The Bureau of Land Management Royal Gorge Field Office is accepting public comments through Jan. 31 on dispersed camping and travel management planning on BLM public lands in Chaffee County.

Buena Vista resident and founder of Noah’s Ark Rafting & Adventure Co. Chuck Cichowitz received a National Wilderness Partnership Award from the USDA Forest Service for his collaborative stewardship work in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness.

The Arkansas Valley’s river rafting guides have had a few days to consider Arkansas Valley Adventure and Colorado River Outfitters Association’s lawsuit against federal labor regulators, filed Dec. 7.

Most were agreed that wages should be increased across the raft guide industry.

The annual Polar Plunge was welcomed into its fourth year by a large crowd and 35 individuals jumping into the frigid Arkansas River.

New camping management at the Tunnel View dispersed camping area near Buena Vista cooperatively put in place by the Bureau of Land Management and Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area has been deemed a success by agency staff. 

Colorado Fourteeners Initiative is among 12 trail projects and a state trail program chosen by the Coalition for Recreational Trails as recipients of its 2021 Tom Petri Recreational Trails Program Achievement Awards.

A U.S. Forest Service news release has announced the availability of Christmas tree permits for sale through Recreation.gov.

Permits for the Salida and Leadville Ranger Districts are $10 per tree and are not limited by a quota, so will not sell out.

After 5 years, Central Colorado Conservancy closed on an easement of 598 acres of newly protected lands with the Arrowpoint Cattle Company, which is owned and operated by two sisters in Chaffee County.

Chaffee County Women Who Care selected Peak to Peak Pickleball Club to receive the group’s donation for this quarter.

A chilly November morning and I was once again on the river. Stark cottonwoods, leafless willows and dry brown grass but the water was glass.

The Greater Arkansas River Nature Association and Antero Outdoors are partnering for the 7th annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival, presented virtually beginning at 7 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 2

The Bureau of Land Management is preparing to conduct pile burns in nine locations this winter. 

The Buena Vista Singletrack Coalition is hosting BV’s second annual Thanksgiving Turkey Trot 5k. The race will start on South Main Square (Front Loop Road) at 9 a.m., Thanksgiving day.

Racers and volunteers will receive shirts, but should register by Nov. 14 to ensure they get one.

The eighth annual film screening benefit event for Buena Vista’s adaptive skiers and snowboarders will take place Nov. 12 at Surf Hotel’s Ivy Ballroom. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and the showing will start at 7 p.m.

Volunteers with Chaffee Recreation Adopters helped collect more than 2,200 campsite surveys this summer using a new mobile app created for stewardship work in Chaffee County.

Cottonwood Pass closed for the winter season on Nov. 1, 2021.

Local non-profit elevateHER is seeking 6th to 12th grade young women to enroll in their winter program. The 10-week empowerHER outdoor adventure program will provide all food, transportation and gear and no experience is necessary.

Cottonwood Pass closed for the winter season on Nov. 1, 2021.

Local non-profit elevateHER is seeking 6th to 12th grade young women to enroll in their winter program. The 10-week empowerHER outdoor adventure program will provide all food, transportation and gear and no experience is necessary.

Colorado’s Central Mountain Small Business Development Center will host an in-person outdoor industry summit from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Oct. 25 at the Salida SteamPlant and Event Center as well as online in live, virtual format.

Two dozen speakers are scheduled to present on topics such as growth and scale opportunities, public land stewardship, sustainable tourism education and funding resources.

Thanks to a collaborative effort led by the U.S. Forest Service and the Arkansas River Watershed Collaborative, the threat of catastrophic wildfire is lessening around Monarch Pass.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will invest $5.7 million in implementation of Chaffee County’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan, which maps where to treat forested lands to reduce risk at the highest cost efficiency and community benefit.

Retired Times and Denver Post outdoor writer Bob Good of Buena Vista has recovered from his auto accident well enough to elk hunt again. Successfully, we see.

Saturday morning’s starting temperature was 43 degrees, but by the time the podium placers crossed the East Main Street finish line, it was nearly 80.

The heat did not seem to phase the eventual champion, who made the kilometer half-century look like another day in the office.

14erFest’s Vitamin B group ride drew three locals Sunday morning.

The trio met at the Black Burro vendor tent on East Main Street before catching a ride to the entrance to Fourmile Recreation Management Area and making their way from there to the Vitamin B trailhead 6 miles north off CR 377.

Overall between weather and local focus, 14erFest could hardly have gone better it seems.

14erFest 2021 kicked things off with a 5k race on Friday, Sept. 24. About 30 people participated and Emily Roth put down the fastest time, finishing the race in a bit over 20 minutes.

Recent dry conditions prompted Chaffee County Sheriff John Spezze to implement Stage 1 fire restrictions effective at 8 a.m., Sept. 24 for unincorporated Chaffee County.

The long-range weather forecast predicts little to no moisture for Chaffee County, a press release stated.

The town of Buena Vista and Peak To Peak Pickleball Club took a major step toward funding six new courts adjacent to the existing tennis courts at the Buena Vista River Park.

14erFest is bringing dozens of events to Buena Vista this weekend, starting on Friday and continuing through Sunday. East Main Street will close to vehicle traffic from Colorado Avenue to Court Street to make way for a vendor village and meet-ups for dozens of events.

Buena Vista’s 14erFest returns Sept. 24–26 bringing a wide range of outdoor activities and events. 2021’s fest will be the fourth. Attendees grew from the low triple digits in 2018 to around 2,000 in 2019.

By D.J. DeJong

A bear that entered a home just east of Highway 40 in Steamboat Springs, trapping the residents inside, was euthanized by Colorado Parks and Wildlife after displaying aggressive behavior with responding wildlife officers.

Chaffee County Search and Rescue-North capped off the high season with a daring night rescue at Chalk Cliffs on Sept. 7.

The group was also activated the following morning to respond to a medical distress call from the Three Apostles basin west of Mount Harvard. Both rescues were successful.

High Rocky Riders presented Colorado Off Road Enterprises founder Marcus Trusty with a $1,000 check at their recent meeting. Trusty said he started the stewardship group to do something positive for outdoor riders.

The Chalk Creek Stampede returns to the McMurry Ranch in Nathrop Sept. 11-12 where BV Racing will open the Colorado High School Cycling League season opener.

BV Racing coach Taf McMurry says the event this weekend still needs volunteers and race marshals for both days. 

Rhonda Davis, left, presents a check for $5,000 on behalf of the Rocky Mountain Racquet Club to Jennifer Eggleston, receiving on behalf of the Peak to Peak Pickleball Club. The pickleballers are constructing courts north of the tennis courts.

The Greater Arkansas River Nature Association will present a Lifetime Achievement Award to Steve Reese, the first Colorado State Parks manager for the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area, during GARNA’s 25th Birthday Bash Fundraiser.

Children will once again be able to cast their fishing lures at McPhelemy Park for the annual Kids’ Fishing Derby on Saturday, Sept. 4.

The event is open to all girls and boys under the age of 15 for no entry fee. 

For the third consecutive year, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is encouraging hunters to take a friend hunting. 

The 4-H Showmanship Round Robin at the Chaffee County Fair has received and will continue to receive sponsorship from the Miller family in the form of the Codi Miller Memorial Belt Buckle.

After a close second place finish in Fairplay and win in Buena Vista in this summer’s Triple Crown, Leadville local Marvin Sandoval and his miniature burro Buttercup won the long course race. Tracy Loughlin and burro Mary Margaret of Salida crossed the finish line shortly after.

The annual Buena Vista Pack Burro Race on Curtis Imrie Day burro race brought 85 interspecies teams trotting through Buena Vista’s east side Sunday, Aug. 1.

Curtis Imrie Day in Buena Vista and this year’s second leg of the Western Pack Burro Ass-ociation’s triple crown of burro races will start at 10 a.m., Sunday, Aug. 1.

The National High School Trail Championship race came down to a photo finish for the boys, as brothers Sullivan and Porter Middaugh raced across the finish line just 0.02 second apart, with Porter diving forward trying to beat his older brother.

Sick and dying birds have been reported in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife is watching for any signs of similar concerns in Colorado.

Dean Zenoni, a retired U.S. Marine Corps master sergeant, rode through Buena Vista on Monday for the middle leg of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route.

For members of Trout Unlimited, resource conservation comes first.

A new Chaffee Rec Adopters program that enables public lands stewardship begins this month.

Volunteers are needed to use a newly developed mobile app to inventory dispersed campsites at twice monthly meet-up and training events. Adopters also can inventory sites on their own and take actions in areas important to them, once they receive a short training.