Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Advocates hope to clarify stream access in Colorado
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Tuesday, October 28, 2025
The Arkansas River in Colorado, Roy Luck via Flickr ([link removed]) /CC BY 2.0 ([link removed])
Colorado has long lagged behind other Western states ([link removed]) when it comes to protecting public stream access for recreation. After decades of lawsuits and legal opinions, the Colorado Sun reports that ([link removed]) recreation advocates are working towards a legislative solution that could clarify the public's right to float through private property and to make incidental contact with the stream bed, which would be in line with stream access laws in many other Western states.
Private landowners have long fought improvements to public stream access in Colorado, in some cases going so far as to string barbed wire across streams to discourage the public from floating past private property. According to Nik White ([link removed]) , a whitewater paddling instructor, "Landowners are getting more aggressive" and engaging in threatening behaviors more frequently in response to the increased interest in outdoor recreation since the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We are in this situation where we are recognizing that outdoor recreation is losing. I think that’s bad for our image and it’s bad for our economy," said Jenifer Freeman ([link removed]) , a lobbyist working with recreation groups that are considering a legislative effort. "These are amazing places, and I get wanting to own your own little piece of it, but I don’t see how it’s in the public interest to allow private property owners to gobble it all up so no one gets to use it."
** Quick hits
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White House energy council is a 'startup' packed with energy industry veterans
E&E News ([link removed])
Outdoor industry voices largely missing in the discussion over fate of public lands
National Parks Traveler ([link removed])
U.S. Forest Service is consolidating oversight amid staffing shortages
NOTUS ([link removed])
The Department of Energy said it was saving taxpayers $7.56 billion. The actual amount is much less
CPR News ([link removed])
Judge says no to fish poison in wilderness
Missoula Current ([link removed])
Almost 40% of Nevada groundwater wells are in decline, study says
Nevada Current ([link removed])
Duo aiming to harness geothermal power in Colorado sues land board, ex-partners after losing lease
Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Opinion: The science, transparency and truth about Andrew Wheeler and Idaho’s Stibnite gold project
Idaho Capital Sun ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” Having funding pulled is a death knell to many projects that have real jobs and real people’s lives attached to them.”
—Kenneth Gillingham, Yale School of the Environment, CPR News ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@nvstateparks ([link removed])
🍂 The crisp air and rolling clouds mean one thing, winter is on its way! ❄️
Fall storms are sweeping across Nevada, bringing much-needed rain (and even a little snow up high!). As the seasons change, remember to check the weather before you head out, dress in layers, and be prepared for cooler temps and slick trails.
Plan your next adventure at parks.nv.gov
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