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Aug. 28, 2025 Vol. XXIV, No. 33 durangotelegraph.com
inside
T H E
O R I G I N A L
I N D I E
W E E K L Y
L I N E
O N
D U R A N G O
&
B E Y O N D
Wyoming reckoning
Upward revision
How low will it go?
Indictment of wolf-killer a shift in Cowboy State p6
Gasoline spill four times bigger than first thought p8
As states grapple with new deal, Powell shrinks p10
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lineup
4 La Vida Local
A new attitude Cody Roberts indictment signals shift in Cowboy State’s approach to wolves by Wendy Keefover / Writers on the Range
4 Sign of the Downfall 4 Thumbin’ It 6 Writers on the Range
8
7 Soapbox
A big one
8 Local News
Local gas spill found to be more than four times bigger than first estimate
9 Quick’n’Dirty
by Shannon Mullane / Colorado Sun
10 Big Pivots
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12-13 Stuff to Do
Ballot preview
13 Ask Rachel
Local voters asked to open wallets for county services, fire district by Missy Votel
14 Free Will Astrology 15 Classifieds
10
15 Haiku Movie Review
Still dropping
On the cover A great blue heron eyeballs some visitors along a stretch of the San Juan River recently./ Photo by Andy High
As states grapple with new flow formula, Powell continues to shrink by Allen Best / Big Pivots
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Ear to the ground: “When I grew up in Pittsburgh, I was the most outdoorsy and adventurous person I knew. When I got to FLC, I was the most uptight and unoutdoorsy person there.” – It’s all relative, but hey, at least you got here…
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RegularOccurrences
Peachy keen Summer in Colorado culminates with the glorious arrival of Palisade peach season. And if you happen to be among those who think the Palisade peach is far superior to the average mealy grocery store variety, it may be more than just a case of West Slope pride. According to Bill St. John, a Denver-based foodie writing in the Denver Post, the reason that Palisade peaches taste so good is all in the science of geography. “Every element of Palisade’s place on Colorado’s Western Slope conspires to produce fruit unlike that from anywhere else,” wrote St. John recently. “Dry mountain air combined with lofty, closer-to-the-sun altitudes allows for intense and unrefracted sunlight, which results in high pigment concentration in both fruit and skin (just like humans who tan poolside).” In addition, day-to-night temperature swings – very warm days and cool nights – slowly ripen and develop sugar and flavor molecules, while retaining the fruit’s acidity, “giving a Palisade peach not only luscious sweetness and flavor but also a tangy snap.” But peaches aren’t just revered by Coloradans, who buy them by the flat full. According to St. John, throughout history, the peach has been held in high regard, its blossom adorning brides in China and Japan as a symbol of virginity and fertility. There are more than 300 varieties of peaches grown in the United States and more than 2,000 globally. In earlier years, the Colorado crop was dominated by the Elberta peach. But now, six varieties make up more than half of Colorado’s peach crop: O’Henry, Redhaven, Glohaven, Suncrest, Red Globe and Cresthaven. But the peach goes back much farther than these varieties and even humans, with fossilized peach pits found in China dating back 2.5 million years. Despite its Chinese origins, though, the biological name for the peach, prunus Persica, comes from its proliferation in ancient Persia (modern-day Iran). It is believed the peach eventually found its way west along China’s Great Silk Road. For ideas on what to do with peaches that made it to your kitchen, visit billstjohn.com. Aug. 28, 2025 n 3
LaVidaLocal Red-light special As you may imagine, traveling with 160 pounds of dog is a logistical challenge in any configuration. Lodging establishments tend to have animal restrictions. They often restrict us by quantity or mass – as if purse pups are any quieter or less destructive. So, for our recent semi-long-term travel booking, the boys and I turned to Barebnb. Barebnb, for the uninitiated, is the more honest and transparent copycat of a well-known home share platform. True to its name, it ensures the bare minimum. It also stands by the guarantee implied in those final three letters of the brand: you get a bed, for “b,” and for “n” you get not much else. Not even, it turns out, what’s included in the listing. Perhaps I am a petty b, which accounts for that final “b” at the end of the brand name – but our accommodations lacked both so-called “kitchen essentials” AND a first-aid kit. All of this is no big deal until breakfast goes sideways. The only silver lining, I suppose, was that no one could put any salt in the wound. Still, this condo allowed dogs, plural, with not much restrictions and not much fees. In hindsight, these may have been red flags. We needed a place to sleep besides the car, however, so we paid the nonrefundable booking fee through Barebnb and moved in. All told, the condo complex provided a charming experience of community and culture. We got not much chance to be charmed, however. Our time was largely consumed by evading the many free-roaming dogs drawn in by the lack of fees and restrictions, particularly those under the guardianship of underqualified toddlers, and dodging the many underutilized dog-poop-disposal stations. My trip afield, in fact, was dominated by making certain my dogs kept me comfortable. The actual purpose for our travel fell by the wayside. I don’t even recall the purpose for our travel, beyond doing our civil best to earn a positive guest review on Barebnb. We soon gave up even on that. Late one weekend morning, in a rare moment free of neighbor dogs and their pint-sized handlers, my dogs and I sat on the front stoop of our ground-level unit. We sipped coffee and admired the parking lot. A car
pulled into the numbered spot next to ours. This was business-as-usual. Frequent cars pulled into the numbered spot next to ours. They never came back. This, I was fine with. Most of them were terrible parkers. This particular driver – let’s call him “John” because you’ll see why – sat there for some minutes. The dogs and I were aware of him, but none of us barked. Him sitting there was the most charming aspect of the condo complex we’d yet seen. At some length, a woman from the unit adjacent to ours went and chatted with John through the car window. John drove off; she came back up the short walk to our building and complimented the cuteness of my dogs. I immediately suspected her to be of the highest discernment and character.
“My friend is such a wuss,” she said. “He was like, ‘I’m not coming out of the car with this dude and his big dogs staring at me. Nuh uh.’” We three were appropriately flattered. She kvetched about our mutual Barebnb host and the extortion-level rates we paid. Something on my face or my dogs’ faces prompted her to lean in like a co-conspirator; whatever she saw on our faces, we were honestly just pleased that one single neighbor was not stooping on our stoop without picking it up. We weren’t asking for what came next. “John wasn’t my friend,” she confided. “I’m an escort. You all are scaring off my customers.”
SignoftheDownfall:
Thumbin’It The monsoons, or something like it, have arrived in the Southwest. Good job with the naked rain dance, everybody! Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are getting married. We are happy because T. Swift has finally found love (what will she sing about now?) and the news is driving Maga Nation almost as crazy as the new Cracker Barrel logo.
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This, at 11 a.m. on a Sunday, took us aback. The listing certainly had not indicated THIS as a neighborhood amenity! The threat, though quiet, was clear – we, intimidating though we may be, needed to stay out of her way – or else. Or else? Or else risk the wrath of the next John, or the next – one with better threat assessment capabilities? Worse, what if the Barebnb host was in on this ring? Were we, the rare legitimate guests, the front for a much shadier business model? Look, I don’t care that this woman makes her living as an on-site escort. If the industry were safe and regulated, I might have considered the gig in order to pay for our Barebnb stay. But I cared that we had just been confronted, on our own rented stoop, about interfering with illicit activity – in broad daylight – on the Christian god’s holy day, for whatever that was worth. My priorities became: 1) get us the everloving heck out of there; 2) get refunded for our unused dates, because if ever circumstances were extenuating, these were. Getting out, while stressful, was doable. We regrouped before one John or another got wind of our whereabouts. The refund, though, proved impossible. Our hosts cared as much about the unlicensed practice in their rented unit as they did about our kitchen’s lack of cooking oil. It looked increasingly like the foot traffic was buttering their bread. So I jumped on with Barebnb Support, thinking they’d like to, you know, support me. Hours of phone calls, hysterics and closed support tickets later, Support’s response came down to: “We talked to the host. They don’t want to refund you. And since prostitution is not covered in our BareCoverage policy, you’re also getting boned.” So – I may be out some moolah. The dogs have not ruled out more drastic measures; regardless, I finally got the joy of writing a scathing review, and then the joy of editing it down to Barebnb’s character limit. The limit of their character is, admittedly, quite small. I’m left to conclude that whatever the challenges of traveling with dogs, they cannot compare to the challenges of human beings. Next time, we’ll pitch a pup tent. Far, far away. Five stars. – Zach Hively
Fowl Play Turns out that the gasoline pipeline spill last year on the Florida Mesa was at least four times bigger than originally estimated, making it the largest in the state in almost 10 years. Not a good look for us. Another school shooting in what should be a safe space: a church. What’s worse is that these things seems to have become a permanent entry in the “down” column.
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Key West is famous for its lime pie, vibrant queer community and its chickens, which everybody loves, including 38-year-old Cynthia Sosa. So, when Sosa saw a particularly awesome chicken crossing the road last month, she stopped her car to let the bird cross. But then another motorist ,who was in a hurry to pick up her kid from daycare, swerved around Sosa and killed the chicken. Ergo, Sosa chased down the chicken murderer, cut her off and sprayed her in the face with bear spray, even though there aren’t any bears in Key West. Sosa has plead not guilty to aggravated battery, which is totally justified given that she never got to ask that chicken a very important question.
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Aug. 28, 2025 n 5
WritersontheRange
Wyoming reckoning Felony charges in wolf-killing may signal a shift in the Cowboy State by Wendy Keefover
T
he Wyoming man who deliberately ran down a wolf with his snowmobile in 2024 didn’t face any consequences, unless you count a $250 fine for “possessing a live animal.” But as the terrible story and graphic photos of the wolf’s suffering spread across the nation, public reaction could be summed up as “horrified.” Still, the Wyoming state Legislature failed to make illegal what Cody Roberts did. After running over the young female wolf with his snowmobile, Roberts paraded the dazed and gravely injured animal – its mouth duct-taped shut – through a bar in Daniel, Wyo. Then he shot the Keefover wolf dead. In reaction, Wyoming’s governor and Legislature passed a bill with no substance, HB 275, blandly labeled “The treatment of animals.” In passing it, Wyoming lawmakers sanctioned killing wildlife with vehicles. At a hearing before the vote, representatives of Wyoming’s agricultural community defended the practice. One argued that without access to M-44 sodium-cyanide bombs that are now virtually prohibited, they needed to run over wolves and other wildlife with vehicles to protect their livestock. For a while it seemed that the old ways of the Cowboy State would persist without question. That is, until the attorney for Sublette County convened a grand jury to examine Cody Roberts’ actions. The closed-door grand jury acted Aug. 21, indicting Roberts on “felony animal cruelty,” an offense punishable by up to two years in prison, a fine of $5,000, or
A gray wolf in Yellowstone National Park. Although the wolves are protected within the park, outside its boundaries, they’re fair game./ Photo by Agnieszka Bacal/Shutterstock both. Roberts must appear in court to enter a plea of “guilty” or “not guilty” at arraignment. He could accept a plea deal or take a gamble and face trial. Wyoming’s leaders may not realize it, but they now face a new landscape that increasingly demands responsible, nuanced responses, as well as humane policies involving animals. This ethic has already emerged in the West. For the most part, Wyoming leaders seem to be taking bad advice from the wrong people and find themselves badly out of step with the rest of the nation. In a better world, those who work with animals – whether wild or domestic – would use ingenuity to prevent negative interactions with wildlife.
Using the blunt force of a snowmobile to “manage” wildlife isn’t wildlife management. It is state-sanctioned cruelty. Roberts needs to be punished. But what’s really at stake is achieving a changed relationship with wildlife in Wyoming. Ethics, not indifference, and a responsible attitude should prevail. And the state’s politicians and leaders need to be at the head of the parade on passing and enforcing laws that reflect the values of their fellow citizens. In two separate polls, an overwhelming majority of Wyoming residents – including 74% of sportsmen – agreed that running over animals with vehicles is neither ethical nor “fair chase.” A poll by the Remington Research Group, a na-
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6 n Aug. 28, 2025
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tional polling firm, found that 71% of Wyoming residents do not approve of animal cruelty. The coming years could pose a rare opportunity for sportsmen, conservationists and the agricultural community to find common ground, building a future where humane wildlife stewardship is the norm. I believe this can happen because precedents exist. Simultaneously with the passage of its HB275 wolf bill this year, another nightmare had been brewing: Two legislators proposed a bill to allow year-round hunting and trapping of mountain lions. But hunters and wildlife advocates stood together and shouted a collective “No!” The Legislature listened. That moment proved important. When we rise above division and focus on fairness and respect for wildlife, we can protect what makes the West wild and wonderful, and we can do it together. By dragging that muzzled wolf into a bar, Roberts also dragged Wyoming’s outdated treatment of wildlife into broader public view. In the harsh glare of what became a global spotlight, he may end up having done Wyoming a strange kind of favor. His grotesque actions exposed to the world what many in Wyoming already knew – that cruelty to wildlife is not tolerated by most residents, even if it happens to be protected by law. Those who might think the state should ignore such cruelty grow ever fewer in number. If there’s any justice to be found in the matter, it rests with the prospect that Roberts’ brutality could spark real change for the better of wolves and other wildlife, ethics and Wyoming’s future. Wendy Keefover is a contributor to Writers on the Range, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. She works as an advocate for native carnivores for Humane World for Animals. ■
SoapBox A healthcare catastrophe The Western Slope of Colorado faces a daunting healthcare affordability crisis as private insurance premiums for 2026 threaten to skyrocket. Preliminary filings with the Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI) show rate increases nearing 40% for privately insured people on the Western Slope – far higher than recent years (5.6% in 2025, 9.7% in 2024,) and well above the statewide average of 28%. These steep hikes stem largely from federal actions that will allow the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits Dec. 31. These are the subsidies many people depend on to make Affordable Care Act premiums affordable. This is a deliberate result of congressional inaction. According to the Colorado DOI, without these credits, insurers must raise rates to cover higher costs, and smaller, less competitive Western Slope markets will be hit the hardest. At a recent presentation in Durango Rep. Katie Stewart, D-Durango, warned that individuals who have relied on ePTC subsidies should prepare for a significant increase in their monthly premium rates. She projected premium hikes of roughly 178% in La Plata County, 216% in Archuleta, 181% in Montezuma, and 143% in San Juan as federal cost-sharing support is withdrawn. For families and individuals in rural and mountain communities, these spikes could mean impossible choices. Insurers further estimate that nearly 100,000 Coloradans may lose coverage next year as
premiums become unaffordable – losses that are expected to hit rural and mountain regions the hardest. In addition to huge rate increases and subsidy cuts, policy changes in the Big Beautiful Bill Act complicate coverage renewals. There are restrictions on automatic Medicaid and ACA marketplace renewals, shortened enrollment windows, an increased number of eligibility checks and subsidy limits for lawfully present immigrants. Other factors contributing significantly to increased costs include tariffs on drugs and medical devices, and inflation. This new law and additional rules all raise greater barriers to care. The administrative hurdles specifically have been shown to disrupt insurance coverage, pushing many toward being uninsured. Colorado’s federal senators have called on Congress to extend premium tax credits and reverse Medicaid cuts, warning that letting supports expire sacrifices affordable care for working families in order to give tax breaks to the wealthy. The premium surge also threatens our region’s fragile rural healthcare system. Local hospitals and clinics rely on insured patients for financial viability. This jeopardizes the very safety net that our community relies upon. Health insurance affordability is not just policy – it’s a deeply human issue. If you are concerned about soaring premiums, act now, before November enrollment starts. Call our Rep. Jeff Hurd, R-Colo., who voted yes on the BBBA and demand he work to
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restore ePTC subsidies and prevent devastating spikes that push more District 3 residents out of coverage. Insist that our federal and state legislators protect families, seniors and workers from worsening healthcare costs. Let them know how this crisis affects your household, neighbors and local healthcare facilities. Tell them about your frustration with a system prioritizing insurance profits, ignoring inflated hospital executive pay and allowing pharmaceutical price gouging, over people’s health. Urge support for innovative and equitable solutions that make healthcare affordable for everyone and adequately supports healthcare providers, even in rural areas instead of enriching big healthcare corporate monopolies. Your voice is powerful. When enough constituents demand change, elected officials are forced to listen and act. Call today – and as often as possible. Be clear and loud: insist on policies that put people’s lives before corporate profits. It’s time to disrupt healthcare and build a system that works for everyone. If you need help finding a plan during these dire times, contact Connect for Health Colorado which operates as the official state health insurance marketplace, providing access to private plans and federal premium assistance. Go to their website and ask for assistance. The Colorado affordability initiative, The Health Insurance Affordability Enterprise (HIAE), provides payments and subsidies to carriers and eligible individuals. – Jan Phillips, Durango
Aug. 28, 2025 n 7
LocalNews
Upward revision Gas spill now estimated at 97,000 gallons, making it state’s largest on record by Shannon Mullane / The Colorado Sun
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gasoline spill in La Plata County, one that threatens the nearby Animas River, was at least four times larger than originally reported, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. After the state and tribe questioned the accuracy of the original estimate, Enterprise Products LLC, which owns and operates the pipeline, found that the underground pipeline leaked 97,000 gallons of refined gasoline into the ground on Florida Mesa, just southeast of Durango. The company’s original estimate was 23,000 gallons. “The updated estimate underscores the seriousness of the incident, which is now estimated to be the largest refined gasoline pipeline spill in Colorado since CDPHE began tracking such releases in 2016,” the health department and the Southern Ute Tribe said in a joint news release Tuesday. Community members reported gasoline on the ground’s surface Dec. 5, 2024, prompting a hazmat crew to respond and residents to evacuate. Houses in a small subdivision within the boundaries of both La Plata County and the Southern Ute Reservation near the spill received water filters and cisterns. Some residents stayed temporarily in hotels while others left the area entirely. The pipeline’s leak-detection systems didn’t notify Enterprise of the spill, according to news reports. Residents questioned the original estimate, saying that it could have been leaking for a long time before it was reported or that it’d have to be larger to soak the ground’s surface. “It doesn’t surprise me,” Patrick Goddard, who owns Rainbow Springs Trout Farm and lives downhill from the spill site, said. He’d heard estimates from 500 gallons to 120,000 gallons. “It keeps seeming to go up.” The pipeline is part of Enterprise’s Mid-America Pipeline System, which extends through Texas, New Mexico, Wyoming and other states. In La Plata County, the Four Corners Lateral Loop passes through farmland and backyards on Florida Mesa before running down the mesa’s slope and under the Animas River.
Patrick Goddard, owner of Rainbow Springs Trout Farm, south of Durango, at his fish farm June 27. In December, about 80,000 of his fingerlings died, raising questions about impacts from the gas spill on the Florida Mesa. Water for the trout farm comes from groundwater that flows out of the mesa./ Photo by Shannon Mullane, The Colorado Sun The spill leaked benzene and other contaminants into the mesa. Benzene is a component of crude oil products and is a caustic short-term threat for headaches and nausea. Longer-term exposure risks include leukemia and other conditions, according to CDPHE. The cause of the spill was “material failure of the pipeline or welding,” according to the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Enterprise Products’ July report did not elaborate on the investigation into the cause. No new information had been reported to CDPHE indicating the cause has changed or that the investigation is ongoing, the agency said Aug. 11. “It’s kind of concerning that they can’t tell how much gas has spilled,” Goddard said, wondering if Enterprise was hiding it or just ignorant of the full amount. “I hope there is more monitoring in the future so they catch something like this sooner.” Enterprise has reported recovering more than 20,000 gallons of gasoline from underground. The Southern Ute Indian Tribe called on the company to work with “urgency and accountability” in fully remediating the spill. “The Tribe expects timely action and
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robust safeguards to protect the Animas River and our Tribal Membership,” Southern Ute Indian Tribe Chairman Melvin Baker said in the news release. “Anything less would be a failure to uphold the standards our community and environment.” The state, working with the Tribe, is requiring Enterprise to follow a corrective action plan to ensure a comprehensive cleanup. As part of that plan, Enterprise will continue its remediation work until monitoring data confirms that all regulatory standards have been met and contamination no longer poses a risk to human health or the environment, according to the news statement. “We share their commitment to protecting community health and safeguarding the environment and will continue to support strong measures to ensure Enterprise meets its obligations,” CDPHE said. The underground mass of contaminants, called a plume, was mainly moving south on top of the mesa, not southwest toward the Animas River located a half-mile away, according to experts and a July 30 report. The Colorado Sun is a nonprofit, awardwinning news outlet covering Colorado. Sign up for their newsletters and follow them on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Bluesky.■
Quick’n’Dirty Tax measures face local voters Local voters are being asked to dig a little deeper into their pockets this November. La Plata County is asking voters to approve a 1% sales tax increase while the City of Durango is asking voters to weigh in on a proposed 4.45 mill levy property tax increase for the Durango Fire and Protection District. According to the City, the property tax increase will be used to fund a new fire station at Three Springs, among other things. If passed the mill levy increase, which only applies to properties within the City of Durango, will apply to 2025 taxes and be collected in 2026. Bear with us as we attempt to muddle through the convoluted mill levy process as best we can. One “mill” is equal to $1 for every $1,000 in assessed property value. Currently, La Plata County assesses residential properties at a rate of 6.25%. That means, for a house of $750,000, the assessed value is about $47,000, so a 4.45 mill levy would equate to an increase of $209.15 a year. According to the Durango Fire Protection District, it is now mostly funded by the current mill levy of 8.2, so this would equate to a little more than a 50% increase. However, nothing is set in stone, and the city is asking for resident feedback on the proposal – known as Question 2A – which would appear on the Nov. 4 ballot. Through noon, Fri., Sept. 19, the City will be accepting pro/con feedback on the proposed ballot question. Comments may only be submitted by eligible voters, must contain their name and address, and be signed. Electronic signatures are acceptable. Comments are limited
seniors and at-risk families; and preserving and enhancing county services, as needs evolve. The sales tax increase of 1% would come out to a $1 increase on a $100 purchase. The current sales tax levied by La Plata County is 2%, so if approved, the increase would bring that total county sales tax to 3%. This is in addition to 2.9% levied by the State of Colorado and 3.5% by the City of Durango. If passed, the total new sales tax rate in La Plata County would be 9.4%. Ballots will be mailed the week of Oct. 10, with military and overseas ballots going out the week of Sept. 19. The general election is Tues., Nov. 4.
Bike/ped counters needed to 500 words and can be submitted via ballot.durango @durangoco.gov or by mail or in person at: Durango City Hall, 949 E. 2nd Ave. As for the county, its proposed 1% sales tax hike question was approved Tues., Aug. 26, by commissioners. The increase would be used to offset revenue shortfalls that fail to “keep pace with the steadily increasing cost to provide the level and quality of services the community has come to expect,” according to a county news release. These services include, but are not limited to: building, maintaining and improving roads, bridges, public buildings and other infrastructure; supporting law enforcement and public safety; preparing for and responding to wildfires, floods and natural disasters; providing services and support programs for veterans,
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And speaking of the City of Durango, if you’ve got a little extra time on your hands mid-September, they could use your help On Sept. 16-20, the city needs volunteers for its annual bike and pedestrian count. These counts are vital for grant funding and to inform infrastructure projects, the city’s “Bicycle Friendly’ status and decision-making on transportation patterns. Volunteers are needed for 2-hour stints at various locations. They will be tasked with counting cyclists and pedestrians and reporting that number to the City’s Multimodal Division. For their troubles, volunteers will get a free Kleen Canteen water bottle. To sign up, go to: volunteersignup.org/TME4Q. – Missy Votel
Aug. 28, 2025 n 9
BigPivots
How low will it go? States try to agree on new flow formula while Lake Powell continues to shrink by Allen Best
T
he words “urgency” and “immediate action” were used by Trump administration officials Aug. 15 in releasing the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation 24month outlook for the Colorado River Basin. The study sees a high probability of Lake Powell water levels falling to within 48 feet of the minimum power pool by January. That elevation, 3,490 feet above sea level, is the reservoir’s lowest level at which hydroelectricity can be produced. That has not happened since Powell began filling in 1966. “This underscores the importance of immediate action to secure the future of the Colorado River,” David Palumbo, acting BuRec commissioner, said. Scott Cameron, acting Department of Interior assistant secretary for water and science, had similar words of warning. “As the basin prepares for the transition to post-2026 operating guidelines, the urgency for the seven Colorado River Basin states to reach a consensus has never been clearer,” he said. “We cannot afford to delay.” The announcement cited “unprecedented drought” but made no mention of climate change. This seems to be a theme. Cameron, at the University of Colorado’s annual water seminar in Boulder in June, talked for 24 minutes without once mentioning climate change. He even answered a question about climate change without using the phrase. He did seem to acknowledge it, saying that in the “real world” there is less water than before, “and that is probably not going to change a whole bunch.” But, might the situation be even worse than what the BuRec has projected? A bias of optimism On Aug. 14, a day before the release of the 24-month report, John Fleck and others posted an analysis on Fleck’s Inkstain that warned the study would likely be overly optimistic. The problem, explained Fleck and his co-authors, is that the “assumptions underlying the study do not fully capture the climate change-driven aridification of the Colorado River Basin.” The bureau uses a 30-year average in predicting what lies ahead. However, using hydrology dating back to the 1990s no longer provides the same usefulness. The climate is changing too fast. Paul Milley, formerly of the U.S. Geologic Survey, noted this problem in a 2008 paper, “Stationarity is Dead: Whither Water Management.”
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A downstream view of Glen Canyon Dam. After years of overly optimistic outlooks on Colorado River flows and over-allocation, states that rely on it are taking a sober look at a new formula to determine how much water each state gets./Courtesy photo In that paper, Milley and his co-authors argued that human-induced climate change was altering the means and extremes of precipitation, evapotranspiration and rates of runoff. As such, using old models to guide water management no longer worked as well. In their posting at Inkstain, Fleck and his coauthors noted that a year ago, the BuRec’s 24-month study found that the “most probable” level for Powell would be 3,593 at the end of July 2025. But it was 38 feet lower than that after a so-so winter and an early, warm spring. This, they said, illustrated the bias toward optimism by the agency. That bias had been detailed in a 2022 study by a team led by Jian Wang, of the Utah State Center for Colorado River Studies. The bureau also issues maximum and minimum probable scenarios. Fleck and his team contend that the bureau’s minimum probable scenario has become the most valuable in providing a reliable indicator of future flows. This past winter was mediocre, near average snowfall in some basins but among the worst in the San Juans. Spring was warm in many places, and rains in July were almost entirely absent. The preliminary estimated inflow into Powell for April-July was 41% of average from 1991-2020, according to the bureau’s “most-probable” outlook. But in July, inflows slipped to 12% of the 30-year average. Might fortunes soon be reversed? Not likely anytime soon, said Fleck and his team, noting this summer’s weak monsoon coupled with the seasonal outlook by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which points to a warmer and drier than average fall. “It’s a good bet that this trend will continue at least through winter,” they wrote. As it stands, levels in Lake Mead, downstream from Powell, will necessitate cuts in the lower basin as required by several agreements reached between 2007-19. Arizona is to see an 18% cut and Nevada a 7% cut in annual apportionments. Mexico is to get 5% less than its
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annual allotment. In acre-feet, that’s 412,000 for Arizona; 21,000 for Nevada; and 80,000 for Mexico. A new agreement The big story continues to be what agreements the seven basin states can achieve in recognition of reduced flows. “Megadrought” and “aridification” are words now common in Colorado River discussions. A study published recently in Nature identifies new ways that the warming climate has altered the hydrology of Colorado and other southwestern states (see: “Why rain and snow skip the Southwest.”) In 2018, an agreement among the states was reached regarding how to deal with drought. It was universally recognized as an interim agreement, with a final decision to be reached in advance of a 2026 deadline. That deadline is now close at hand. “The health of the Colorado River system and the livelihoods that depend on it are relying on our ability to collaborate effectively and craft forward-thinking solutions that prioritize conservation, efficiency and resilience,” Cameron, Interior’s undersecretary, said in the Aug. 15 announcement. In June, Cameron called on basin states to submit a preliminary agreement in November and a final sevenstate proposal in February 2026. The plan would be to reach a final decision in the summer of 2026 with implementation beginning October 2026. Non-government organizations issued statements also calling for the states to find a way forward. “This is not just a crisis. It’s also a call to action to use remaining time wisely to replace our current, reactive, emergency-based management framework with new, long-term solutions,” John Berggren, regional policy manager for Western Resource Advocates, said. “We can’t litigate our way out – we must collaborate.” For many months, reports suggested that the fourupper basin states – Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico – and the three lower-basin states – Arizona, Ne-
vada and California – remained far apart. A story June 27 in the Las Vegas Review Journal described the meetings as “tense” and “deadlocked.” The Colorado River Compact of 1922 specified that the upper basin states “will not cause the flow of the river at Lee Ferry to be depleted” below an aggregate of 75 million acre-feet for any 10 consecutive years. But what if the river fails to deliver that much water? Upper-basin states have delivered that volume so far, mostly because Wyoming, in particular, has not developed what was expected 100 years ago. Those who had originally gathered in 1922 to negotiate the compact had understood drought, but only as a temporary thing. They had no extensive long-term perspective – and chose to ignore what evidence was at hand, according to a 2019 book by Fleck and Kuhn, “Science be Dammed: How Ignoring Inconvenient Science Drained the Colorado River.” The beef of Colorado’s and other upperbasin states has been that the two big dams on the river provided certainty for the lower-basin states to get water. However, the headwaters states have no certainty. They must live with what Mother Nature provides. They have balked at cutting water use to provide certainty for downstream states. They want the risk shared.
Natural flow proposal In June came word of what may have been a breakthrough: the “natural flow proposal.” As explained by Tom Buschatzke, the director of Arizona Water Resources, to the Arizona Republic on June 18, the idea is to focus less on who gets what and more on what the river can realistically provide. “We do have to recognize what the hydrologic risks are to us,” he said, “and we have to find an equitable way to share those risks.” That idea being discussed would employ a rolling three-year average of the natural flow of the river. “Natural” is defined as the volume if there were no diversions and impoundments. Buschatzke – a frequent visitor at the Colorado River forum sponsored by the University of Colorado each June – pointed out that the goal would be to spread the pain equitably, not equally. The lower basin would need more water than the upper basin, which has still to develop all the water it was allocated in the 1922 compact. “It is not 50-50,” he told represents at the June 17 meeting. “I won’t try to speculate on what the number might be.” A few weeks later, John Entsminger, Nevada’s representative in interstate talks, similarly was vague about details. “It’s not
something where I can tell you what the score is in the third inning: the baseball game is still being played,” he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Everybody’s pretty much accepted that we’ve got to come up with a new formula,” Mark Squillace, an environmental law professor at the University of Colorado told the Las Vegas newspaper. “The devil’s in the details.” Mitchell, Colorado’s representative on the Upper Colorado River Commission (and its acting chair), told the ReviewJournal that the 2007 guidelines that provide the management map of the river’s operations are not sustainable because “the water is just not there. It’s not in storage, and it’s not in the river.” In a June story in Politico, Mitchell described the natural flows idea as a math problem. The concept under discussion is that Powell would release a certain percentage of the average of the last few years of natural flows, as measured at Lee Ferry, she said. Politico described a more complex challenge: The premise of sharing the river based on how much water would travel downstream without dams or diversions or other human interventions is a complex mathematical problem, rife with pitfalls and technical issues. Furthermore, this idea would likely take sev-
telegraph
eral years to implement. As such, it would not immediately impact levels in the reservoir. As for the minimum power pool, some 16 electrical utilities in Colorado get power from the dam. But the greatest value of Glen Canyon is that if the Western grid has a blackout, it can be restarted with hydropower from the dam. And too, the role of Congress As administrator of the two big dams in the basin and several smaller ones, the federal government must figure out how to manage them consistently with the agreements among the states. It is also the formal administrator among the lower-basin states. At the conference in Boulder, Cameron clearly said the federal government wants the states to figure out the solution. However, he also said that if the states cannot come to an agreement, the federal government, as the administrator, has authority to set policy. And finally, he mentioned that the whole package may need to go to Congress, as was the case with the Colorado River Compact. It was approved in 1929. (Arizona refused to endorse the compact until much later). Allen Best is a Colorado journalist who publishes an e-magazine called Big Pivots. Reach him at: allen.best@comcast.net. ■
Aug. 28, 2025 n 11
StufftoDo
Thursday28
Andrews Lake upper parking area
Walk & Wonder, a walkers’ meetup, Thursdays, 11 a.m.-12 noon thru Aug. 31, White Rabbit Books & Curiosities, 128 W. 14th St., Ste C-2
Animas City Night Bazaar, 49 p.m., Memorial Park, E. 29th St
“Share Your Garden,” 4:30-6 p.m., Animas Valley Grange, 7271 CR 203
True West “Iron Horse Rodeo” with Four Corners Motorcycle Rally, 6:30 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds
Badly Bent plays, 6 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.
One Stan Band plays, 5-8 p.m., Serious Texas BBQ South, 650 S. Camino del Rio
Eli Cartwright plays, 6-8 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.
Tom Ward’s Downfall plays, 6-8 p.m., Durango Winery, 900 Main Ave.
Matt Rupnow plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Dan Carlson & Nina Sasaki play, 6-8 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.
Chuck Hank plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Matt Rupnow plays, 6-9 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.
Amigo Diablo plays, 6-9 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.
Mike Testa plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Escape the Badlands plays, 6-9 p.m., Gazpacho, 431 E. 2nd Ave.
Chuck Hank plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
“The Spitfire Grill,” presented by The Durango Arts Repertory Theatre, 7:30 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.
Four Corners Motorcycle Rally, 2-8 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds Durango Green Drinks, hosted by the Sustainability Alliance of Southwest Colorado, 5-7 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave. Ska-B-Q with music by The Originals, 5 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St. Garden and Grow Dome community hours, 57 p.m., SOIL Learning Lab, Riverview Elementary Weekly Dart Tournament, 5:30 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave. “Natural Dyes and Pigments,” 5:30-6:30 p.m., SOIL Learning Lab, Riverview Elementary School
Submit items for “Stuff to Do” by Monday at noon to: calendar@durangotelegraph.com
Blue Moon Ramblers play, 5:30-8 p.m., James Ranch Grill, 33846 HWY 550 Open Mic Poetry Night, 5:30-8 p.m., The Subterrain, 900 Main Ave. The Fantastic Durango Brass plays, 6 p.m., Eso Terra Ciderworks, 558 Main Ave. Jeff Solon Jazz, 6-8 p.m., Lola’s, 725 E. 2nd Ave. Name That Tune Trivia Bingo, 6-8 p.m., Barons Creek Vineyards, 901 Main Ave. Trivia Night, 6-8 p.m., Paradise Pizza, Purgatory Pete Giuliani plays, 6-9 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave. Andrew Schuhmann plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Rob Webster plays, 6-9:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Trivia Night on the Plaza, 6:30-8:30 p.m., The Powerhouse, 1333 Camino Del Rio Standup Comedy with Rodney Norman, 7-9 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave. Trivia Night, 7:30 p.m., Starlight , 937 Main Ave.
Friday29 Four Corners Motorcycle Rally, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds San Juan Nature Walks, 10 a.m.-12 noon,
12 n Aug. 28, 2025
High Altitude Blues plays, 6-9 p.m., Weminuche Woodfire Grill, 18044 CR 501, Vallecito The Badly Bent play, 6-9 p.m., Fox Fire Farms Winery, 5513 CR 321, Ignacio Tree Theater & The Heat of Noon plays featuring Poems by Patty, 7-9 p.m., River’s Edge Wellness Center Rooftop, 1521 Main Ave. Open Mic Comedy, 7-9 p.m., EsoTerra, 558 Main Ave. The Rev plays, 7-10 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave. “The Spitfire Grill,” presented by The Durango Arts Repertory Theatre, 7:30 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.
Stretching with Cats, 2-3 p.m., Cat Care Durango, 72 Suttle St., Suite J Jason Thies and Jeff Haspel play, 5-8 p.m., Serious Texas BBQ South, 650 S. Camino del Rio
Community Pancake & Cheese Wizards play, 8 p.m., The Subterrain, 900 Main Ave., Ste. F
Sunday31 Four Corners Motorcycle Rally, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds “Beats & Brunch” with TJ the DJ, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave. Eli Cartwright plays, 12-2 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave. Walk & Wonder, a walkers’ meetup, Sundays, 11 a.m.-12 noon thru Aug. 31, White Rabbit Books & Curiosities, 128 W. 14th St., Ste C-2
Music by Blessing Bled Chimanga, 8-10 p.m., iNDIGO Room, 1315 Main Ave.
“The Spitfire Grill,” presented by The Durango Arts Repertory Theatre, 2 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.
Saturday30
Weekly Peace Vigil & Rally for Gaza & Palestine, every Sunday, 4 p.m., Buckley Park
Bird Outing, 8-10 a.m., SJMA’s Durango Nature Center, 63 CR 310 Durango Farmers Market with music by Pete Giuliani, 8 a.m.-12 noon, TBK Bank, 259 W. 9th St. Bayfield Farmers Market, 8 a.m.-12 noon, Saturdays thru Oct., 1328 CR 501, Bayfield “Never Ever Pole Dance” free class, Saturdays thru August, 9 a.m., Durango Pole Dance, 3600 Main Ave., Ste. B Four Corners Motorcycle Rally, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds
telegraph
Pete Giuliani plays, 4-7 p.m., Dalton Ranch Clubhouse, 589 CR 252 Blue Moon Ramblers play, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Ben Gibson plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Monday01 Happy Hour Yoga, 5:30 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.
AskRachel
To-do or not to-do, taking the ‘rebait’ and pronoun pickle Interesting fact: A Federal Reserve study showed that low-credit-score and low-income cardholders tend to lose money by using reward cards. Yet another way that being poor ain’t cheap.
Do what feels important to you. Maybe it’s what pays you. Maybe it’s something for someone you care about. Maybe it turns out that weaponized incompetence is a tool worth honing after all. You do you. – Do to-do too-doo, Rachel Dear Rachel, There’s no such thing as a free lunch. So I get awful suspicious with cash-back offers and junk rewards from credit cards. But when I realize I could be saving 5% every time I gas up, I start to think … can I game the system? – Johnny Cash-Back Dear Rebate McEntire, Oh, honey. The consumer never wins. Because if you can hack the system, they’ll shut you down. Sure, you can pay off your bill in full every month, take the rebate and call it a
win. But forget to pay your bill just one time – or for one measly year – and they come after you. Or so I hear. – Winning at life, Rachel Dear Rachel, I am in a pronoun pickle. I’ve hired the same petsitter for a year now. He asked me if I’d give a referral. Of course! Except the new client calls me and refers to he as “she.” I panicked and did my best to avoid pronouns altogether. Now I worry I didn’t correct this poor client before she meets the sitter, or worse, that I’ve been referring to her wrong for a year. What’s my way out of this? – Bad Dog Dear Done Messed Up, Take on some phony foreign accent and drop pronouns from your sentences. Heck, just drop subjects altogether. What? Is a good idea. Dogsitter?
Darryl Kuntz plays, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
p.m., Zoom, prostategroupdro@gmail.com
Jazz, 6:30-8:30 p.m., 636 Main Ave.
Terry Rickard plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Wednesday03
Dear Rachel, Wondering if you have some guru advice for organizing my life. I love to-do lists. The problem is, it doesn’t seem to help me get things done any more than I would without a to-do list. The list just grows until I need to make a new list. What’s your secret life hack? – Eternal To-Do Dear Honey Do-Do, I recommend the nihilist’s approach. Stop thinking you will get everything done! You never will. Important things have a way of bubbling to the surface.
Comedy Open Mic, 8 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.
Tuesday02
Open Mic, 7 p.m., EsoTerra, 558 Main
Upcoming
Weekly Bird Walks, 8-9:30 a.m., Durango Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.
“Lincoln Tales Tall and True,” Thurs., Sept. 4, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Pine River Library, 395 Bayfield Center, Bayfield
Twin Buttes Farm Stand, Wednesdays, 3-6:30 p.m., Twin Buttes, 165 Tipple Ave.
Spanish Conversation Hour, Thurs., Sept. 4, 5:30 p.m., Durango Library
Twin Buttes Tuesday MTB Ride, 5:30-8 p.m., Twin Buttes Trailhead
Ska Bingo Night, 5-7 p.m., Animas River Lounge, DoubleTree Hotel
Darryl Kuntz plays, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
“An Evening with Harriet Tubman,” 6-7 p.m., Ignacio Community Library, 470 Goddard Ave.
Book Club: “Sins of the Shovel,” 6 p.m., Durango Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave. Joel Racheff plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Open Mic, 7 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave. Prostate Cancer Support Group, 7-8
Darryl Kuntz plays, 6-9 p.m., The Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Durango First Friday, Fri., Sept. 5, 47 p.m., Downtown Durango “Pack Light, Poop Right” ultralight backpacking and leave no trace practices, Fri., Sept. 5, 6-8 p.m., Pine Needle Mountaineering, 835 Main Ave.
Chuck Hank plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
San Juan Symphony presents Verona Quartet, Fri., Sept. 5, 7 p.m., St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 910 E. 3rd Ave.
The Black Velvet Duo plays, 6 p.m., Meadow Market, 688 Edgemont Meadows Rd
“Nature’s Tapestry in Plein Air,” juried exhibit, Sept. 5-Oct. 25, Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.
Prepare for cooler temps with wide selection of pants, shoes, jackets and sweaters from brands like Patagonia and Kühl
telegraph
Yes, done great job for Bad Dog. Very responsible. Would recommend. Five star. Also, what credit card debt? No understand what means credit card debt. Not on Bad Dog’s to-do list. – Atta girl, Rachel Nature’s Tapestry in Plein Air grand exhibit opening celebration, Sept. 5, 5-7 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave. Faux’teener Challenge, Sat., Sept. 6, 6 a.m., Purgatory Resort Tour De Farms, Sat., Sept. 6, 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., meet at Christ the King Peace Garden, 495 Florida Rd. “Youth Entrepreneurs Marketing and Makers Market Logics,” free workshop, Sat., Sept. 6, 4-7 p.m., Fort Lewis Innovation Center, 835 Main Ave., Ste. 225 “Did Ancestral Puebloan People Raise White Woolly Dogs for Their Hair?” Wed., Sept. 10, 7 p.m., Lyceum Room at Fort Lewis College Artists Richard J. Oliver and Michael Clark opening reception, Sept. 12, 5-7 p.m., Durango Creative District Gallery, 1135 Main Ave.
Our Lo Losing health heal th ins nsur urance? ce? service is Getting kicked Get cked off Med Medica caid? d? FREE! Turning 65 / Enr Turn nroll olling in Med Medica care? e?
Fall ll is inn the air! Buy • Sell • Trade • Consign ~ Home Furnishings ~ Clothing ~ Accessories ~ Jewelry 572 E. 6th Ave. • 970-385-7336
Email Rachel at telegraph@durango telegraph.com
2855 Main Ave., Suite A102 www.jayshortinsurance.com
Call or text Merida or Forrest: 970-382-8147 Aug. 28, 2025 n 13
FreeWillAstrology by Rob Brezsny ARIES (March 21-April 19): Austin Curtis was a prominent Black scientist whose work had spectacularly practical applications. Among his successes: He developed many new uses for peanut byproducts, including rubbing oils for pain relief. His work exploited the untapped potential of materials that others neglected or discarded. I urge you to adopt a similar strategy in the coming weeks: Be imaginative as you repurpose scraps and leftovers. Convert afterthoughts into useful assets. Breakthroughs could come from compost heaps, forgotten files or half-forgotten ideas. You have the power to find value where others see junk. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In Polynesian navigation, sailors read the rise and fall of ocean swells to chart their course. They also observe birds, wind, stars and cloud formations. The technique is called wayfinding. I invite you to adopt your own version. Authorize your body to sense the future in ways that your brain can’t. Rely on what you see and sense rather than what you think. Are you willing to dwell in the not-knowingness? Maybe go further: Be excited about dwelling in the not-knowingness. Don’t get fixated on plotting the journey. Instead, assume that each day’s signs will bring you the information you need. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The umbrella thorn acacia is an African tree whose roots grow up to 115 feet deep to tap hidden water. Above ground, it may look like a scraggly cluster of green, but underground it is a masterpiece of reach and survival. I see you as having resemblances to this tree these days. Others may only see your surface and your visible productivity. But you know how deep your roots run and how far you are reaching to nourish yourself. Don’t underestimate the power of your attunement to your core. Draw all you need from that primal reservoir. CANCER (June 21-July 22): To make a tabla drum sing, the artisan adds iron filings and starch at the center of the drumhead. Called a syahi, it creates complex overtones and allows the musician to summon pitch and rhythm from the same surface. Let’s imagine that you will be like that drum in coming weeks. A spot that superficially looks out of place may actually be what gives your life its music. Your unique resonance will come not in spite of your idiosyncratic pressure points, but because of them. Don’t aim for sterile perfection. Embrace the irregularity that sings.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): There’s a Zen motto: “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.” I hope you apply that wisdom in coming weeks. Your breakthrough moments of insight have come or will come soon. But your next move should not consist of being self-satisfied or inert. Instead, seek integration. Translate your innovations into a daily rhythm. Turn happy accidents into enduring improvements. The progress that comes won’t be as flashy, but it’ll be just as crucial. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The Gross National Product (GNP) is a standard by which countries gauge their health. It reflects the world’s obsession with material wealth. But the Buddhist nation of Bhutan has a different system: Gross National Happiness (GNH). It includes factors like the preservation of the environment, enrichment of the culture and quality of governance. Its scenic beauty could generate a huge tourist industry. But strict limits have been placed on the number of foreign visitors, ensuring the land won’t be trampled and despoiled. I would love to see you take a similar inventory. Tally how well you have loved and been loved. Celebrate the beauty of your life. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In Japanese haiku, poets reference the lingering scent of flowers as a metaphor for a trace of something vivid that continues to be evocative after the event has passed. I suspect you understand this quite well. You are living in such an after-scent. A situation, encounter or vision seems to have ended, but its echo is inviting you to remain attentive. Here’s my advice: Keep basking in the reverberations. Let your understandings and feelings evolve. Your assignment is to allow the original experience to complete its transmission. The full blossoming needs more time to unfold. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In the desert, there’s a phenomenon called desert varnish. It’s a thin, dark coating of clay, iron and manganese oxides. It forms over rocks due to microbial activity and prolonged exposure to wind and sun. Over time, these surfaces became canvases for Indigenous artists to create images. I like to think of their work as storytelling etched into endurance. In the coming weeks, Scorpio, consider using this marvel as a metaphor. Be alert for the markings of your own epic myth as they appear on the surfaces of your life. Express the motifs of your heroic story in creative ways. Show the world the wisdom you have gathered during your long wanderings.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In Indigenous Australian lore, the Dreamtime is a parallel dimension overlapping the material world, always present and accessible through ritual and listening. Virtually all Indigenous cultures throughout history have conceived of and interacted with comparable realms. You now have an enhanced capacity to draw sustenance from this otherworld. I encourage you to go in quest of help and healing that may only be available there. Pay close attention to your dreams. Ask your meditations to give you long glimpses of the hidden magic. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Saturn is your ruling planet and archetype. In the old myth of the god Saturn, he rules time, which is not an enemy but a harvester. He gathers what has ripened. I believe coming weeks will feature his metaphorical presence. You are primed to benefit from ripening. You are due to collect the fruits of your labors. This process may not happen in loud or dramatic ways. A relationship may deepen. A skill may get fully integrated. A long-running effort may coalesce. It’s time to celebrate! Congratulate yourself for building with patience and working through the shadows. Fully register that your labor is love in slow motion. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In Greek mythology, the constellation Aquarius was linked to a heroic character named Ganymede. The great god Zeus made this beautiful man the cupbearer to the gods. And what drink did Ganymede serve? Ambrosia, the divine drink of immortality. In accordance with astrological omens, I’m inviting you to enjoy a Ganymede-like phase in coming weeks. Please feel emboldened to dole out your gorgeous uniqueness and weirdness to all who would benefit from it. Let your singular authenticity pour out freely. Be an overflowing source of joie de vivre and the lust for life. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In 1932, trailblazing aviator Amelia Earhart made a nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic, steering through icy winds and mechanical trouble. When she landed, she said she had been “too busy” to be scared. This is an excellent motto for you now. Not because you should ignore your feelings, but because immersion in your good work, mission and devotion will carry you through any momentary turbulence. You now have the power to throw yourself so completely into your purpose that fear becomes a background hum.
The most fun outdoor Sunday brunch in Durango! 10 a.m.-1 p.m., featuring a new DJ every week and brunch dishes from all our food trucks
1101 Main Ave. • DGO, CO
14 n Aug. 28, 2025
telegraph
This week’s live music: 8/28, 6-9pm, Pete Giuliani 8/29, 7-10pm, The Rev • 8/30, 6-9pm, Amigo Diablo 8/31, 10am-1 pm, TJ the DJ
classifieds
Deadline for Telegraph classified ads is Tuesday at noon. Ads are a bargain at 10 cents a character with a $5 minimum. Even better, ads can now be placed online: durangotelegraph.com Prepayment is required via cash, credit card or check. (Sorry, no refunds or substitutions.)
Ads can be submitted via: n classifieds@durango telegraph.com n 970-259-0133
Annnouncements Notice of Public Sale To enforce self-service storage facility lien. Publication Dates: 8/21/25 & 8/28/25 “Personal Property,” stored at Unit B25 of The Animas Mini Storage at 20995 Highway 160, Durango, CO 81301, described as: Misc household items, furniture, bicycle and boxes of misc., which are stored under a Rental Agreement between The Animas Mini Storage and Jamie Chadborn, will be sold to the highest cash bidder unless all rents and fees are paid in full prior to the auction. Date and time of sale: August 30, 2025, at 9:30 AM. Terms of Sale: CASH. Place of Sale: The Animas Mini Storage, 20995 Highway 160, Durango, CO. All bidders must present a valid State-issued picture ID to place bids .
ForSale Mid-Century Modern Art and antique collector’s inventory. Ready for an upscale gift store. See a third of the inventory here: https://photos. app.goo.gl/1jTBijc8m4cLKAey6 If interested, email: houseoffigs1@gmail.com
looking to consign smaller furniture pieces. 572 E. 6th Ave. Open Mon.-Sat.
Wanted Books Wanted at White Rabbit Donate/Trade/Sell 970 259-2213
Classes/Workshops All Levels Yoga Thursdays 10am, Smiley Room 32. Props provided. Accessible class for continuing beginners who want to focus on functional movement and fundamental actions within standing, seated, twisting, forward and backward bending postures. www.k-lea.com (303) 819-9076
Services
Foot Workshop for All Levels Sunday, August 31, with Chris Furer and K-Lea Gifford. 10:30 - 12:30 Smiley Room 32. Keep your feet supple, strong and healthy with biomechanics that support your foot arches and enhance their mobility and strength. www.k-lea.com (303) 819-9076
Boiler Service - Water Heater Serving Durango over 30 years. Brad, 970-759-2869. Master Plbg Lic #179917
Aikido Intro Series Try a no-kick, no-punch martial art. Deflect and flow via nonviolence. Intro starts Sept 8, Mondays 615-815pm (18+). Affordable package options. Details: durangoaikido.com. Text/call questions to 970-426-5257.
BodyWork Massage by Meg Bush LMT, 30, 60 & 90 min., 970-759-0199.
Reruns Home Furnishings Patio sets, bistros and yard art. Also
‘Heads of State’ John Cena is so adorable and Idris Elba, delicious – Lainie Maxson
CommunityService
Chapman Electric Specializing in remodels, repairs, and additions both big and small. Local and reliable. Colorado Licensed Master Electrician. Mike 970-403-6670
Electric Repair Roof, gutter cleaning, fence, floors, walls, flood damage, mold, heating service.
Lost/Found
Find Relief & Support Free community yoga classes at Smiley Building Room 20A: Yoga of Recovery (Tuesdays 10-11:15): Address addictive habits in a supportive yoga environment. Pain Care Yoga (Tuesdays 4:30-5:45): Evidence-based practices for pain management and improved movement. https://innerpeaceyogatherapy.com/locations/durango/ Help Safeguard Climate & Democracy Are you interested in a community of Americans over sixty determined to change the world for the better? Starting a Durango Chapter of THIRD ACT to harnesses an unparalleled generational power. https://thirdact.org/colorado/ Dog Fosters Needed Parker’s Animas Rescue needs foster families to provide temporary homes for rescued dogs: parkersanimal rescue.com.
“I saw it in the Telegraph.” Read by thousands of discerning eyeballs every week.
Set of New Cooper Tubeless Discover Tires. Road Trail AT MTS 265/50 R20. 111V extra load. 20” rim. Only used 200 miles. Phone for price: 970-749-1754 Price Reduction! Vintage 1977 Airstream Land Yacht $18.5k 970-759-0551
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(*And a few that just look at the pictures.)
Cid Come Home Last seen in Durango, July 21, 2024, by St. Columba Church. He is chipped, missing left canine tooth, white, big black spots, green eyes. Reward. 970-4036192 .
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For more info. on how to get your business or event seen, email: telegraph@durangotelegraph.com Aug. 28, 2025 n 15
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