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Week of September 1, 2022
DENVER, COLORADO
A publication of
VOLUME 95 | ISSUE 41
Shedding light on 350 sensitive species
As students return to school, COVID discussions continue Endemic stage approaches BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
An endangered black-footed ferret enjoying some sunshine.
What in the piping plover? BY OLIVIA PRENTZEL THE COLORADO SUN
How are scientists working to protect the toothless, federally endangered Colorado pikeminnow? Which species is most at risk from the state’s energy production and mining? What’s a piping plover? The answers can be found on
Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s new species conservation dashboard, which lists more than 350 sensitive species that call Colorado home and the agency’s efforts to protect them. The public can explore at-risk species and threats they face and track the state’s conservation work outlined in its wildlife action plan. The recently launched site allows for more transparency on CPW’s efforts to conserve the sensitive species — from the greater prairie-
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 11
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chicken to the long-nosed leopard lizard — and offers more awareness to conservation partners, land management agencies, local governments and the public, David Klute, the agency’s species conservation unit supervisor said Thursday. It also serves as a reminder that enjoying the outdoors does not come without an impact. Unregulated backcountry SEE SENSITIVE P5
As students walk back into classrooms in the fourth school year amid the coronavirus pandemic, parents may find themselves wondering: When can we stop worrying about COVID-19? “As we go into our third fall living with COVID, this has been an extraordinary experience for society, for public health departments, for folks that have been most impacted,” said Dr. John Douglas, head of Tri-County Health Department. “It’s been a hugely tragic circumstance. We’ve lost over a million people in the U.S. I think we’ll be learning from this as we go.” While experts say the pandemic looks much different than it did last year, predictions about what the return of school means in this era of fast-changing variants can be a mixed bag. “My guess is bringing kids back to school will probably increase (COVID) transmission among kids, but it will probably have a limited impact on the community. Part of the reason I say that is we have so much built-up immunity,” Douglas said, referring to people who have been vaccinated and the unvaccinated who have been infected. SEE DISCUSSIONS, P2
FUNGI FORAGING
Mushroom hunting in Colorado sees major upswing
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