Colorado
Colorado anglers fear drought will make it ‘hard to keep fish alive’ this summer
Colorado’s trout fisheries could face a difficult summer, impacting the state’s billion-dollar angling industry, as widespread drought conditions drive predictions that streamflows will be well below-average.
Kirk Klancke, the president of the Colorado Headwaters Chapter of Trout Unlimited, said he is concerned that the drought will stress fisheries this summer, especially if temperatures are anywhere near as elevated as they were this winter.
“If this summer is anything like this past winter was, the chances are pretty good that there’s going to be fish kills in our streams,” Klancke said. “It’s 100% given that, without some miracle monsoon season, we’re going to see (river) temperatures that threaten trout — and fishermen who care will be fishing in the mornings.”
Colorado, and much of the West, experienced one of the hottest, driest winters on record. In March, a climate change-fueled heatwave rapidly melted off the state’s already historically poor snowpack to record-low levels. With little snow left to melt, only about half the normal amount of water is expected to flow through most rivers this summer, and some rivers could see closer to a quarter of the normal flows, according to the latest Colorado Water Supply Outlook report.
Colorado’s angling industry generates nearly $2 billion in total economic output annually and supports over 15,000 jobs statewide, according to the state government. The state has 6,000 miles of streams, including over 360 miles that Colorado Parks and Wildlife has designated as Gold Medal trout fishing, and more than 1,300 lakes and reservoirs. Fly fishing, especially for rainbow and brown trout, is among the most popular forms of fishing in the state.
While every summer has its “ebbs and flows,” Patrick Gamble, a fly fishing guide for Straightline Sports in Steamboat Springs, said anyone visiting Colorado to fish this summer should expect the experience to be a little different that past years.
With the low flows, Gamble said he’s already called a number of his customers who had booked June trips on the Yampa River to reschedule for earlier in the spring, since he doesn’t expect the river to flow later in the summer. As temperatures get hotter heading into the summer, he said anglers should also plan to fish in the cool of mornings, rather than on hot afternoons, or at higher elevations to avoid harming trout populations.
“This year, when you have less water, there’s still as much pressure — just as many eagles, ospreys, more river otters than ever and angling pressure to boot,” Gamble said. “Coming off the lowest snowpack in recorded history, it’s definitely super concerning.”
Drought likely to stress trout populations
With most of Colorado’s rivers expected to experience extremely low streamflows, Klancke said, “we’re really worried this year is going to be really hard to keep fish alive,” especially if there are above-normal temperatures.
When rivers run low, the water is spread thin and warms faster, Klancke explained. That is a problem because hot water holds less dissolved oxygen, which cold-water species like trout — the primary targets of Colorado’s angling industry — need to breathe, he said.
“Your river is built like a solar collector,” Klancke said. “When your flows are depleted, it’s the same width of streambed, but the river spreads out over that width, and it’s very shallow. The rocks collect the heat because they are exposed when the river is shallow. That heats up the river.”
When water temperatures approach 71 degrees Fahrenheit, Colorado Parks and Wildlife public information officer Rachael Gonzales said trout become stressed and will feed less. If conditions are severe enough, Gonzales said the state wildlife agency can issue voluntary or mandatory closures of certain stretches of river. She said aquatic biologists are monitoring the rivers and will determine if actions are needed this summer.
Trout Unlimited and most Colorado fly fishing outfitters recommend anglers stop fishing for trout when water temperatures hit 68 degrees, so as not to harm the fish. Even during a year with a normal snowpack, Klancke said that some streams hit this threshold several days a year.
“At 68 degrees, we tell people to just quit fishing because you can catch a fish and have all the thrill of playing him, getting him in a net, releasing him properly, but when he swims away, he’s expended so much energy he can’t recover,” he said. “At 68 degrees, it really becomes catch and kill, instead of catch and release.”
Anglers stress ethical fishing during drought year
While anglers hope the period of wetter, cooler weather Colorado has seen over the last couple of weeks continues, long-term forecasts suggest the West could be in for a hot summer.
Over the next three months, western Colorado is likely to see above-normal temperatures and average to slightly-below average precipitation, according to the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center.
“The most important message for this summer is, if you’re a catch-and-release fisherman, fish with a thermometer and know what temperatures threaten trout,” Klancke said. “It’s not just water conservation in a drought year, it’s how we handle our fisheries and keep these fish alive.”
Across Colorado, Trout Unlimited and other conservation groups are working to educate visitors about the drought conditions and how hot water can impact trout. This summer, Klancke said the Colorado Headwaters Chapter will launch into “high gear” radio and newspaper education campaigns and volunteers leaving flyers under the windshields of vehicles parked along rivers in Grand County on hot days.
The warmer it gets this summer, the fewer “easy-access” trout fishing locations there will be in the lower Yampa Valley, Gamble said. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be any fishing; it just means anglers may have to move to higher elevations, where temperatures are cooler.
“Being trout-centric in the state of Colorado, you definitely epitomize a hot summer day with a dry fly and searching a river bank with a grasshopper fly,” Gamble added. “But, sometimes that just means you need to be up at 9,000 feet, instead of down at a valley floor at 7,000 feet, to find water that releasing a trout in is ethical.”
Gonzales said that in addition to starting early and avoiding warm water, it is also important to not overcrowd an area. She suggested anglers also target warm-water species of fish, like pike, which face fewer impacts during hot weather.
Because the vast majority of Colorado’s fly fishing guides are ethical anglers and won’t fish in conditions that stress fish, Klancke said many fly fishing guides may work mornings only on hot days. If this summer sees extended periods of warmth, he said that could have ripple effects across the industry.
“This is particularly hard on our guides because our guides now are going to half day,” he said. “Think about it — they’re going to have their income cut in half. … To have your work hours cut in half is just really hard on professional guides.”
Colorado
What’s really killing a lot of cattle in Colorado? Hint: wolves aren’t the culprit (Opinion)
The livestock industry has been running a smear campaign against wolves for years.
It intensified when the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association joined forces with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the Colorado Farm Bureau, the National Rifle Association’s electioneering arm, and the Colorado Woolgrowers’ Association to oppose Proposition 114 — a 2020 citizens’ ballot initiative requiring Colorado to reintroduce wolves to the western part of the state.
Fearmongering was a big part of the campaign to prevent the restoration of wolves to their native Colorado habitats: The hunting groups peddled the narrative that wolves would kill all the elk. The ranching interests claimed that wolves would drive cattle and sheep operations out of business.
Notably, neither outcome has materialized since the 1995 wolf reintroductions in Yellowstone and Idaho, and indeed elk populations and cattle and sheep ranches there remain abundant three decades after wolves returned. In 2020, the Stop the Wolf Coalition lost the election, 51% to 49%. But the hysteria over livestock losses from wolves was only beginning.
So it makes sense to put these fears, and the livestock industry messaging that amplifies them, into perspective.
Weather events can kill a lot of cattle. In 2007, a single blizzard caused an estimated 15,000 cattle deaths in Colorado, according to the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. In 2024, a single lightning strike knocked 100 cattle off their feet, killing 32 of them as well as a rancher, who was engaged in branding the calves. That’s more than Colorado wolves have killed in an entire year. The weather slaughters far more livestock than predators in the state.
Then there is cattle rustling. In late 2025, 23 cattle disappeared in a single incident on the High Plains of northeastern Colorado, and law enforcement characterized the incident as unlikely to be random chance and likely meant they had been stolen. In 2024, 187 cattle went missing on the Uncompahgre Plateau in Western Colorado. Fifteen of them eventually turned up, demonstrating that missing cattle are sometimes simply lost by inattentive ranchers. The Colorado brand inspector estimated in mid-December of that year that about 500 cattle were expected to be reported missing for the year in the state.
Mystery deaths and sickness also plague Colorado’s cattle herd. In May of 2025, 15 cattle in south-central Colorado keeled over from brain swelling and seizures in a single day. Was it eating poisonous plants? An abandoned oil well on the property? Water contamination? While some sort of toxin was suspected, there have been no definitive answers. A 2010 USDA report calculated that 38.9% of all cattle lost in 2007 died from sickness, injury, or poisoning. Only 0.1% of the losses were attributable to predators of any kind.
In Colorado, the number of cattle killed in slaughterhouses in 2025 was 2,269,600, according to the USDA’s Livestock Slaughter Report. The number of calves slaughtered in the state was “[w]ithheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations,” but would presumably add to that total.
The most important predator of cattle in Colorado, by a vast margin, was humans. Specifically, the livestock industry has raised such a hue and cry over a comparatively tiny number of wolf-caused mortalities. We have met the enemy (of cattle, at least), and he is us.
It’s hard to tell how many cattle and sheep have been killed by wolves, because Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Confirmed Depredation Reports lump together livestock that are killed with livestock that are injured, but recover.
There were 13 cattle killed or injured by wolves in the two years prior to the wolf reintroduction, or an average of 6.5 cattle per year. In the slightly more than three years since reintroduction, there have been 44 cattle killed or injured by wolves, 37 sheep and one llama. That’s an average of 15 cattle and 12 sheep confirmed killed or injured per year.
The fraction of Colorado’s livestock losses attributable to wolves is minuscule, and some of the state’s news outlets are starting to get it. The general public, and lawmakers in particular, need to be aware of the tiny proportion of Colorado’s 2.6 million cattle that are falling prey to wolves, and we can all rest easy in the knowledge that when a livestock loss is reported, and wolves are suspected, there is a full investigation.
And when a wolf kill is confirmed, the rancher in question gets a payment from the state that not only covers his losses, but might also cover up to seven times the value of the animal(s). That’s an excessive level of generosity, which creates a perverse incentive to blame wolves.
But when ranchers are getting paid – in fact, paid far more than the fair-market value they deserve – when beef is what’s for dinner for one of Colorado’s new population of wolves, who really cares whether the diner is wildlife or human?
Erik Molvar is a wildlife biologist and the executive director of Western Watersheds Project, a nonprofit conservation group working to reduce the harmful effects of livestock grazing on public lands to protect and restore wildlife and watersheds throughout the American West.
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There are lots of cities and towns in the Denver area that are hosting professional fireworks shows on the Fourth of July this year.
Here are the shows taking place on July 4 in the Denver metro area:
Arvada
The City of Arvada’s annual fireworks display is scheduled to take place at Stenger Soccer Complex.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: 9:15 p.m.
Location: Stenger Soccer Complex
Admission: Free
Link: More Info
Aurora
The “4th of July Spectacular” takes place at the Aurora Municipal Center, located at 15151 E. Alameda Parkway.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: 9:30 p.m.
Location: Aurora Municipal Center
Admission: Free
Link: More Info
Brighton
Brighton’s Fourth of July festival takes place in Carmichael Park at 650 East Southern Street. Fireworks will be set off after the band Thumpin’ performs.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: After concert
Location: Carmichael Park
Admission: Free
Link: More Info
Broomfield
Broomfield’s Great American Picnic takes place at Broomfield County Commons Park, which is located at 13200 Sheridan Boulevard.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: 9:15
Location: Broomfield County Commons Park
Admission: Free
Link: More Info
Castle Rock
The Town of Castle Rock is planning to launch their Independence Day fireworks display from Miller’s Landing. The town is hosting a Independence Day Celebration at Festival Park, and the fireworks can be viewed from there, or several other locations in town.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: 9:30 p.m.
Location: Former Acme Brick facility
Admission: Free
Link: More Info
Commerce City
Fireworks will be set off outside Dick’s Sporting Goods Park as part of Commerce City’s 4thFEST celebration. They will be launched after the third of three rugby matches in the stadium.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: At the conclusion of the World Rugby Nations Cup
Location: Outside DICK’s Sporting Goods Park
Admission: 4thFEST is free, paid tickets required to see the rugby games
Link: More Info
Denver – Colorado Rockies games
Fans attending the July 4 Colorado Rockies home game at Coors Field will be treated to fireworks at the conclusion of the baseball game. There will also be fireworks for the game the night before — July 3.
Date: July 3 & 4 (against the San Francisco Giants)
Time: The fireworks are usually launched 20 to 30 minutes after the final out.
Location: Coors Field
Admission: Tickets required
Link: More Info
Englewood
In addition to all of its residents, the city of Englewood invites residents of Littleton, Sheridan, Arapahoe County and the South Suburban Parks & Recreation to their Independence Day Celebration.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: 9:15 p.m.
Location: Cornerstone Park and Belleview Park
Admission: Free
Link: More Info
Lone Tree
Lone Tree’s city fireworks display will be launched from Prairie Sky Park, and they’ll be viewable from many different locations in the city.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: 9:30 p.m.
Location: Prairie Sky Park
Admission: Free
Link: More Info
Longmont
You can watch a fireworks show in Longmont at 9:30 p.m. There will also be a drone show right before then.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: 9:30 p.m.
Location: Fireworks can be viewed “from many vantage points across the city.”
Admission: Free
Link: More Info
Louisville
The city of Louisville launches their annual fireworks show from Coal Creek Golf Course.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: 9:30 p.m.
Location: Coal Creek Golf Course
Admission: Free
Link: More Info
Northglenn
Fireworks are part of the July 4th Festival in Northglenn at E.B. Rains Jr. Memorial Park.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: 9:15 p.m.
Location: E.B. Rains Jr. Memorial Park
Admission: Free
Link: More Info
Parker
Fireworks on July Fourth will be visible from many parts of the town of Parker.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: 9:30 p.m.
Location: Fireworks launch northeast of Salisbury Park, although town officials encourage watching the fireworks from other areas, too
Admission: Free
Link: More Info
Thornton
Thornton’s fireworks display is called “Red, White & BOOM!” Fantabulous Fireworks.
Date: Saturday, July 4
Time: 9:30 p.m.
Location: Carpenter Park Fields
Admission: Free
Link:
More Info
Westminster
Date: Saturday, July 4
Location: Westminster City Park
Admission: Free
Link: More Info
There are other fireworks displays taking place in the Denver area on days other than July 4, including Lafayette (June 27), Glendale (June 2), Erie (July 3) and Littleton (July 3).
DENVER – The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today the team has signed defenseman Brett Kulak to a five-year contract extension through the 2030-31 season.
Kulak, 32, was originally acquired by the Avalanche in a trade with Pittsburgh on Feb. 24, 2026 and tallied three points (0g/3a) in 27 regular-season showings for Colorado over 19:08 of average time on ice per game. His 2025-26 regular season consisted of playing for the Edmonton Oilers and Penguins in addition to the Avalanche where he totaled 12 points (1g/11a) in 83 contests. Kulak was the only NHLer to skate in 83 games last season. Additionally, he dressed in his 600th career NHL contest on Nov. 15 at Carolina and notched his 100th career assist on Dec. 30 vs. Carolina.
The 6-foot-1, 192-pound defenseman was in the lineup for all 13 Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Avalanche in 2026 and chipped in five points (1g/4a) and logged 20:38 of time on ice per game. The goal was his first with the Burgundy and Blue, regular season or postseason, and it came as the overtime-winner in Game 5 of the Second Round (May 13) to send the Avalanche to the Western Conference Final. It was the third time a defenseman scored a series clinching overtime goal in Avalanche/Nordiques history and the first since Sandis Ozolinsh (Game 6 of the 1996 Conference Semifinal) did it 30 years to the date prior to Kulak’s. Additionally, Kulak’s marker was the 10th time an Avalanche/Nordiques skater sent the team to the next round with an overtime tally and the first instance since Artturi Lehkonen in Game 4 of the 2022 Western Conference Final (June 6, 2022).
A native of Edmonton, Alberta, Kulak has registered 137 points (29g/108a) in 663 career regular-season games with Colorado, Pittsburgh, Edmonton, the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames from 2014-26. The last 370 of those games have come consecutively and he enters 2026-27 with the ninth-longest active “Iron Man” streak in the NHL. The left-shot defenseman has also added 29 points (4g/25a) over 111 career Stanley Cup Playoff contests and has been a member of three teams that have made it to the Stanley Cup Final (2023-24 and 2024-25 Oilers, 2020-21 Canadiens). Kulak’s 111 playoff games lead all NHL defensemen since making his postseason debut in 2020 and are second among all skaters in that span behind only Corey Perry (126).
Originally drafted by the Flames in the fourth round (105th overall) in the 2012 NHL Draft, Kulak appeared in 136 AHL games over parts of the 2012-19 campaigns (13g/41a). He was also a member of the then-ECHL Colorado Eagles for part of 2014-15. Prior to turning pro, Kulak played for the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants from 2010-14 and amassed 128 points (35g/93a) in 216 regular-season contests.
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