Author: Rachel Gabel
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New land management plan ignores landowners’ efforts | Rachel Gabel
The Lesser Prairie Chicken habitat in southeastern Colorado is a swath of prairie that begins in Cheyenne and far southeastern Lincoln Counties and moves south and east into Kiowa, Prowers, and Baca Counties. This is cattle country where the short grass is nutrient-dense, and a little bit of rain makes the prairie explode. A little…
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A possible land grab at the expense of rural Colorado | Rachel Gabel
In 2023, the DOE released the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETC) study identifying areas they speculate would experience transmission capacity constraints of congestion. The map identified over 2 million acres or 24% of the state of New Mexico and a corridor area in southeastern Colorado ranging from five to 15-miles wide across Prowers, Baca, and Kiowa Counties. Other identified lines are located in parts…
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In defense of wildlife management’s worth
Aldo Leopold wrote in his Sand County Almanac, “There are some who can live without wild things and some who cannot.” The collection of essays first published in 1949 was accepted by a publishing house after a steady stream of rejections. His work long outlived him as Leopold died of a heart attack while fighting…
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Stealing voters’ expectation of expert wildlife management | Rachel Gabel
Sen. Byron Pelton is my senator and a vote for him (or theoretically any other elected official) is a vote of confidence that he will represent his stakeholders. It is expected that he will vote for what his stakeholders want, based on what he knows to be true and what is communicated to him by those he is elected…
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Fur ban petition approved despite confusion and chaos | Rachel Gabel
Either Samantha Miller is lying, or Governor Jared Polis is. If Miller is lying, she is so secure in the red carpet rolled out for animal activists by this administration that she is willing to put words in the governor’s mouth. If Polis is lying, the deck is stacked against his own agencies and their expertise is…
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Legislation on poison, poultry and prostitution dominate | Rachel Gabel
Many weeks, my search history is odd but the past two weeks might worry our county sheriff if he didn’t know me as well as he does. This week has been the week of poison, poultry, and prostitution. Not to be confused, of course, by brodifacoum, beavers, and butorphanol. In other words, the Colorado Legislature…
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The raw realities of fighting fires in rural areas| Rachel Gabel
Fires on the Plains are not the roaring, mosaic burns in the mountains that leap across canyons and leave the skeletons of trees behind as monuments of destruction. In this country, the first gust of wind hits like a left hook and gets the attention of everyone. The weatherman smiles and talks about precipitation chances…
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Proposed bill prioritizes rats over people | Rachel Gabel
Democrat Sens. Lisa Cutter and Cathy Kipp, and Rep. Elizabeth Velasco have introduced a rat’s nest of a bill in SB26-062 Rodenticide Use Restrictions. The three mouseketeers are seeking to prohibit a person from selling, distributing, applying, or using certain types of rodenticide and rodent glue traps in the state except as authorized for restricted…
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Record prices, expenses plague agriculture industry
This time of year, the salebarns are full of bidders, buyers, and cream pie connoisseurs. The adrenalin and anxiety in the building and around the ring is as thick as the gravy served in the café. In the back of the barn, the crews are bringing loads of cattle, many of which are 600-ish to…
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Another major attack on agriculture | Rachel Gabel
Neonicotinoids seems to be the word rolling off the tongues of lawmakers this year as the legislative session kicks off. Senate bill 26-065, concerning limitations on the use of certain insecticides in the state, sponsored by Sen. Katie Wallace, a Democrat who represents Boulder, Broomfield, and Weld Counties; Sen. Cathy Kipp, a Democrat who represents…