Welcome to the revamped OutThere Colorado Podcast. This one is all about a recent wildfire arson case, two scary crime sprees that took place in national parks, a drop in fourteener use (plus most crowded and least crowded peaks), and updates on Colorado wolves.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Ideas? Contact us at info@outtherecolorado.com
Hosts: Spencer McKee & Sam Schoenecker
[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_01]: Welcome to the OutThere Colorado Podcast.
[00:00:02] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm Spencer McKee.
[00:00:03] [SPEAKER_01]: I got Sam with me today.
[00:00:05] [SPEAKER_01]: We're going to be chatting about a few hot topics in the outdoor recreation
[00:00:09] [SPEAKER_01]: space and beyond just around Colorado.
[00:00:12] [SPEAKER_01]: We, we wanted to put out a longer form podcast for y'all.
[00:00:17] [SPEAKER_01]: A lot of times when we're putting down our, our video cuts, obviously
[00:00:21] [SPEAKER_01]: what limited to about a minute and a half with us.
[00:00:24] [SPEAKER_01]: So a lot of details get left out.
[00:00:26] [SPEAKER_01]: So I really just wanted to provide a little bit more context to what's
[00:00:29] [SPEAKER_01]: going on and yeah, hopefully you enjoy.
[00:00:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
[00:00:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Excited to get to it.
[00:00:35] [SPEAKER_00]: So Spencer, first article you sent me was suspect in 9,668 acre
[00:00:41] [SPEAKER_00]: wildfire allegedly pulled gun on people while impersonating law enforcement.
[00:00:47] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, exactly.
[00:00:48] [SPEAKER_01]: And there's a, there's a lot to unpack here, but so that piece
[00:00:51] [SPEAKER_01]: that's in reference to the Alexander Mountain fire that was burning late
[00:00:56] [SPEAKER_01]: July, I think it started like July 29th.
[00:00:59] [SPEAKER_01]: If I remember correctly burning late July into August West of
[00:01:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Loveland ended up burning almost 10,000 acres destroyed 29 homes
[00:01:07] [SPEAKER_01]: and damaged four others plus there were 21 outbuildings that were
[00:01:11] [SPEAKER_01]: damaged or destroyed.
[00:01:12] [SPEAKER_01]: I think the total estimated cost of damage was around $30 million.
[00:01:16] [SPEAKER_01]: So one of the biggest, if not the biggest wildfire this year in
[00:01:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Colorado and also very costly wildfires, Colorado's got pretty
[00:01:25] [SPEAKER_01]: lucky this year, it just in terms of fires causing damage.
[00:01:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Uh, this one though, it did cause some pretty significant damage.
[00:01:33] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:01:33] [SPEAKER_01]: So basically original talk about this wildfire was that it could have
[00:01:38] [SPEAKER_01]: been started by a bird striking electrical equipment, which sounds
[00:01:42] [SPEAKER_01]: far fetched because you always think with wildfires, you're like, okay,
[00:01:45] [SPEAKER_01]: lightning start that that accounts for a lot of them or intentional
[00:01:49] [SPEAKER_01]: or unintentional human start as arson or just, you know, leaving
[00:01:53] [SPEAKER_01]: smoldering ash and a campfire and the wind picks it up and it reignites.
[00:01:57] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:01:57] [SPEAKER_01]: So this initial talk was about birds though, which pretty wild.
[00:02:01] [SPEAKER_01]: I started digging into that and just kind of looking into do
[00:02:04] [SPEAKER_01]: birds start wildfires often.
[00:02:06] [SPEAKER_01]: Uh, I think there've been three this year in Colorado, all relatively
[00:02:10] [SPEAKER_01]: small, but three that have been started by a bird literally running
[00:02:14] [SPEAKER_01]: into electrical equipment, catching on fire and falling to the ground
[00:02:18] [SPEAKER_01]: and then just igniting that dry grass.
[00:02:20] [SPEAKER_01]: And then of course I went down the rabbit hole there and found that
[00:02:23] [SPEAKER_01]: in Australia, there's actually the three different bird species
[00:02:27] [SPEAKER_01]: that are known as the firebirds.
[00:02:29] [SPEAKER_01]: It's a brown Falcon, the black kite and the whistling kite.
[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_01]: What they do kind of a problem here in Australia, but, uh, they'll
[00:02:37] [SPEAKER_01]: pick up flaming pieces of material, whether it's a stick or whatever.
[00:02:42] [SPEAKER_01]: And carry that to another location and use it to start another fire.
[00:02:46] [SPEAKER_01]: That's so wild.
[00:02:47] [SPEAKER_01]: Or at least spread a fire.
[00:02:48] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:02:48] [SPEAKER_01]: With the goal of like scaring prey out to catch this prey as it's fleeing.
[00:02:53] [SPEAKER_01]: So thought that was just a very interesting thing.
[00:02:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Crazy that yeah, any animal can develop to do that.
[00:03:00] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:03:00] [SPEAKER_01]: Right.
[00:03:00] [SPEAKER_01]: It's like using fire as a tool in a sense.
[00:03:03] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:03:04] [SPEAKER_01]: I guess in every way looked it up, uh, do very mild amount of research on it,
[00:03:09] [SPEAKER_01]: but it looks like we don't have any birds doing that in Colorado.
[00:03:12] [SPEAKER_01]: So thank goodness.
[00:03:12] [SPEAKER_01]: That's good though.
[00:03:13] [SPEAKER_01]: Only the birds that unwittingly electrocute themselves.
[00:03:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
[00:03:17] [SPEAKER_00]: I love it.
[00:03:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Australia like never ceases to like have a study stream of animals to like
[00:03:24] [SPEAKER_01]: terrify me, you know what I mean?
[00:03:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:03:26] [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I was reading about how kangaroos intentionally drown things,
[00:03:31] [SPEAKER_01]: which is wild.
[00:03:32] [SPEAKER_01]: That's insane.
[00:03:32] [SPEAKER_01]: It's like seeing a kangaroo sitting in a pond just like that.
[00:03:35] [SPEAKER_01]: Like that was the image was just head sticking out of the water.
[00:03:38] [SPEAKER_01]: I was like waiting to drown its next victim.
[00:03:41] [SPEAKER_01]: That's insane.
[00:03:42] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:03:42] [SPEAKER_01]: Very creepy.
[00:03:43] [SPEAKER_01]: Australia has got all sorts of things going on.
[00:03:45] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:03:45] [SPEAKER_01]: But back to Colorado though.
[00:03:47] [SPEAKER_01]: So it was determined by officials this week that it was not a bird.
[00:03:53] [SPEAKER_01]: They might've determined that earlier, but it was not a bird that started
[00:03:57] [SPEAKER_01]: this fire.
[00:03:58] [SPEAKER_01]: It was actually a human human start.
[00:04:01] [SPEAKER_01]: Its origin was in a campfire ring in this area.
[00:04:04] [SPEAKER_01]: So, but that's not really where the story gets crazy.
[00:04:07] [SPEAKER_01]: So a warrant went out for this dude.
[00:04:09] [SPEAKER_01]: He's 49 year old out of Loveland as a suspect in the case.
[00:04:13] [SPEAKER_01]: And authorities didn't specifically say he suspected of starting this fire,
[00:04:18] [SPEAKER_01]: but they didn't.
[00:04:19] [SPEAKER_01]: There is an arson felony charge on that warrant.
[00:04:23] [SPEAKER_01]: So presumably they might believe that this dude started the fire.
[00:04:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Worked at a nearby ranch.
[00:04:28] [SPEAKER_01]: So he was an employee in the area and has also been accused of
[00:04:33] [SPEAKER_01]: falsely representing himself as law enforcement officials and certified
[00:04:37] [SPEAKER_01]: firefighter.
[00:04:38] [SPEAKER_01]: That's wild.
[00:04:39] [SPEAKER_01]: A certified firefighter.
[00:04:40] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:04:41] [SPEAKER_01]: Both before and after the start of the blaze.
[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_01]: So press release on the matter was basically saying this guy had stopped
[00:04:48] [SPEAKER_01]: travelers multiple times on ranch property prior to the blaze while he
[00:04:53] [SPEAKER_01]: was operating a Chevrolet SUV that was designed to look like a law
[00:04:57] [SPEAKER_01]: enforcement vehicle.
[00:04:58] [SPEAKER_01]: So you can kind of picture that, but yeah, so after allegedly pretending
[00:05:02] [SPEAKER_01]: to be law enforcement, he told these people they were trespassing and
[00:05:06] [SPEAKER_01]: actually pulled a gun on them.
[00:05:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Allegedly all this is allegedly, but that's what he's been accused
[00:05:10] [SPEAKER_01]: of doing.
[00:05:11] [SPEAKER_01]: And then once this fire started, so this guy's also said to own a truck
[00:05:15] [SPEAKER_01]: that was equipped with some firefighting gear operating under a business name
[00:05:20] [SPEAKER_01]: of twin Buttes fire protection out of Wyoming.
[00:05:23] [SPEAKER_01]: So this dude with his truck is said to have bypassed road closures
[00:05:28] [SPEAKER_01]: into restricted access areas of the Alexander mountain fire.
[00:05:31] [SPEAKER_01]: Basically according to authorities representing himself as a wildland
[00:05:35] [SPEAKER_01]: firefighter and saying he was there to defend ranch property.
[00:05:39] [SPEAKER_01]: He was arrested on September 10th and taken into custody.
[00:05:43] [SPEAKER_01]: It has multiple felony charges, first degree arson, impersonation of police officer,
[00:05:48] [SPEAKER_01]: menacing, false imprisonment, and then a misdemeanor account for
[00:05:51] [SPEAKER_01]: impersonating a public official.
[00:05:53] [SPEAKER_01]: So those are the charges he's facing.
[00:05:55] [SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, pretty wild story because I think most people would like to
[00:06:00] [SPEAKER_01]: assume that fires are accidental in a way that this is kind of insinuating.
[00:06:06] [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe it was accidental, but it definitely brings a lot of questions
[00:06:11] [SPEAKER_01]: to this whole fire case.
[00:06:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Right?
[00:06:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
[00:06:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
[00:06:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, and the events leading up to it are like what really, I don't know,
[00:06:20] [SPEAKER_00]: it feels like there are as sad as it is felony charges for starting
[00:06:24] [SPEAKER_00]: fires all the time in Colorado.
[00:06:27] [SPEAKER_00]: But like, I don't know his behavior beforehand draws the entire event
[00:06:33] [SPEAKER_00]: into like under so many more questions.
[00:06:36] [SPEAKER_00]: You know what I mean?
[00:06:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh yeah, for sure.
[00:06:37] [SPEAKER_00]: There's so much more scrutiny.
[00:06:39] [SPEAKER_01]: Well, there was the famous case where it was a US forest service
[00:06:43] [SPEAKER_01]: technician, I think back in 2002.
[00:06:45] [SPEAKER_01]: It was blamed for starting the Heyman fire, which was kind of
[00:06:49] [SPEAKER_01]: Northwest Colorado Springs ended up burning 138,000 acres of land.
[00:06:54] [SPEAKER_01]: I think 600 structures.
[00:06:55] [SPEAKER_01]: I think the excuse there was this woman admitted to sparking a fire
[00:07:01] [SPEAKER_01]: and apparently it was some sort of like a letter from her estranged husband
[00:07:05] [SPEAKER_01]: and like a love letter type of thing.
[00:07:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:07:07] [SPEAKER_01]: A moment of distress.
[00:07:09] [SPEAKER_01]: She lit this letter on fire and or said to have lit this letter on fire
[00:07:14] [SPEAKER_01]: in a campfire ring and then spread.
[00:07:16] [SPEAKER_01]: That's been brought into question a lot.
[00:07:19] [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, some people question whether that letter was there or not,
[00:07:22] [SPEAKER_01]: but either way, Nicholas sparks could never.
[00:07:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:07:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, either way.
[00:07:27] [SPEAKER_01]: And I think it was, I think it was actually that same woman
[00:07:30] [SPEAKER_01]: that might have reported the fire too, if I remember correctly.
[00:07:33] [SPEAKER_01]: But it might need to be fact-checked on that.
[00:07:35] [SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, that's another interesting case.
[00:07:38] [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, obviously it's terrifying thing.
[00:07:40] [SPEAKER_01]: There's a lot of Colorado that's just, I mean, you can look up
[00:07:42] [SPEAKER_01]: in the hills and see all the beetle kill and down trees from that.
[00:07:46] [SPEAKER_01]: Like Colorado is already dry and then there's so much fuel just sitting there.
[00:07:50] [SPEAKER_01]: So fire safety, something to take seriously year round goes without saying.
[00:07:55] [SPEAKER_01]: But one thing that always gets me too, when it comes to fire safety
[00:07:58] [SPEAKER_01]: that I think a lot of people overlook is parking a hot car on tall grass.
[00:08:04] [SPEAKER_01]: Like you're driving to a campsite, you kind of pull off into this
[00:08:08] [SPEAKER_01]: like little dispersed camping area and you park the car there.
[00:08:11] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:08:11] [SPEAKER_01]: That can actually start a fire if the hot grass is touching your,
[00:08:15] [SPEAKER_01]: the hot components of the car.
[00:08:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Right?
[00:08:16] [SPEAKER_01]: So that's something that got to watch out for that.
[00:08:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, exactly.
[00:08:20] [SPEAKER_01]: There are a lot of factors.
[00:08:21] [SPEAKER_01]: It's like, if you look at the drought map in Colorado right now,
[00:08:24] [SPEAKER_01]: which I'll pull that up right here.
[00:08:27] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:08:27] [SPEAKER_01]: Like the only severe drought in the state of its present is currently
[00:08:31] [SPEAKER_01]: in the Denver area, but there's also drought in a lot of kind of that,
[00:08:36] [SPEAKER_01]: that continental divide area or at least abnormally dry conditions as well
[00:08:40] [SPEAKER_01]: as out East right now, about 40% of the state is abnormally dry or worse.
[00:08:47] [SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, I mean, droughts fairly high last year to put it in perspective
[00:08:51] [SPEAKER_01]: because it always seems like last year was the driest year.
[00:08:55] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, exactly.
[00:08:55] [SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, conditions are actually worse now compared to a year ago.
[00:08:59] [SPEAKER_01]: 31% of the state was abnormally dry or worse around the same
[00:09:03] [SPEAKER_01]: portion of the state was in technical drought.
[00:09:06] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:09:06] [SPEAKER_01]: There's four stages of drought.
[00:09:08] [SPEAKER_01]: So that first phase is about 15% in state both this year and last year.
[00:09:12] [SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, it's dry in Colorado.
[00:09:13] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:09:14] [SPEAKER_01]: Very, very dry.
[00:09:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Don't need to keep it in mind.
[00:09:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:09:17] [SPEAKER_01]: Don't be risked with fires.
[00:09:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
[00:09:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Also like maybe don't start campfires.
[00:09:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Like, I don't know, be responsible, but also like, yeah,
[00:09:26] [SPEAKER_00]: just, well, as we've known, you have water if you have it like, yeah.
[00:09:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:09:30] [SPEAKER_01]: You got to have water nearby and as, as leave no trace would stay, it's
[00:09:33] [SPEAKER_01]: like, or say always kind of whatever you are starting to fire.
[00:09:37] [SPEAKER_01]: I was like, do I need this fire?
[00:09:38] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, exactly.
[00:09:39] [SPEAKER_01]: Question you're asking.
[00:09:40] [SPEAKER_01]: And I mean, ultimately there's always going to be some level
[00:09:43] [SPEAKER_01]: of risk with the fire.
[00:09:44] [SPEAKER_01]: A bird could fly through it.
[00:09:46] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, exactly.
[00:09:47] [SPEAKER_01]: Around this fire, but yeah, do you need the fire?
[00:09:50] [SPEAKER_01]: And then also when you're leaving, make sure you're stirring water
[00:09:52] [SPEAKER_01]: into that ash.
[00:09:53] [SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, that's also something that was surprising to me when I
[00:09:57] [SPEAKER_01]: was learning about it, but just like how even a day or multiple days later,
[00:10:02] [SPEAKER_01]: hot ash can still start a fire.
[00:10:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Even if when you leave, there's no smoke, there's no red coal.
[00:10:08] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:10:08] [SPEAKER_01]: Hot ash once the wind hits it and it blows that around and that
[00:10:11] [SPEAKER_01]: extra oxygen gets in there.
[00:10:13] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:10:14] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:10:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Can start a fire, fire start back up.
[00:10:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
[00:10:16] [SPEAKER_00]: It takes one spark to start a grassland.
[00:10:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Like, you know what I mean?
[00:10:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh yeah.
[00:10:19] [SPEAKER_00]: And they find hundreds of abandoned campfires in Colorado.
[00:10:23] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:10:29] [SPEAKER_01]: So another story to kind of move away from that, that fire situation.
[00:10:35] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:10:35] [SPEAKER_01]: They kind of stay on the topic of reckless behavior, I guess.
[00:10:39] [SPEAKER_01]: Another story out of...
[00:10:40] [SPEAKER_01]: Reckless behavior, reckless behavior in the outdoors.
[00:10:42] [SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
[00:10:42] [SPEAKER_01]: Reckless behavior in the outdoors.
[00:10:44] [SPEAKER_01]: A reckless driver was arrested this week speeding in Rocky
[00:10:49] [SPEAKER_01]: Mountain National Park.
[00:10:50] [SPEAKER_01]: So Denver Gazettes, Jonathan Ingram covered this story.
[00:10:53] [SPEAKER_01]: Basically this dude was a suspected burglar, 23 year old male.
[00:10:57] [SPEAKER_01]: It was now in custody, but he was speeding and driving recklessly all
[00:11:01] [SPEAKER_01]: along Trail Ridge Road, right?
[00:11:03] [SPEAKER_01]: Which is one of the, you know, one of the most iconic scenic drives
[00:11:08] [SPEAKER_01]: in Colorado, it's 40 or so miles I think between Estes Park and Grand
[00:11:13] [SPEAKER_01]: Lake, known for its views.
[00:11:15] [SPEAKER_01]: I think the highest continuous road, highest paved continuous road in
[00:11:18] [SPEAKER_01]: the country, if I remember correctly.
[00:11:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:11:20] [SPEAKER_01]: This dude, reckless driving situation, speeding through the Grand Lake
[00:11:25] [SPEAKER_01]: entrance on the West side and then failing to yield ended up hitting
[00:11:29] [SPEAKER_01]: another car actually and sending three people to the hospital.
[00:11:32] [SPEAKER_01]: So pretty serious situation.
[00:11:34] [SPEAKER_01]: But what this one really reminded me of was another case out of Yosemite.
[00:11:40] [SPEAKER_01]: Which was wild.
[00:11:41] [SPEAKER_01]: Wild.
[00:11:42] [SPEAKER_01]: It's almost like not believable in a way.
[00:11:44] [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, there was probably some sort of underlying aspect before I get into this.
[00:11:49] [SPEAKER_01]: There's probably some sort of underlying situation going on.
[00:11:52] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:11:52] [SPEAKER_01]: Pretty bizarre behavior, but basically this punk band vocalist from a
[00:11:57] [SPEAKER_00]: California punk rock group and you were looking into them a little bit Sam.
[00:12:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
[00:12:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
[00:12:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Their name is Cancer Christ based in Los Angeles, California.
[00:12:05] [SPEAKER_00]: And I found their description of their music because I was really
[00:12:09] [SPEAKER_00]: trying to like nail down.
[00:12:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.
[00:12:11] [SPEAKER_00]: How do these guys view themselves?
[00:12:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Google labels them as a metal band, but if they were to be specific, it
[00:12:17] [SPEAKER_00]: would be a reptilian Christian Christ violence, hardcore punk band.
[00:12:21] [SPEAKER_00]: So you can imagine that it's kind of their entire vibe.
[00:12:25] [SPEAKER_00]: Like I think it kind of does get across their genre.
[00:12:28] [SPEAKER_00]: If you're looking for the genre of reptilian, Christian Christ violence,
[00:12:32] [SPEAKER_00]: hardcore punk, I think they're like a good supplier.
[00:12:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, what was their album name?
[00:12:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, God is violence.
[00:12:39] [SPEAKER_00]: God is violence.
[00:12:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
[00:12:41] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:12:41] [SPEAKER_01]: So, and honestly like looking up this band on Reddit, they seem to
[00:12:45] [SPEAKER_01]: have a good amount of fans.
[00:12:46] [SPEAKER_01]: They seem to have people seem to be pretty positive about them.
[00:12:49] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:12:49] [SPEAKER_01]: But either way, front man for the band singer is accused of a bizarre
[00:12:55] [SPEAKER_01]: crime spree we'll call it through Yosemite national park.
[00:12:59] [SPEAKER_01]: So then the description that was used by law enforcement was that this
[00:13:04] [SPEAKER_01]: crime spree like terrorized the area.
[00:13:06] [SPEAKER_01]: Right?
[00:13:06] [SPEAKER_01]: So pretty, pretty wild situation and it all, all unfolded on
[00:13:12] [SPEAKER_01]: August 21st, according to the press release on the matter.
[00:13:15] [SPEAKER_01]: When this singer middle of the afternoon walks up to a waitress, a pregnant
[00:13:21] [SPEAKER_01]: waitress in an area restaurant and touches her stomach and then allegedly says.
[00:13:27] [SPEAKER_01]: The spirits led me to you and your baby belongs to me.
[00:13:30] [SPEAKER_01]: And what time is your break?
[00:13:31] [SPEAKER_01]: Because I will be waiting for you.
[00:13:34] [SPEAKER_01]: Terrifying.
[00:13:35] [SPEAKER_01]: Very creepy.
[00:13:36] [SPEAKER_01]: Very creepy.
[00:13:37] [SPEAKER_01]: So that's how it starts.
[00:13:38] [SPEAKER_01]: And then apparently this dude, he's accused of stealing several drinks,
[00:13:41] [SPEAKER_01]: assaulting another employee and then hopping in his vehicle and just taken
[00:13:45] [SPEAKER_01]: off toward Yosemite national park.
[00:13:48] [SPEAKER_01]: So another reckless driving situation.
[00:13:51] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:13:52] [SPEAKER_01]: Another national park, but that's not where the situation stops.
[00:13:55] [SPEAKER_01]: So multiple calls are being placed to emergency dispatch.
[00:13:58] [SPEAKER_01]: They're reporting everything from like possible car chase to a kidnapping,
[00:14:02] [SPEAKER_01]: to assault, to a stolen vehicle.
[00:14:04] [SPEAKER_01]: Authorities are trying to figure out what's going on.
[00:14:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Meanwhile, this guy allegedly arrives in the fish camp area, which is
[00:14:11] [SPEAKER_01]: inside of Yosemite national park boundaries.
[00:14:14] [SPEAKER_01]: He steals a bike because he crashed his car, of course.
[00:14:17] [SPEAKER_01]: So steals, steals a bike and then strips his shirt off and gives it to
[00:14:21] [SPEAKER_01]: a bystander and says, and quote, according to the bystander, you'll
[00:14:25] [SPEAKER_01]: want to keep this I'm going to be famous.
[00:14:28] [SPEAKER_01]: So at that point, this shirtless man enters a lodge kitchen or Tanaya
[00:14:34] [SPEAKER_01]: lodge kitchen, if I'm reading that correctly, he goes through the back
[00:14:38] [SPEAKER_01]: door, he puts some of his personal items into the fridge and allegedly grabs
[00:14:41] [SPEAKER_01]: a knife, which he allegedly used to threaten workers in this lodge.
[00:14:46] [SPEAKER_01]: And then he eventually leaves the building.
[00:14:48] [SPEAKER_01]: According to the report strips down to his underwear, drops his
[00:14:51] [SPEAKER_01]: wallet and car keys as well.
[00:14:53] [SPEAKER_01]: And it reenters the lodge clubhouse.
[00:14:55] [SPEAKER_01]: This is where the customers are at and tells the customers to
[00:14:58] [SPEAKER_01]: leave or risk being in danger.
[00:15:01] [SPEAKER_01]: Then he said to kind of start vandalizing stuff.
[00:15:03] [SPEAKER_01]: He attempt, uh, allegedly attempted to kidnap the store manager,
[00:15:07] [SPEAKER_01]: demanding that the manager drives him out of the area.
[00:15:10] [SPEAKER_01]: The manager escaped, thankfully, but this guy still allegedly
[00:15:15] [SPEAKER_01]: took the manager's vehicle, hops back on the highway.
[00:15:18] [SPEAKER_01]: It starts a road rage incident with a Tesla driver, allegedly,
[00:15:23] [SPEAKER_01]: which eventually culminates into him ramming the Tesla multiple times
[00:15:28] [SPEAKER_01]: reportedly then crashed and was taken into custody.
[00:15:31] [SPEAKER_01]: This podcast is only audio, so you can't see the photo, but it is
[00:15:35] [SPEAKER_01]: a shirtless, very sweaty man in the boxer briefs.
[00:15:41] [SPEAKER_01]: Is what the, what the photo is.
[00:15:43] [SPEAKER_01]: It's also shocking in itself and also smoke grenade was reportedly
[00:15:47] [SPEAKER_01]: found in the dude's vehicle.
[00:15:49] [SPEAKER_01]: So that apparently prompted a bomb squad response.
[00:15:53] [SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, the quote from the sheriff was this man drove all around our
[00:15:56] [SPEAKER_01]: county, terrorizing our visitors and community members.
[00:15:59] [SPEAKER_01]: I am extremely happy that no one was seriously injured.
[00:16:01] [SPEAKER_01]: This man's behavior was erratic and dangerous.
[00:16:03] [SPEAKER_01]: This is just a glimpse of what we encounter at any given time.
[00:16:08] [SPEAKER_01]: So, yeah, so pretty, pretty wild story.
[00:16:12] [SPEAKER_01]: My side also has a tie to just, you know, people being
[00:16:16] [SPEAKER_01]: reckless and national park land.
[00:16:18] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:16:19] [SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, I mean, it's, it's one of those things where you probably do
[00:16:23] [SPEAKER_01]: never know what you're going to get if your law enforcement in the
[00:16:26] [SPEAKER_01]: national park, you know, just a wide, wide array of coincidences
[00:16:32] [SPEAKER_01]: you have a respond to a high speed car chases, like two high speed car.
[00:16:36] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:16:36] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:16:37] [SPEAKER_01]: Well, yeah, it's crazy.
[00:16:38] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:16:39] [SPEAKER_01]: And I know that didn't happen in Colorado, but that tends to make
[00:16:42] [SPEAKER_01]: people mad when we talk about anything outside of Colorado, but
[00:16:45] [SPEAKER_01]: that's anything that's of interest to Colorado, Colorado.
[00:16:49] [SPEAKER_00]: And that's kind of what we try to bring us.
[00:16:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
[00:16:51] [SPEAKER_00]: But like, come on this story.
[00:16:53] [SPEAKER_00]: It's crazy.
[00:16:54] [SPEAKER_00]: It's so crazy in his defense.
[00:16:57] [SPEAKER_00]: It's really punk rock.
[00:16:59] [SPEAKER_00]: It's very punk rock.
[00:17:00] [SPEAKER_00]: It's very punk rock.
[00:17:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Getting back to the roots of rebellion there.
[00:17:04] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:17:04] [SPEAKER_01]: I know the good old days.
[00:17:10] [SPEAKER_01]: Here's something that's a little bit bent.
[00:17:12] [SPEAKER_01]: So recently Colorado 14ers initiative, they're a absolutely great nonprofit group.
[00:17:18] [SPEAKER_01]: They're responsible for maintaining and kind of protecting a lot of
[00:17:21] [SPEAKER_01]: the trails and the access on Colorado is very popular 14 years.
[00:17:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Right?
[00:17:26] [SPEAKER_01]: So by my count, I think people disagree, but I will also say
[00:17:31] [SPEAKER_01]: just 58 14 years in Colorado that they're focusing on, which is, I
[00:17:35] [SPEAKER_01]: believe the number they used to.
[00:17:36] [SPEAKER_01]: But anyways, they released their annual report, which is something
[00:17:40] [SPEAKER_01]: they've been doing in recent years for how many people used trails
[00:17:43] [SPEAKER_01]: on Colorado's 14 years in 2023, which was actually a nine year low.
[00:17:51] [SPEAKER_01]: 2023 brought around 260,000 to hiker days across all peaks.
[00:17:58] [SPEAKER_01]: So that's pretty wild just in the sense that it's been on a decline since all
[00:18:03] [SPEAKER_01]: time highs in 2020 during the, that first year of the pandemic when I think
[00:18:07] [SPEAKER_01]: numbers were, I know I have that here somewhere, yeah, 415,000.
[00:18:12] [SPEAKER_01]: So what's a 37% drop from that high?
[00:18:15] [SPEAKER_01]: That's wild.
[00:18:16] [SPEAKER_01]: This year again, 260,000, 2020, 415,000.
[00:18:21] [SPEAKER_01]: So pretty significant drop also a year over year drop from
[00:18:24] [SPEAKER_01]: compared to 2022 of 6.8%.
[00:18:27] [SPEAKER_01]: One of the things that was most shocking to me about this though,
[00:18:31] [SPEAKER_01]: was how five peaks, which really only have four routes that they're,
[00:18:36] [SPEAKER_01]: that they're looking at here.
[00:18:37] [SPEAKER_01]: I think five peaks account for 35% of all 14 year climbs on a low end
[00:18:43] [SPEAKER_01]: and 42% on the high end there.
[00:18:46] [SPEAKER_01]: So these five peaks probably can kind of guess them if you're familiar
[00:18:50] [SPEAKER_01]: with Colorado's 14 years, but quandary peak, Mount Albert, Mount
[00:18:53] [SPEAKER_01]: Beardstadt and then the Torrey's Peak and Grays Peak combo route.
[00:18:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Quandary peak and Beardstadt have the highest climbing estimates with around
[00:19:02] [SPEAKER_01]: 25,000 to 30,000 hiker days each year, which is kind of surprising too.
[00:19:06] [SPEAKER_01]: Cause Quandary peak now has additional red tape, so to speak.
[00:19:10] [SPEAKER_01]: If you want to park at the trailhead, you need a permit or shuttle ride,
[00:19:14] [SPEAKER_01]: which has been an attempt to kind of lower the hiker numbers and make that
[00:19:17] [SPEAKER_01]: trail a little bit more sustainable.
[00:19:18] [SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, then Albert and Beardstadt or Albert and the
[00:19:21] [SPEAKER_01]: Torrey's Grays combo had around 20,000, 25,000 hiker days.
[00:19:25] [SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, I mean pretty shocking considering that there's 58 peaks
[00:19:29] [SPEAKER_01]: that you're looking at and five peaks make up, you know, up to 42% of all
[00:19:37] [SPEAKER_01]: climbs.
[00:19:38] [SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, you see why those parking lots are crowded.
[00:19:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
[00:19:41] [SPEAKER_00]: You hear people complain about how crowded those trailheads are all the
[00:19:45] [SPEAKER_00]: time.
[00:19:45] [SPEAKER_00]: And so it's like that there is a pretty easy solution to that, you
[00:19:50] [SPEAKER_00]: know, pick different peaks.
[00:19:53] [SPEAKER_00]: Um, it feels like this is some great knowledge for anyone trying to bag
[00:19:56] [SPEAKER_00]: some 14ers.
[00:19:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:19:58] [SPEAKER_01]: And there's the numbers also revealed that there were 23 Colorado
[00:20:01] [SPEAKER_01]: 14ers that had less than 3000 climbers per year.
[00:20:04] [SPEAKER_01]: Gotcha.
[00:20:04] [SPEAKER_01]: So, you know, that's not quite half, but close to half.
[00:20:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, exactly.
[00:20:08] [SPEAKER_01]: They have less than 3000 climbers a year.
[00:20:10] [SPEAKER_01]: So, and I think there tends to be kind of this misconception that
[00:20:14] [SPEAKER_01]: any peak with that few of climbers is going to be really difficult
[00:20:17] [SPEAKER_01]: to get to or, or really technical and hard to climb or dangerous, which
[00:20:22] [SPEAKER_01]: a lot of times is the case, but not necessarily all the time.
[00:20:26] [SPEAKER_01]: So few of the class one to two peaks there, I'm going to, I got the
[00:20:32] [SPEAKER_01]: list in front of me.
[00:20:32] [SPEAKER_01]: So good to share a few of those with some of my hiking recommendations,
[00:20:36] [SPEAKER_01]: but like Blanca peak obviously this means getting up Lake Como Road,
[00:20:38] [SPEAKER_01]: but it's difficult class too.
[00:20:40] [SPEAKER_01]: It's one of the least climb peaks.
[00:20:41] [SPEAKER_01]: You can connect that route to Ellingwood point too.
[00:20:45] [SPEAKER_01]: So you can kind of do a twofer there.
[00:20:47] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:20:47] [SPEAKER_01]: Humboldt peak, which is absolutely beautiful.
[00:20:50] [SPEAKER_01]: It's down in the Sangre de Cristos as well.
[00:20:52] [SPEAKER_01]: Also class two, but you get stunning views of Crestone peak and Crestone
[00:20:57] [SPEAKER_01]: needle during that hike, beautiful basin.
[00:21:00] [SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, and I've found that one a little bit hard to believe that it's
[00:21:02] [SPEAKER_01]: under that 3000 person threshold.
[00:21:04] [SPEAKER_01]: So, yeah, but apparently, apparently it is.
[00:21:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:21:07] [SPEAKER_01]: A couple other ones, San Luis peak.
[00:21:09] [SPEAKER_01]: This is actually one peak where I probably ran into the fewest climbers on it.
[00:21:13] [SPEAKER_01]: And I haven't climbed a lot of these, the Elks and the San Juans.
[00:21:17] [SPEAKER_01]: I think I'm at 43 or so with it.
[00:21:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it was most of those, most of those being in Elks and San Juans.
[00:21:24] [SPEAKER_01]: But one of the San Juan peaks that I have climbed is San Luis peak.
[00:21:27] [SPEAKER_01]: I did it from the Creed side, which is the alternate route.
[00:21:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Gotcha.
[00:21:30] [SPEAKER_01]: It utilizes a little portion of the Colorado trail, I believe.
[00:21:34] [SPEAKER_01]: I think it's like 15, 16 miles round trip, but it's all class one.
[00:21:37] [SPEAKER_01]: So longer day, but class one terrain, pretty easy moving terrain.
[00:21:43] [SPEAKER_01]: I think I saw two people on it, which were actually
[00:21:45] [SPEAKER_01]: Colorado trail hikers.
[00:21:46] [SPEAKER_01]: They were climbing the mountain from that side.
[00:21:49] [SPEAKER_01]: Creed also beautiful, beautiful little mountain down.
[00:21:51] [SPEAKER_01]: So once called the last great place to drink and fight.
[00:21:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Amazing.
[00:21:56] [SPEAKER_00]: That's like all you, I think that's all I need in the town.
[00:22:00] [SPEAKER_00]: It was Wild West right there.
[00:22:01] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:22:02] [SPEAKER_01]: I think they've dropped the drinking and fighting and now it's just
[00:22:04] [SPEAKER_01]: called the last great place is their slogan, but either way.
[00:22:07] [SPEAKER_01]: It lacks the same punch, but
[00:22:09] [SPEAKER_01]: good, good place to check out there down on the Southwestern side of the
[00:22:13] [SPEAKER_01]: San Luis Valley area and kind of, but yeah, so I mean,
[00:22:17] [SPEAKER_01]: Colorado 14 is kind of bring it back to that.
[00:22:20] [SPEAKER_01]: It's the, I mean, if you, you can skip the crowds, if you
[00:22:23] [SPEAKER_01]: know what you're looking for.
[00:22:25] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:22:25] [SPEAKER_01]: I think they create another crazy part of this too, was when we started
[00:22:28] [SPEAKER_01]: trying to break down how many, how many people were on some of these
[00:22:32] [SPEAKER_01]: peaks when you kind of take out the winter days, when there's not many
[00:22:36] [SPEAKER_01]: people and even kind of factor out that, that I guess weekday crowd too,
[00:22:42] [SPEAKER_01]: when a lot of these peaks are even less crowded.
[00:22:44] [SPEAKER_01]: So if you assume that we'll say there were 260 hiker days and doing this
[00:22:49] [SPEAKER_01]: napkin mass live for you, so 260 hiker days times 42%, we got 109,000
[00:22:57] [SPEAKER_01]: hiker days on these five peaks alone.
[00:23:01] [SPEAKER_01]: So taking that 109,000, if we just say how many, how many weeks do we
[00:23:06] [SPEAKER_01]: think are, I guess we probably have like four months of like peak 14
[00:23:10] [SPEAKER_01]: season probably.
[00:23:11] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:23:12] [SPEAKER_01]: So like 16.
[00:23:13] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:23:13] [SPEAKER_01]: So 16 weeks.
[00:23:15] [SPEAKER_01]: So that's 112 days.
[00:23:18] [SPEAKER_01]: So you go 109, 200, that by 112, that's 975 people split between these,
[00:23:28] [SPEAKER_01]: these five mountains each, each day.
[00:23:31] [SPEAKER_01]: And that's including weekdays and treating those the same as weekend
[00:23:35] [SPEAKER_01]: days, obviously there was a little bit of a disparity there.
[00:23:37] [SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, I mean, that's a lot of people that's over 200 people on
[00:23:40] [SPEAKER_01]: each of these mountains per day.
[00:23:44] [SPEAKER_00]: So, and that's not even accounting for the weekends.
[00:23:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Like, yeah, so probably way more crowded.
[00:23:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Um, yeah.
[00:23:48] [SPEAKER_00]: And so which, which I feel like is a point against them and a point for
[00:23:52] [SPEAKER_00]: them, like if you're getting into 14 or climbing, like hiking where there's
[00:23:57] [SPEAKER_00]: a bunch of other people in a well-trafficked area where, where the
[00:24:01] [SPEAKER_00]: trail is a lane, you know what I mean?
[00:24:03] [SPEAKER_00]: And like it's got two lanes for traffic.
[00:24:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Like, you know what I mean?
[00:24:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:24:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
[00:24:08] [SPEAKER_01]: You got people there if something goes wrong, which I mean, obviously these
[00:24:12] [SPEAKER_01]: 14 years are probably on, I mean, most of these are the, some of the easiest
[00:24:16] [SPEAKER_01]: say that in quotes, all 14 years break a little bit of their own risks and
[00:24:21] [SPEAKER_01]: challenges, but yeah, they are some of the easiest in the state.
[00:24:24] [SPEAKER_01]: So they attract some beginners.
[00:24:25] [SPEAKER_01]: So it's probably good that they're a little bit crowded in some regard at
[00:24:29] [SPEAKER_01]: least, but it can be disappointing whenever you have to get to the
[00:24:34] [SPEAKER_01]: trailhead and see there's nowhere to park.
[00:24:35] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:24:36] [SPEAKER_01]: Still important to not park illegally though at the trailhead too, just because
[00:24:39] [SPEAKER_01]: that's a, it can really impact search and rescue response, moving big vehicles
[00:24:43] [SPEAKER_01]: around and so that can be something that could literally kill somebody if
[00:24:47] [SPEAKER_01]: you're parked there and they can't get an ambulance.
[00:24:48] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, exactly.
[00:24:49] [SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
[00:24:50] [SPEAKER_01]: If you want to skip the crowds though, we got a list on our website,
[00:24:53] [SPEAKER_01]: but there's a bunch of, bunch of peaks that have way fewer people.
[00:24:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Some of which are not, not that technical to climb and not that difficult
[00:25:02] [SPEAKER_01]: to get through.
[00:25:03] [SPEAKER_01]: So yeah.
[00:25:04] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:25:04] [SPEAKER_01]: What else we got here?
[00:25:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, the wolves.
[00:25:07] [SPEAKER_01]: So kind of like touching on, I guess, long speaks in Rocky Mountain National
[00:25:11] [SPEAKER_01]: Park, so bringing it back to Rocky Mountain National Park, according to
[00:25:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Parks and Wildlife, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, there is a wolf that has
[00:25:18] [SPEAKER_01]: been frequenting Rocky Mountain National Park.
[00:25:21] [SPEAKER_01]: So they recently released a lot of information about the state's
[00:25:26] [SPEAKER_01]: wolf population, right?
[00:25:27] [SPEAKER_01]: Renewed action took place December of 2023.
[00:25:30] [SPEAKER_01]: A lot of, a lot of pretty big updates in recent weeks.
[00:25:32] [SPEAKER_01]: One of which is this wolf in Rocky Mountain National Park, but perhaps
[00:25:36] [SPEAKER_01]: that's maybe like the least notable update even.
[00:25:40] [SPEAKER_01]: So in case you missed it back in April, it was announced that a wolf
[00:25:46] [SPEAKER_01]: pup had been born in Colorado.
[00:25:48] [SPEAKER_01]: Uh, at least one wolf pup.
[00:25:50] [SPEAKER_01]: This created the Copper Creek pack.
[00:25:52] [SPEAKER_01]: This was in Grand County.
[00:25:54] [SPEAKER_01]: So a pack is formed whenever two wolves create offspring, at least by
[00:25:58] [SPEAKER_01]: the definition that we're using today.
[00:26:00] [SPEAKER_01]: Gotcha.
[00:26:00] [SPEAKER_01]: So this pack and these pups have been kind of doing their thing, growing
[00:26:06] [SPEAKER_01]: in Grand County, uh, the adult wolves in the pack have been blamed for some
[00:26:12] [SPEAKER_01]: depredation incidences that have taken place with livestock.
[00:26:15] [SPEAKER_01]: I think one of them involved eight sheep being killed.
[00:26:18] [SPEAKER_01]: Wow.
[00:26:19] [SPEAKER_01]: So, but because this pack was just kind of getting its roots in and,
[00:26:24] [SPEAKER_01]: uh, really developing Colorado Parks and Wildlife and everyone involved,
[00:26:27] [SPEAKER_01]: they kind of just let them do their thing.
[00:26:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:26:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Let these pups grow a little bit, but then flash forward to recently.
[00:26:34] [SPEAKER_01]: And, uh, the decision was made to move this pack to another
[00:26:38] [SPEAKER_01]: location for their own safety.
[00:26:39] [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe also to help with some of this depredation situation going on.
[00:26:44] [SPEAKER_01]: But either way officials start to round up these wolves.
[00:26:47] [SPEAKER_01]: I think they captured the matriarch, uh, we'll call her first.
[00:26:52] [SPEAKER_01]: And then the patriarch of this pack was captured and when this wolf was
[00:26:58] [SPEAKER_01]: captured, officials saw some pretty significant injuries on its leg.
[00:27:03] [SPEAKER_01]: They were unrelated to the capture according to officials, but kind
[00:27:07] [SPEAKER_01]: of a hotbed for infection though.
[00:27:09] [SPEAKER_01]: So the wolf was treated, but when it was re-released about, I think
[00:27:13] [SPEAKER_01]: it was four days later, the wolf, the wolf died.
[00:27:16] [SPEAKER_01]: So that's another one of Colorado's wolves that are no longer with us,
[00:27:20] [SPEAKER_01]: so to speak, and with the remaining members of the pack, they were,
[00:27:23] [SPEAKER_01]: they were found to have four pups.
[00:27:25] [SPEAKER_01]: So there are four young wolves and then the mother wolf.
[00:27:27] [SPEAKER_01]: Those wolves were still captured and they were released into an enclosed area.
[00:27:32] [SPEAKER_01]: Whatever that means with limited human contact.
[00:27:36] [SPEAKER_01]: So presumably, and this will help these wolves kind of survive by
[00:27:41] [SPEAKER_01]: themselves without that, without that father wolf, like obviously one of
[00:27:45] [SPEAKER_01]: the points of reintroduction, yeah, is to try to grow the population.
[00:27:49] [SPEAKER_01]: So officials are, are invested in giving these pups the best chance they can.
[00:27:54] [SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, I thought that was kind of interesting.
[00:27:56] [SPEAKER_01]: Uh, the wolves were all said to be a little bit underweight, but healthy.
[00:28:00] [SPEAKER_01]: And I didn't realize, but as I was looking into this, apparently August
[00:28:03] [SPEAKER_01]: and September are two months that are some of the most difficult months
[00:28:07] [SPEAKER_01]: for predators, including wolves simply because their prey has kind of had
[00:28:11] [SPEAKER_01]: all summer to eat and get strong before winter season makes them weak again.
[00:28:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:28:16] [SPEAKER_01]: So hard to get through during this time of the year, especially with
[00:28:19] [SPEAKER_01]: one hunting adult and four pups that can kind of contribute.
[00:28:23] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, exactly.
[00:28:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Certainly.
[00:28:25] [SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, so those wolves are in an enclosed area being taken care of.
[00:28:29] [SPEAKER_01]: They'll be re-released at some point.
[00:28:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Colorado parks and wildlife is going to keep that under wraps for the safety
[00:28:34] [SPEAKER_01]: of the wolves, but also for their staff, which I thought was an
[00:28:37] [SPEAKER_01]: interesting note to make wolf conversation obviously gets very heated.
[00:28:41] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:28:41] [SPEAKER_01]: Especially among the parties that are very directly involved.
[00:28:45] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:28:45] [SPEAKER_01]: So that's kind of where we're at with the wolf wolf reintroduction.
[00:28:48] [SPEAKER_01]: I think there is 14 wolves by my count that are still in Colorado.
[00:28:51] [SPEAKER_01]: Eight of the 10 surviving wolves of those that the group that was
[00:28:57] [SPEAKER_01]: reintroduced as part of the official effort with the other wolf dying due
[00:29:00] [SPEAKER_01]: to a mountain lion attack, which is also thought that was interesting.
[00:29:03] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:29:04] [SPEAKER_01]: Super interesting.
[00:29:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:29:05] [SPEAKER_01]: And there's two wolves that migrated into the state naturally from Wyoming
[00:29:08] [SPEAKER_01]: that are believed to be here still.
[00:29:10] [SPEAKER_01]: And then the four pups.
[00:29:12] [SPEAKER_01]: So foraging wolves, I think there will be some more wolves coming
[00:29:15] [SPEAKER_01]: to Colorado soon if I remember correctly.
[00:29:18] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:29:19] [SPEAKER_01]: So kind of just a story to follow.
[00:29:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:29:21] [SPEAKER_00]: There was a little bit of friction too recently with the story.
[00:29:24] [SPEAKER_00]: It was that's what I was going to bring up next was the
[00:29:27] [SPEAKER_00]: statements from Pulse's husband.
[00:29:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
[00:29:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Martin Allen Reese, I believe is how you say his name.
[00:29:33] [SPEAKER_01]: Or Rice.
[00:29:33] [SPEAKER_01]: R-E-I-S.
[00:29:34] [SPEAKER_01]: Someone will correct me.
[00:29:36] [SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, so basically end of August, two of the ranchers that has, or
[00:29:41] [SPEAKER_01]: the ranching families that have kind of seen these livestock depredation
[00:29:44] [SPEAKER_01]: incidences firsthand reached out to the U.S.
[00:29:47] [SPEAKER_01]: Fish and Wildlife Service.
[00:29:48] [SPEAKER_01]: They requested that federal authorities take over the wolf
[00:29:53] [SPEAKER_01]: management process in Colorado.
[00:29:55] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:29:56] [SPEAKER_01]: Probably wouldn't end up happening, but that was what the letter, the letter said.
[00:29:59] [SPEAKER_01]: They basically blamed governor Poulos and first gentleman Marlon
[00:30:03] [SPEAKER_01]: Rice or Reese for making decisions that were in quotes here.
[00:30:09] [SPEAKER_01]: So they said they were impacted by, here's where the quote starts, their
[00:30:14] [SPEAKER_01]: relationship with wolf advocacy groups and their own feelings.
[00:30:18] [SPEAKER_01]: Then they said that the governor was not allowing Colorado Parks and
[00:30:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Wildlife leaders to, here's another quote, to make adequate and reasonable
[00:30:26] [SPEAKER_01]: decisions in regard to the management of wolves.
[00:30:30] [SPEAKER_01]: So that's kind of an interesting little backstory that kind of leads
[00:30:32] [SPEAKER_01]: into the first gentleman's statements here where he essentially kind
[00:30:38] [SPEAKER_01]: of blames the media for demonizing wolves.
[00:30:40] [SPEAKER_01]: He said that the media is, I'm going to make sure I find the exact quote here too.
[00:30:46] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:30:46] [SPEAKER_01]: So here's the exact quote from Rice.
[00:30:48] [SPEAKER_01]: Negative spin was modest at the start, but in weeks leading up to the capture
[00:30:53] [SPEAKER_01]: and removal of the Copper Creek pack, headlines invoking the nonsensical
[00:30:57] [SPEAKER_01]: fairy tale fears of Little Red Riding Hood were everywhere to be found.
[00:31:02] [SPEAKER_01]: And there was nothing positive to fall back on.
[00:31:05] [SPEAKER_01]: So he kind of, kind of targets the media there, but then he also
[00:31:08] [SPEAKER_01]: goes on to kind of, kind of say to Colorado Parks and Wildlife hasn't
[00:31:12] [SPEAKER_01]: done a great job of putting out positive news about the wolf reintroduction.
[00:31:17] [SPEAKER_01]: There are a lot of heated, heated opinions on each side of that argument.
[00:31:21] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[00:31:22] [SPEAKER_01]: We'll see how it unfolds and yeah, I think that's about all we got for you today.
[00:31:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Keep staying out there Colorado and we'll chat with you soon.
[00:31:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Later.