Colorado
What’s Working: Colorado has a new climate-jobs coalition, as Trump pulls back on green energy
Gathered at a Denver training facility on Logan Street earlier this month, members of several labor unions took a stand. There were the brothers and sisters from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the drivers hailing from Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1001, and the craftspeople from the Colorado Building and Construction Trades Council.
Others joined them and together they announced Climate Jobs Colorado, a coalition to address the growing climate crisis, its impacts on workers and worker inequality. Creating high-quality union jobs lowers costs for working families and builds a clean energy economy that works for Coloradans, they said.
“About a year and a half ago, labor leaders from across our state started discussing what we can do with the triple aim of advancing climate goals, improving our ability to organize and represent workers across the state in the green economy, and combating economic inequality,” Dennis Dougherty, executive director of the Colorado AFL-CIO, told the group. “Now is the time to do something about it, and that is why we are here today.”
A week later, Donald Trump began his second term as president. Over the next few days, Trump signed multiple executive orders that many say will set the United States on “a radically different path” from the Biden administration in terms of environmental directives and departments.
Now to figure out how to move ahead.
“We don’t know what a Trump administration will bring to the table,” said Nate Bernstein, executive director of Climate Jobs Colorado. “But it makes it all the more important that we work at the state level to enact policies that are favorable for Coloradans and for Colorado workers.”
The report
Labor officials were encouraged by a new report from Cornell University’s Climate Jobs Institute. Melissa Shetler, the institute’s senior training and education associate, joined the kickoff.
“We are honored to join you here today in Colorado, and have collaborated with so many of you to develop a plan that reflects Labor’s vision for addressing climate change through equitable clean energy transition,” she said. “This plan and this report emphasize creating good union jobs for Colorado communities, protecting existing workers and ensuring the (green energy) transition benefits frontline, rural and historically disadvantaged communities.”
The report cites warnings from the International Panel on Climate Change that without rapid reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions, the world is on track to warm between 2.7 and 3.6 degrees by the 2030s.
That warming “will give rise to catastrophic impacts not only around the world, but also in Coloradans’ own backyard,” such as the 2021 Marshall Fire, which destroyed over 1,000 homes, killed two people and caused more than $2 billion worth of damage, it says.
And the report gives recommendations for facing this future in the six sectors of energy, manufacturing, transportation, buildings, resilience and adaptation, and workforce development, including:
Climate Jobs Colorado aims to support union workers in climate jobs by pushing to maximize wages, benefits and working conditions and “make sure union members and those who wish to be in the union get a fair shake on the job,” Bernstein said.
Unions are “pushing up the living standards for all workers, and maximiz(ing) the number of members that we have in an industry so we can push up all wages in that industry,” he added. They also collectively bargain “to try to help address the concerns of members, whether it has to do with workplace safety, staffing or making sure they have sufficient resources to do their work.”
Climate jobs in Colorado
Colorado had 77,000 direct clean-tech, climate-tech and related energy jobs as of 2024, according to the state’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade.
From 2017 to 2023, the sector’s total employment grew by 2.2% compared to 1.4% on average for all U.S. states, it says.
According to a Clean Jobs Colorado 2024 report by the national environmental group E2, which advocates for “smart policies that are good for the economy and good for the environment,” Colorado’s renewable generation workforce grew 3.9 percent in 2023 to 18,718 individuals—the seventh largest in the country. It said solar and wind accounted for the majority of the sector’s workforce with 9,017 jobs and 7,880 jobs respectively.
Alissa Johnson, OEDIT’s spokesperson, said climate-related sectors added jobs at a much faster rate than the state’s overall employment, which grew by 2.5 percent.
Trump’s influence already apparent pre-2025
Even before Trump took office, potential for major policy shifts was already threatening the way Colorado operates.
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission passed the 2021 Electric Resource Plan in December 2023 with winning bids for projects capable of creating about 3,500 megawatts of renewable energy.
But one of the issues the PUC discovered was “that none of the projects were under contract because the developers were saying their bids weren’t reliable anymore,” Commissioner Tom Plant said. That’s because “they don’t know what level of tariffs are going to go into place and how it’s going to impact their project costs. What might change is already changing.”
The state regulators allowed for up to 15% movement on bid prices based on changes in federal law, but on Thursday, Plant added, “so far, (Trump) is only talking about (a 10% tariff) on China,” when “during the campaign his rhetoric was more like 60%.”
“On the renewable tax credits, Republicans have indicated that they intend to use the reconciliation process to pass Trump’s tax cuts for corporations, but they have also said they want to shift some of the costs of that from other stuff,” Plant added. “There’s an expectation that they will look at tax credits that were passed under the IRA to do that. One of those tax credits was the renewable tax credit, (and) also EV tax credits.”
On Monday, Trump stalled spending under the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act set to fund 42 environmental projects that could create infrastructure jobs in four states — Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico.
“If federal funding is not provided as promised by these contracts, infrastructure jobs in Colorado would be directly affected, now and in the future,” Johnson said. But “Colorado remains committed to doing our part to ensure the historic investments promised in our state are carried out,” she added.
Trump also for a second time pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement, which could jettison the United States’ Biden-era promise to cut climate pollution by up to 66% within a decade.
Colorado Climate Jobs will be watching Trump’s executive orders related to green energy and how they might impact the new climate jobs union.
“Obviously, President Biden and Congress passed some really landmark legislation with green energy and the Inflation Reduction Act,” Bernstein said. “It also has a lot of incentives to do the right thing on behalf of the workers building those things. And I don’t know if you heard the potential EPA administrator, but he said he believes in diversifying energy,” Bernstein added, referring to Lee Zeldin, Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
Gov. Jared Polis’ office said in an email they “have not seen any language” on Trump’s national energy emergency declaration, which a Trump administration official told reporters “will unlock a variety of different authorities related to oil, gas and coal production.” But Polis’ office said it “is closely monitoring to determine what impacts, if any, of such an order might be.”
Got a question, story tip or other idea for Colorado Sun rural-economy reporter Tracy Ross? Send her an email at tracy@coloradosun.com.
ICYMI: 17 Colorado environmental projects are in limbo after Trump halts spending from Biden-era law. Coloradans thought they had millions coming their way for environmental projects meant to address drought in the Colorado River Basin. Now, the future is uncertain. >> Read story
Sun economy stories you may have missed
➔ Nonrenewals are fueling Colorado’s growing homeowners insurance crisis. In Colorado, homeowners’ premiums are up nearly 60% in five years. But the state is also dealing with insurers dropping coverage or leaving the state altogether. >> Read story
➔ Vail Resorts boosts pay for patrollers in wake of Park City strike — but union workers must wait. Meanwhile, Crested Butte lift mechanics threaten to strike and Breckenridge employees walk out to protest conditions at company housing >> Read story
➔ How Donald Trump’s return-to-office order will affect the 45,000 federal employees throughout Colorado. According to federal data, most work in-person at the office some or all of the work week. >> Read story
➔ Colorado plans to limit coverage of weight-loss drugs like Wegovy for state employees to save $17M. The decision was made to help balance the state’s budget. At least one state lawmaker who gets GLP-1 treatment is fighting hard to prevent the change. >> Read story
➔ More Colorado PERA benefit cuts “likely” in next two years. Changes to the pension’s demographic assumptions make it likely that PERA’s finances will deteriorate, triggering another round of benefit cuts and contribution hikes under state law >> Read story
➔ With Biden-era consumer protections in jeopardy, Colorado Democrats look to crack down on rental housing fees. The effort got a boost last week from a top Federal Trade Commission official, who sent a letter to Gov. Jared Polis urging the state to target so-called “junk fees” >> Read story
King Soopers union sets first strike vote for Front Range stores, which could involve 10,000 workers. If workers vote to approve a strike, the walkout will involve more stores and employees than the nine-day strike in 2022. >> Read story
Now’s your chance! Support The Sun’s economy reporting. Donate!
Take the poll: What’s so great/terrible about your city?
A week into this reader poll and it’s probably no surprise that more people have criticism than compliments for their city. “Lack of affordable housing in SAFE neighborhoods,” says one respondent from Fort Collins. “Lack of enforcement of minor traffic violations, i.e.: no front license plate,” says another, but from Denver.
“Awful public transportation,” said a Colorado Springs resident, who really enjoys hiking in Cheyenne Canyon.
If you’ve already taken the poll, thanks for your feedback. We’re hoping for more specific highlights (and lowlights) of your current hometown, so feel free to submit another response. We’ll keep it going another week.
Take the poll >> cosun.co/WWcity
Other working bits
➔ Workers at homeless organization vote to unionize. A division of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless voted Wednesday to unionize, with 49 employees in favor and eight opposed. The workers are employed in the nonprofit’s Housing Supportive Services Department. The organization helps people struggling with homelessness.
CCH workers “routinely spoke about the need for higher wages, as they are some of the lowest-paid workers in the field,” said David Fernandez, a spokesman for the Service Employees International Union Local 105, in an email. SEIU has helped organize workers at Urban Peak and Wellpower. “Another major point for this workforce was addressing the high turnover, low employee support, and high caseloads that make the services they provide as frontline staff even more difficult,” he added.
CCH, which employs 850 people, said executives are “committed to working collaboratively with SEIU and the impacted employees through the next phase of the collective bargaining agreement process,” in a statement. >> See vote results
➔ Denver rents decline. That’s according to the fourth-quarter report from the Apartment Association of Metro Denver. In an analysis by Apartment Insights of nearly 250,000 rental units, the average monthly rent dropped $69 to $1,842, compared to a year earlier. “This is the steepest decline in rents in the Denver Metro Area we’ve seen since we began recording rent trends 44 years ago,” Mark Williams, AAMD’s executive vice president, said in a news release. There’s also a growing number of unoccupied apartments, with the vacancy rate at 6.9% — the highest in 16 years. Prices tend to fall when there’s a lot of supply and that’s what’s been happening in the region. More than 33,000 new apartment homes were completed and hit the market in the past two years. >> View apartment report
➔ Coming soon: 88 affordable condos in Glenwood Springs. Housing can be out-of-reach in Colorado’s mountain resort communities like Glenwood Springs, where the median sales price of a condo was $540,000 last month. Expect something more affordable after Habitat for Humanity of the Roaring Fork Valley completes the conversion of an 88-unit apartment complex into condos. The L3 complex is taking applications for deed-restricted one-bedrooms that start at $380,000. Studio units are less. Potential owners must put in some “sweat equity” with Habitat to qualify. The conversion is backed by $23.8 million in financing from FirstBank. >> Details
➔Colorado’s paid family leave tapped by 135,000 workers. And we’re only one year into Colorado’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance, or FAMLI. Payments totaled $687 million in 2024.The average weekly payment was $914. Of those who took leave last year, less than half — or 61,000 — used it to bond with a new child.
The paid-leave benefit, made possible after voters approved the 2020 ballot measure, offers up to 12 weeks of partial pay for workers to take time off to care for a new child, a sick family member or themselves. The program is funded by employers and workers, much like unemployment benefits. At the end of 2024, the FAMLI fund had a balance of $1.235 billion and “remains strong,” according to a spokesperson at the state Department of Labor and Employment. A good chunk of that fund — $1.027 billion — is invested in the state’s treasury pool. >> See FAMLI numbers, read earlier story
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Thanks for sticking with us for this week’s report. As always, share your 2 cents on how the economy is keeping you down or helping you up at cosun.co/heyww. ~ tamara & tracy
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Colorado
Colorado faces LA in first round as Kings captain Anze Kopitar embarks on final Stanley Cup chase
DENVER — Anze Kopitar wrapped up the last regular season of his storied career. The Los Angeles Kings captain wants to prolong his final playoff run for as long as possible.
Kopitar, who announced in September his plans to retire, instantly becomes a postseason rallying point for the Kings. They have a tall task ahead of them against the Colorado Avalanche, the top team in the league, with the top goal scorer in Nathan MacKinnon and one of the best defensemen in the game in Cale Makar. Game 1 is Sunday at Ball Arena, where the Avalanche are 26-9-6.
“Playoffs,” said the 38-year-old Kopitar, a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Kings. “I’m not going to say anything can happen, but we’ll go in and we’ll play hard and we’ll see where that takes us.”
This will be the third postseason series between the two teams and the first in 24 years. Colorado won in seven games during both the 2002 conference quarterfinals and the 2001 conference semifinals.
It’s been a record season for the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche as they amassed the most points (121) in franchise history. That broke the mark set by the 2022 team, which went on to win the Stanley Cup title. MacKinnon had a career-best 53 goals.
Goaltenders Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood shared the net this season and surrendered a league low in goals. They earned the William M. Jennings Trophy, which is presented to the goalies who have played a minimum of 25 games — Wedgewood suited up in 45 and Blackwood 39 — for the team with the fewest goals allowed. The other goaltender to win that honor for Colorado was Hall of Famer Patrick Roy (2001-02).
“We’re in a good spot,” Colorado forward Brock Nelson said. “The mentality of this group throughout the year, right from the start of training camp, (was) set on a mission to be the best team.”
Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon (29) celebrates the goal against Edmonton Oilers goalie Connor Ingram (39) during shoot-out NHL action, in Edmonton on Monday, April 13, 2026. Credit: AP/JASON FRANSON
Record against each other
The Kings went 0-3 against Colorado this season and were outscored by a 13-5 margin.
“You hear the hype. They have good players,” Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke said. “We’re a scrappy team. We keep it close with everybody. That can really frustrate them.”
Leading after two
The Avalanche were 41-0-0 when leading after two periods. They’re the first squad to have a lead after two periods on 40 or more instances and capture each one, according to team research.
“Even though we’ve been smart, we’ve been committed, we’ve been relentless at times, it’s going to have to go to a whole new level now,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “I have faith in our guys.”
Los Angeles Kings’ Anze Kopitar, who is retiring after this season, acknowledges the crowd after being recognized after losing to the Vancouver Canucks during overtime NHL hockey action in Vancouver, on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. Credit: AP/DARRYL DYCK
Remember the season opener?
Six grueling months ago, the Avalanche and Kings opened the season against each other. The Avalanche won 4-1 in Los Angeles behind a pair of goals from Martin Necas, who would go on to register his first 100-point season (38 goals, 62 assists).
The two teams join an exclusive club by becoming the fifth pair since 2015-16 to open the regular season and the playoffs against each other, according to NHL Stats. The other pairs to do so were Montreal and Toronto (2020-21); Colorado and St. Louis (2020-21); St. Louis and Winnipeg (2018-19); and Los Angeles and San Jose (2015-16).
Of those teams that won the season opener only San Jose went on to win the series. It’s a trend Kopitar and the Kings wouldn’t mind joining.
Kopitar and the playoffs
Kopitar helped the Kings to the Stanley Cup title in 2011-12 and 2013-14 along with goaltender Jonathan Quick, who now is with the New York Rangers and recently said he’s retiring. Kopitar has played in 103 postseason games with 27 goals and 62 assists.
“The intensity ramps up, everything ramps up,” Kopitar said of the postseason. “Every mistake, every little play, magnifies now.”
Familiar faces
Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper was in net for the Avalanche when they won the Stanley Cup in 2022. In addition, Kuemper and Drew Doughty were teammates with MacKinnon, Makar and Devon Toews when Canada won silver at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Colorado
U.S. Women’s National Team Closes Three-Game Series Against Japan With Emphatic 3-0 Victory in Colorado
COMMERCE CITY, COLO. (April 17, 2026) – Naomi Girma, Rose Lavelle and Kennedy Wesley scored second-half goals to lead the U.S. Women’s National Team to a 3-0 victory over Japan in the third and final match of the series between the two sides.
Wesley recorded her first international goal and assist in her sixth cap to become the 27th player to score under U.S. head coach Emma Hayes. Girma scored her third international goal and Lavelle scored her 29th, marking her 10th goal contribution in her last 10 appearances.
Precision in the final third had been a key point of emphasis for Hayes heading into the match, and even though the USA did not score before the break, it showed flashes of what was to come in the second half, dominating 70% of possession and firing nine shots. The USWNT then broke through with three goals in the first 20 minutes of the second half to record its largest victory over Japan since 2017.
For the first time in this three-game series, the match went into halftime scoreless, but the Americans came close on several occasions. Off one of the USA’s four first half corner kicks, the most dangerous look came in the 21st minute from a Lavelle service that was headed around the box before defender Tierna Davidson nodded the ball down to Sophia Wilson, who had her back to goal. The forward chested down the ball and smashed a turnaround half-volley that forced a point blank save from Japanese goalkeeper Chika Hirao. Girma leaped up to get her head on the rebound, but her shot went over the crossbar.
In the 39th minute, Lavelle received the ball just past half field and played a long switch over to Alyssa Thompson on the left side. The forward beat her defender before playing a pass centrally to midfielder Claire Hutton at the top of the box. Her first-time shot from just outside the penalty box clanged off the crossbar and out for a goal kick. In one of the final plays before the half, forward Trinity Rodman cut inside the box and sent a cross in that deflected off defender Toko Koga, nearly causing an own goal before Hirao collected the ball.
As it did in the first match of the series, the USA came out hot to start the second half and scored almost immediately. On April 11, the USA scored 141 seconds into the half and tonight the goal came 155 seconds after the half began. The USA earned a corner kick after Wilson blasted a shot from outside the box that forced another leaping save from Hirao. Lavelle sent in service from the right corner that drifted towards Wesley at the back post. Wesley headed the cross back in front of goal for Girma, who redirected the ball with a powerful header into the back of the net. The goal was a combination of two center backs and former Stanford University teammates for Girma’s first goal since October of 2024.
Less than 10 minutes later, Wesley started the counterattack that led to the second goal. The defender picked off a pass in the USA’s defensive third and played captain Lindsey Heaps in the midfield. Heaps passed the ball forward to Rodman, who nutmegged her defender with a long pass, splitting two more Japanese players to send Lavelle in on a breakaway. Lavelle dribbled to the top of 18-yard box and then slotted a low shot into the bottom left corner with class to double the lead.
The squad kept the momentum rolling following substitutions just after the hour mark. A few minutes after entering the match, midfielder Jaedyn Shaw stepped up to take the USA’s sixth corner kick of the match. She sent a cross to the center of the box where Wesley leaped to hit a shot with the outside of her right foot, redirecting the ball through traffic and into the left side goal for the third of the night and the first of her USWNT career.
The USA held Japan scoreless for the first time in the series with goalkeeper Claudia Dickey making three saves to earn her eighth clean sheet in her 10th appearance.
Goal Scoring Rundown:
USA –NAOMI GIRMA (KENNEDY WESLEY),47th minute: Rose Lavelle lofted a corner kick from the right to the back post to Kennedy Wesley, who drifted under the ball and headed it back in front of the face of goal. Naomi Girma was in perfect position to redirect the cross with a forceful header into the back of the net at the center of the six-yard box. USA 1, JPN 0
USA – ROSE LAVELLE (TRINITY RODMAN), 56th minute: Kennedy Wesley intercepted a pass in the USA’s defensive third and played Lindsey Heaps near the center circle. Heaps played the ball forward to Trinity Rodman, who split two defenders with a pass up the field as Lavelle made a run inside. Lavelle dribbled toward the 18-yard box before slotting her shot to the bottom left corner of the goal. USA 2, JPN 0
USA – KENNEDY WESLEY (JAEDYN SHAW), 63rd minute: Jaedyn Shaw sent a corner kick toward the center of the box. Around eight yards out, Kennedy Wesley connected with the cross using the outside of her right foot, sending her shot through traffic into the back of the net. USA 3, JPN 0 FINAL
Additional Notes:
- Emma Hayes made 10 changes to the Starting XI from the last match against Japan on April 14 with Claire Hutton as the only player to start two games in a row. However, this Starting XI had only two changes from the Starting XI on April 11 in the first game against Japan. From the first match, Tierna Davidson replaced Kennedy Wesley on the back line and Hutton stepped in for midfielder Sam Coffey.
- With her cap today, Colorado native Lindsey Heaps tied Shannon MacMillan for 18th most caps in USWNT history with 176, making her one of only 19 women to reach the milestone. Heaps will return to her hometown to play professionally as a member of the NWSL’s Denver Summit upon the completion of her contract with OL Lyonnes in July.
- The other starter from Colorado was forward Sophia Wilson. The last time Wilson and Heaps played in Colorado was on June 1, 2024, vs. Korea Republic. The U.S. also won that match 4-0, which was also Hayes’ first match as head coach of the USWNT and the fourth-to-last match before of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Wilson hails from Windsor just an hour from Commerce City and Denver proper while Golden, a suburb of Denver, is Heaps’ hometown.
- Davidson earned the start, her first since Feb. 23, 2025, in a 2-1 win over Australia. In the WNT’s previous match on April 14, Davidson entered as a substitute in the 65th minute, her first appearance in more than one year following her recovery from an ACL injury she suffered in March of 2025. Tonight, she played the first 45 minutes before coming out on pre-planned sub.
- Center back Naomi Girma scored her third international goal – and all three have been headers. She scored her first two international goals on Oct. 30, 2024, against Argentina.
- Girma was assisted on her goal by fellow center back and Stanford Cardinal Kennedy Wesley, who replaced Davidson at halftime. Girma and Wesley played two full seasons together on the backline over three overlapping school years (2019-2022) as Girma took a redshirt season for her junior year (2020-21) due to injury. It was Wesley’s first international assist in her sixth career cap.
- Rose Lavelle’s goal in the 56th minute tonight was her 29th career goal and second goal of the week after recording one goal and an assist in the April 11 match against Japan. Lavelle now has 10 goal contributions in her last 10 matches for the USWNT.
- Lavelle was assisted by forward Trinity Rodman, who recorded her 11th international assist.
- Wesley scored her first international goal in the 64th minute. She is the 27th player to score a goal under head coach Emma Hayes. The center back ended her 45 minutes of play with two contributions, a goal and an assist, and was voted Woman of the Match.
- Jaedyn Shaw recorded her fifth career assist on Wesley’s goal with her service on a corner kick.
- Two of the three goals scored by the U.S. tonight came off corner kicks.
- The USWNT recorded its first clean sheet of the April window and its eighth shutout win in its last 10 matches.
- With the temperature at 38 degrees at kickoff and patches of snow pushed outside the edges of the pitch, it was the coldest WNT game since February 2022, which kicked off in Frisco, Texas.
- With the new FIFA substitution rules in effect (eight are now allowed in friendly matches), and Japan making use of a concussion sub, which gave the USA an extra substitution opportunity, the USA made its most ever substitutions in a single game over the 778 matches in program history with nine.
- Japan also made nine substitutions.
– U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT –
Match: United States vs. Japan
Date: April 17, 2026
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: DICK’S Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, Colo.
Attendance: 17,589
Kickoff: 7 p.m. MT / 9 p.m. ET
Weather: 38 degrees, mostly sunny
| Scoring Summary | 1 | 2 | F |
| USA | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| JPN | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| USA — Naomi Girma (Kennedy Wesley) | 47th minute |
| USA — Rose Lavelle (Trinity Rodman) | 56 |
| USA — Kennedy Wesley (Jaedyn Shaw) | 64 |
Lineups:
USA: 1-Claudia Dickey, 23-Emily Fox, 4-Naomi Girma (5-Lilly Reale, 83), 12-Tierna Davidson (25-Kennedy Wesley, 46), 22-Gisele Thompson (3-Avery Patterson, 62), 10-Lindsey Heaps (Capt.) (17-Sam Coffey, 63), 15-Claire Hutton (7-Lily Yohannes, 82), 16-Rose Lavelle (13-Olivia Moultrie, 73), 2-Trinity Rodman (20-Michelle Cooper, 73), 11-Sophia Wilson (9-Ally Sentnor, 73), 21-Alyssa Thompson (8-Jaedyn Shaw, 63)
Substitutes not used: 6-Emily Sams, 19-Emma Sears, 24-Phallon Tullis-Joyce
Not dressing: 14-Emily Sonnett, 18-Jane Campbell
Head Coach: Emma Hayes
JPN: 12-Chika Hirao, 2- Risa Shimizu (24-Maya Hijikata, 74), 6-Toko Koga (3-Moeka Minami, 60), 4-Saki Kumagai, 13-Hikaru Kitagawa (21-Miyabi Moriya, 25), 19-Momoko Tanikawa (20-Manaka Matsukubo, 46), 16-Yuzuki Yamamoto (17-Maika Hamano, 46), 14-Yui Hasegawa (Capt.) (10-Fuka Nagano, 74), 15-Aoba Fujino (22-Remina Chiba, 74), 9-Riko Ueki (11-Mina Tanaka, 46), 7-Hinata Miyazawa (18-Honoka Hayashi, 60)
Substitutes not used: 23-Akane Okuma, 1-Ayaka Yamashita
Head Coach: Michihisa Kano
Stats Summary: USA / JPN
Shots: 15 / 5
Shots on Goal: 7 / 3
Saves: 3 / 4
Corner Kicks: 6 / 2
Fouls: 7 / 5
Offside: 0 / 2
Misconduct Summary:
None
Officials:
Ref: Myriam Marcotte (CAN)
AR1: Mijensa Rensch (SUR)
AR2: Stephanie Yee Sing (JAM)
4TH: Carly Shaw-Maclaren (CAN)
DENVER — This winter and spring have produced Colorado’s worst snowpack on record, often measured via weather stations throughout the high country known as SNOpack TELemetry or SNOTEL stations.
Over the last few years, a new kind of complimentary measurement has been taking off — literally.
What started as a NASA Jet Propulsion Lab research project became Airborne Snow Observations (ASO), a company that flies small planes over the mountains to measure the snowpack. Starting in 2015, a joint effort with the state began to deploy the technology and put it to work.
Denver7 got a look at the technology last year.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Airborne lasers are measuring Colorado’s snowpack, and the technology is taking off
The planes use light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems to measure the depth of the snowpack across an entire basin, as well as spectrometers that measure how reflective the snow is to determine how fast it is melting.
“The holistic perspective is an important one,” ASO Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Jeffrey Deems said. “And by that I mean not just the full basin perspective on the snowpack, but how that snowpack evolves with our changing forests, the subsurface hydrology, soil moisture and groundwater. All of this adds up to what our managers and what we ultimately see in our rivers, behind our dams and in our reservoirs and in our taps.”
Through the Colorado Airborne Snow Measurement (CASM) program, ASO works with more than 100 water management partners ranging from small irrigation districts to large utilities like Denver Water. Deems said the more nuanced data helps those groups decide how to manage reservoirs or water restrictions.
Deems, who lives in Carbondale, said ASO’s flights cover 16 watersheds in Colorado.
“The full basin perspective is really showing us that there’s parts of the watershed that have more snow than others, and that information can really help managers on the ground anticipate what parts of their watershed or what diversion structures or what reservoirs are going to have better inflow versus other parts of the basin,” Deems explained. “That granularity can really help them out come operations time, now.
“The less [water] you have, the more you need to know about it,” he added.
Broader perspective ‘actually even more dire’
Deems said this year, ASO had to move flights up earlier than usual because the snowpack peaked early and began to rapidly melt. He said ASO did 18 survey flights in just one week in March.
ASO Inc.
Data from those flights show the huge drop off in snowpack this year compared to last.
- Watch the full story in the video player below.
Water managers getting a birds-eye view of CO’s historically bad snowpack
“In some cases, the full basin perspective is actually even more dire than what we’re seeing from the [SNOTEL] station network this time of year,” Deems said. “With early melt, those stations are still protected in their little forest pockets and aren’t melting as fast as the more open areas. So we’re seeing perhaps faster declines in the snowpack, and less overall than the stations would indicate in some areas.”
“In other basins, we’re seeing that there’s still a good bit of high elevation snow up there, similar to last year. So not that last year was a huge runoff year, but in some parts of the watersheds, not quite as dire,” he added.
The airborne observation technology is gaining more continuity in the state, with the CASM network expanding.
“And then just last year, a brand new program within the Colorado Water Conservation Board really takes that stakeholder-led effort and creates a state program,” Deems explained. “Having that background of a lot of years of working with these data in different parts of the state really helps with that confidence moving forward, so that folks know how to apply it and how to look to these data in times of crisis, like right now.”
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