleman is contemplating a bill concept endorsed by Gov. Jared Polis intended to solve for Colorado “education deserts.” Erica Breunlin has the details.
? This is the time of the legislative season when we watch the slow churn of bills through committees. Last week Jesse Paul reported on the shape a controversial gun bill has taken on its way through House committees, on a bill that would roll back a 2022 law that required sperm banks to disclose more than medical history to people using donated sperm to conceive, on legislation determining when the sexual history of an assault victim can be discussed in court and on how the Colorado Youth Advisory Council managed to survive the budget axe. There is more play-by-play coverage to review at coloradosun.com/politics.
? Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Lawmakers were so upset by reporting a few years back on corruption in the judiciary branch that they authorized creation of a special ombudsman’s office and funded it to the tune of $400,000 a year. The problem is, Brian Eason learned, no one bothered to actually set up the office or hire the ombudsman.
? Though the numbers are improving, kids in mental health crisis often spend too much time in hospital ERs waiting for a placement. One Denver mom is working to make sure the emergency department care is as compassionate as it can be, Chryss Cada reports.
? But inpatient behavioral health care can be hard to come by lately. Jennifer Brown reports that about 500 jobs in the industry have been lost so far this year as hospitals in northern Colorado and the Western Slope shut down.
? In other numbers news, the families of about 67,000 Colorado kids who are eligible for food assistance in the summer aren’t signing up for it. Jennifer Brown found out that adds up to about $8 million left on the table.
? The Platte River Power Authority, owned by four northern Colorado cities, says installing new, efficient natural gas-fired turbines on its coal-fired Rawhide station is an important stepping stone as it transitions to carbon-free electricity generation. Parker Yamasaki checked out the company’s arguments and the counterclaims by environmentalists and Larimer County officials standing in the way of the new power plant.
? Just as Pueblo residents are set to vote on whether to end the city’s supply deal with Black Hills Energy, the state Public Utilities Commission authorized a much reduced rate hike for 309,000 customers in the region. Mark Jaffe reports that consumer advocates think the utility should have received no rate increase at all.
? Mount Lindsey has been out of the peakbagging circuit for a couple of years. But changes to Colorado’s liability law have spurred the Trinchera Blanca Ranch to restore access to the San Luis Valley fourteener and Jason Blevins has the details.
? This all may change, depending on the storms that were lining up, but snowpack in the northern mountains is just about normal, though conditions are severely lacking to the south. Climate scientists told Olivia Prentzel this has them worried about streamflow and drought conditions in the coming months.
? The owner of Purgatory Resort near Durango needs to trim something like $14,000 a day from the ski hill’s budget. Jason Blevins learned that this has included letting workers go and deploying others to jobs they don’t normally do.
? We’re saying it here because the federal government doesn’t want you to know that a record number of people visited national park properties last year, including 13 in Colorado that logged 7.33 million visits on their own. Tell all your friends.
Dana Coffield | Editor
Thanks for checking in again this marvelous Colorado Sunday. We know the news is a little noisy right now and so appreciate that you’re able to focus on the stories we hope help Colorado people better understand it all. Have a festive St. Patrick’s Day and we’ll see you back here again next week. As always, if you want to bring a friend, direct them to coloradosun.com/join.
— Dana & the whole staff of The Sun
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