Stewards of the Land - The Durango Herald

Wilderness crew clears trails, educates public

By David Taft During summer 2019, our community was deeply concerned about the state of the Weminuche Wilderness. Visitation was exploding (as it still is), avalanches...

DATE: Oct 9, 2020 | CATEGORY: Stewards of the Land

For young ‘explorers,’ learning comes naturally in the outdoors

By Mike Bienkowski San Juan Mountains Association It is early June, and we are five minutes into our first day of San Juan Mountains Association’s “San Juan Ramblers” n...

DATE: Sep 11, 2020 | CATEGORY: Stewards of the Land

Pandemic escape: Sharing public lands during COVID-19

I, like many of you, have been connecting more than ever via social media in order to fill the void left by lack of real interaction. But some of the things I read make me wonder if we have ...

DATE: Aug 5, 2020 | CATEGORY: Stewards of the Land

The rugged, rewarding work of wilderness stewards

By Harry Bellow San Juan Mountains Association Traveling through the wilderness of the San Juan Mountains, you might not have seen us. We are an elusive bunch. ...

DATE: Jul 12, 2020 | CATEGORY: Stewards of the Land

The bright sides to the problem of beetle-killed trees

Deep in the Weminuche Wilderness there is a trail that dead ends at the head of a verdant valley crowned by majestic mountains. My two dogs and I wandered up there in August 2016...

DATE: Jun 15, 2020 | CATEGORY: Stewards of the Land

San Juan Mountains Association seeks to inspire public lands conservation

By Lexie Stetson-Lee San Juan Mountains Association is developing a pipeline of conservation education programs to connect local community members with their public lands. ...

DATE: May 8, 2020 | CATEGORY: Stewards of the Land

SJMA hopes to pursue wilderness efforts safely amid pandemic

By David Taft San Juan Mountains Association As one of Durango’s longest running public lands education and stewardship organizations, San Juan Mountains Association ha...

DATE: Apr 17, 2020 | CATEGORY: Stewards of the Land

Southwest Colorado residents can join effort to protect public lands

Open skies, big mountains, wild rivers, great trails and great people. We live in a vibrant, thriving community surrounded by spectacular public lands. We are drawn to Southwest ...

DATE: Apr 13, 2020 | CATEGORY: Stewards of the Land

Do you know where the wild things are?

As I laced up my hiking shoes at my sister’s house in the East Bay area of California, my 5-year old niece came running up to me. “MK!” she exclaimed, her dark eyes sparkling and curly hair ...

DATE: Feb 14, 2020 | CATEGORY: Stewards of the Land

Community partnerships paramount for our public lands

’Tis the season where most of us take time for year-end reflection and are getting excited about the upcoming year. For me, this exercise reminds me of how grateful I am for this...

DATE: Jan 3, 2020 | CATEGORY: Stewards of the Land

What Wilderness with a capital W means?

What do you think of when you hear the word “wilderness”? Take a minute. Do you think of solitude or camaraderie? Of adventure or relaxation? Of wide-open spaces or deep down and...

DATE: Dec 13, 2019 | CATEGORY: Stewards of the Land

Early Hispano history and the Iglesia de San Antonio

By Ruth Lambert San Juan Mountains Association San Juan Mountains Association has begun a project to study the history of Hispano settlement along the San Juan River i...

DATE: Nov 1, 2019 | CATEGORY: Stewards of the Land

‹ Prev
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Next ›

Photos: Fashion at its bestSnowdown Fashion Do’s and Don’ts

Snowdown Fashion Do’s and Don’ts

Photos: Snowdown on SaturdaySnowdown’s Canine Fashion Show and Outlaw Josie Pete’s Golf

Snowdown’s Canine Fashion Show and Outlaw Josie Pete’s Golf

Photos: Snowdown Rock-em-Sock-em Snowbots pillow fights

Snowdown Light Parade can boast another successful yearLights flashed, fire trucks wailed and a foam cannon spewed suds

Bright lights, screaming fire trucks and children bundled up so thoroughly it seemed like an army of Michelin men had taken over downtown Durango. Yep. It’s the much anticipated Snowdown light parade, this year distinguished by a crowd of onlookers peppered with scrabble tiles, Clue characters and playing cards.

Locals flocked to Main Avenue on Friday to get a look (and maybe a Smartie or two) at the floats parading through town on various, creatively decorated vehicles. There were some obvious standouts at this year’s board game-themed parade. After a fire truck’s opening sirens came the Purgatory car, toting a brightly lit ski bum moonlighting as a DJ, likely giving the women of Durango some unpleasant déjà vu. Best dressed had to go to the Colorado Department of Transportation’s bulldozer, wearing the most believable Hungry Hungry Hippos costume seen yet. Biggest crowd pleaser? The dancers boogieing to Chappell Roan’s “HOT TO GO!” while the crowd sang and wiggled along. But what got the biggest rise out of the onlookers was the white plumes of motorcycle exhaust, courtesy of the Harley-Davidson club. The smell of burning octane was a convincing enough reason for people to briefly unclutch the rails and step away from their coveted positions at the front of the fence. Last but not least, another machine spewing its interior into the crowd: a foam cannon, the first one to make an appearance in the history of Snowdown. Much better received than exhaust, it extracted gleeful screams from kids and adults alike. jbowman@durangoherald.com