By Chase Woodruff | deputy editor
“It’s hard emotionally as somebody who cares deeply about our forests — in areas of our district there’s not a tree left.”
— Jess Moore, wildland project coordinator for Evergreen Fire & Rescue
Trees killed by mountain pine beetles crisscross the forest floor in Grand County. (Photo courtesy of CSFS)
By Jennifer Oldham
Amid historic drought conditions, the breadth and intensity of Colorado’s mountain pine beetle epidemic is expected to expand exponentially this year. The damage wrought is already evident in thousands of dead and dying red-needled ponderosa pine in the mountains west of Denver — and the growing price tag to mitigate the damage and protect high-value trees from the next onslaught presents a quandary for local, state and federal agencies.
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A black bear. (Photo by Jason Clay/CPW)
By Sara Wilson
Colorado is distributing $1 million across the state to fund projects designed to lower the number of run-ins between humans and hungry black bears seeking trashcan meals. The latest round of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Human-Bear Conflict Reduction Grants will fund 17 projects, the state announced Tuesday. Bear sightings in Colorado’s mountain towns — and even urban centers — have made headlines this summer.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill speaks at a news conference in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (Photo by Piper Hutchinson/Louisiana Illuminator)
By Kelcie Moseley-Morris
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill and the attorneys general in Arkansas and Alabama filed a lawsuit Tuesday in the U.S. Supreme Court, suing California, Massachusetts and New York to invalidate the so-called “shield laws” that have allowed providers in those states to send abortion medication to people in states with abortion bans.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Cap on state revenue collection would rise under Colorado ballot measure | By Chase Woodruff
Commentary: Bring transparency back to Colorado courtrooms | By Quentin Young
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