Colorado

Deal to expand Canada lynx protection could land them in Colorado

Published

2 years ago

April 27, 2022

Deal to expand Canada lynx protection could land them in Colorado

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. wildlife officers have agreed to craft a brand new habitat plan for the snow-loving Canada lynx that might embody extra land in Colorado and different western states the place the uncommon animals could be protected, in line with a authorized settlement made public Tuesday.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service faces a 2024 deadline to draft the brand new plan for the wild cats after settling a authorized problem from two environmental teams — Wild Earth Guardians and Wilderness Workshop. U.S. District Decide Dana Christensen issued an order late Monday approving the settlement.

The teams sued to implement a prior court docket ruling from Christensen that stated federal officers wrongly excluded areas of Colorado, Montana and Idaho after they designated nearly 40,000 sq. miles (104,000 sq. kilometers) in 2014 as essential for the lynx’s long-term survival.

On land designated as essential, federal companies are required to seek the advice of with wildlife officers earlier than taking or permitting any actions that might destroy or alter the habitats of a protected species. These consultations can probably result in restrictions on logging in federal forests or limitations on filth roads used for recreation.

Christensen cited the presence of a reproducing lynx inhabitants within the southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

Company officers had earlier concluded that Colorado and adjoining areas of Wyoming and New Mexico have been “not important” for the restoration of the species, pointing partly to the low inhabitants densities of snowshoe hares that lynx eat.

To adjust to the decide’s order, the Fish and Wildlife Service will consider which elements of the Southern Rockies and elsewhere are essential for lynx and suggest them for potential protections by Nov. 21, 2024, in line with an announcement offered by company spokesperson Joe Szuszwalak.

Lynx are elusive, forest-dwelling animals. There isn’t any dependable inhabitants estimate, however a number of hundred are believed to roam elements of the U.S. Rocky Mountains.

The animals are also present in Minnesota, Maine, Washington state and sometimes Michigan.

They have been reintroduced to Colorado starting within the late Nineties and listed as threatened below the Endangered Species Act throughout the contiguous U.S. in 2000.

Throughout Donald Trump’s presidency, officers stated the lynx had recovered and not wanted safety after their numbers rebounded in some areas. President Joe Biden’s administration reversed course in November and agreed to maintain the lynx’s threatened species protections. That didn’t resolve the dispute over what areas they would want to outlive.

“There’s plenty of actually good habitat in Colorado — wilderness and actually distant areas,” stated lawyer John Mellgren, who represented the environmental teams that reached the settlement.

However he added that these areas face elevated stress as bushes in forested areas are killed by beetles, wildfires and different issues which can be being worsened by local weather change.

Some scientists warn local weather change might undo progress in lynx restoration, by melting away their snowy habitat and reducing the supply of snowshoe hares.

U.S. authorities biologists in 2016 predicted some lynx populations would disappear by 2100. That was primarily based on fashions predicting widespread and substantial habitat losses due to local weather change.

Below Trump, officers shortened their time span for contemplating local weather change threats, from 2100 to 2050, due to what they stated have been uncertainties in long-term local weather fashions. A authorities evaluation primarily based on that shortened time span concluded lynx populations had elevated versus historic ranges in elements of Colorado and Maine.

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This model corrects the primary title of the decide who presided over Canada lynx lawsuits to Dana, not Donald.

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Colorado

Benton’s Tedeschi commits to Colorado State

Published

14 mins ago

June 29, 2024

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Colorado

Fans roast EA Sports' 'laughable' Colorado ranking in 'College Football 25'

Published

7 hours ago

June 28, 2024

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Fans roast EA Sports' 'laughable' Colorado ranking in 'College Football 25'

EA Sports has released several rankings for its College Football 25 this week, teasing the July 19 release date for the much-awaited new game. When the company dropped the latest Power Rankings Friday, fans argued on social media about this team or that team’s relative ranking.

Yet fans universally seemed to agree on one ranking: Colorado is not the No. 16 team in the country.

Recall the Buffaloes started 3-0 last season under new coach Deion Sanders, and some fans had illusions of a College Football Playoff spot. But reality set in, and the Buffs dropped eight of nine to finish the season.

That is not what anyone looks for in a potential top 20 program. The popular College Sports Only X account noted, “EA Sports really ranked Colorado the 16th best team in “College Football 25″ after going 4-8 last season & losing 8 of their last 9 games.”

EA Sports really ranked Colorado the 16th best team in “College Football 25” after going 4-8 last season & losing 8 of their last 9 games. 🤦 pic.twitter.com/cmjIgbehz8
— College Sports Only (@CollegeSportsO) June 28, 2024

EA Sports has shared details about how it wants to make the game as realistic as possible, even having CFB 25 announcers such as Chris Fowler call every conceivable scenario that might happen in game play. Fans have pointed out some slight errors in the game thus far. For example, the Texas State stadium was rendered in the game without an upper deck.

But even with Sanders coming in and energizing Colorado’s football program, rating the Buffaloes 16th is a huge stretch. And fans had plenty to say on social media.

EA Sports developers leaving Colorado after guaranteeing Deion Sanders a top 25 ranking pic.twitter.com/Ngm614yZRc
— Pregame Empire (@PregameEmpire) June 28, 2024
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HOW IS COLORADO at SIXTEEN LMFAO?!
— Athens Steve (@rainy_steve) June 28, 2024

Again why is Colorado this high? They won 4 games last year 🤦
— Bryan (@BGauvin23) June 28, 2024

EA had to screw something up on this game eventually 🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/T1I1piPO8d
— Brandon Suarez (@Bdon300) June 28, 2024

where’s the logic here https://t.co/S8jQzHDtfL
— lifetime grizzlies fan (@therealkevinyeh) June 28, 2024

I’m convinced the person in charge of ratings is a 17 year old hype beast https://t.co/YnHC3dk5uN
— mike (@burnacount4mike) June 28, 2024
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One of their developers must be Rocky Mountain high if they think Colorado is that good.
— J.P. McDonough (@JPMcDonough74) June 28, 2024

EA sports ranked Colorado at number 16 in college football 25! This is laughable! This makes no sense! Finished the season four and eight! But they’re the 16th best team in the country. OK!
— 5star CFB (@5starcfb) June 28, 2024

[College Sports Only on X/Twitter]

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Colorado

Nurses at Rocky Mountain VA rally for more staffing to serve Colorado veterans

Published

15 hours ago

June 28, 2024

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Nurses at Rocky Mountain VA rally for more staffing to serve Colorado veterans

For Colorado ICU nurse Jordan LeBlanc, working at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center has been a rewarding experience because of his daily interaction with the veteran population.

“What could be greater than our veterans. They’re funny. They’re kind. They’re forgiving. They think that we know best, even when we don’t, but most of all they trust us,” said LeBlanc.

It is that trust that nurses say they are pushing to protect, in the wake of what they say has been an ongoing hiring freeze from nationwide budget cuts to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

“We have 57 open vacancies that are frontline,” said Sharda Fornnarino, who is the director of the local National Nurses United at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA. “That basically entails the ICU, med surge, the OR, some of our surgical areas as far as the outpatient surgeries, SCI and our mental health area.”

On Thursday, nurses from the medical center rallied across the street from the building in Aurora to raise awareness about their existing staffing shortages and the challenges they have faced being able to serve the veteran population because of this shortage.

LeBlanc says often nurses like him now have to take on a greater patient workload and sometimes work more hours to do so.

“Our ICU specifically has been staffed at less than 85% of its functional capacity,” he said. “Right now, we’re at 18 bed ICU that only 12 of the beds are open. They’ve closed six beds because of staffing levels.”

Nurses say the staffing challenges does not just affect their morale, but it can also compromise the relationship they have with each patient.

“Any veteran or any patient within our system will get less than they deserve, less than the total dignity that each individual really deserves to be provided,” he said.

VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes responded to nurses rallying across the country, saying there is no freeze on hiring nurses and they are continuing to hire nurses needed across the country. Hayes’s complete statement is as follows:

VA’s top priority is providing the world-class care that Veterans deserve, and we are committed to making sure we have nursing staff we need to deliver the soonest and best care to Veterans.
There is no nationwide hiring freeze on VA nurses, and we are continuing to hire nurses, as needed, across the country to ensure that we can deliver world-class care to Veterans. Over the past 3 years, VA has aggressively hired nurses nationwide – increasing our nursing workforce by 14,000 nurses to a total of 122,000 nurses, the largest nursing workforce in the country and in the history of VA. VA is also retaining our great nurses, with turnover rates currently at 3.4% – far outperforming the private sector. There are also locations where we need to continue hiring nurses, and we are doing that – as demonstrated by the below hiring numbers.
Partly as a result of these hiring efforts and our great nurses, VA is currently delivering more care to more Veterans than ever before, outperforming non-VA care, and Veterans trust VA care at all-time record rates.

The VA’s office went on to share statistics on what they say have been all time high rates of veteran trust in VA care and decreasing wait times. However, Fornnarino says any hiring has been to fill strategic positions, where in reality all vacancies need to be filled.

“I haven’t seen more of those hires come to the bed side,” she said.

Nurses also worry the VA will become more privatized if staffing needs are not met.

“When we don’t have the staffing, we have these beds shut down,” said leBlanc. “That means that our veterans go to community care, and they’re not set up to provide veteran served ethical care.”

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