The Land Desk

Metallic Minerals began acquiring and staking claims in the La Plata Mountains in 2019 and since then have amassed more than 500 patented and unpatented claims and other parcels covering some 12,000 acres, or 19 square miles.

Like the draft plan, it places a strong emphasis on tribal co-management and incorporating traditional Indigenous knowledge into decision making, education, and interpretation.

On the side-effects of necessary water use cuts.

Jonathan P. Thompson of the Land Desk started looking into the history of ski areas in southwest Colorado. He was reminded of how much different developing a ski area was 60 years ago and also of how many little ski hills have been lost to history.

The 1911 flood was likely the largest on the Animas River over the last several hundred years or more. On the San Juan River near Bluff, researchers found no evidence of floods higher than the 1911 debris, indicating it “may represent the largest flood on the San Juan River for a much longer time period than 1880-2001.”

Judge tosses Utah's lawsuit seeking to eviscerate the national monuments.

The Land Desk's Jonathan P. Thompson contemplates the mystery of several people who have gone missing in the San Juan Mountains this year.

Atlantic Richfield Company purchases more than 1,000 acres of patented mining claims and other properties from Arizona-based Disposition Properties in and around Rico, Colorado, dimming the threat of massive development.

A guest post from Dave Marston and Writers on the Range looks at housing prices in Durango and southwest Colorado.

And acknowledging the pain it will bring.