Dolores River Anglers meet Monday
The Dolores River Anglers chapter of Trout Unlimited plans to hold its annual business meeting and election on Monday, Sept. 29, downstairs at Fiesta Mexicana Restaurant in Cortez.
A meet-and-greet will be at 6 p.m. The business meeting, election and program starts at 6:30 p.m.
The program will consist of a discussion of what our members want to see the DRA do, followed by a seminar on selecting and rigging fly-fishing gear.
For more information contact Marc Meyer at (970) 560-4956, Dale Smith at (970) 759-3020 or Chris Burkett at (970) 560-0005.
Fair board seeks new members
The Montezuma County Fair Board is looking for three community members who are willing to work together to organize county fair events, contests, and exhibits in order to make the fair a community event.
Two of the openings are four-year terms, and one opening is a two-year term. Interested individuals need to submit a letter of interest to the Extension office which is at 109 W. Main, Room 102 in Cortez no later than 4:30 p.m., Oct. 17, 2014.
Information: Call 970-565-3123.
Pleasant View intersection upgraded
Kinder Morgan will pay for highway improvements at the intersection of US 491 and County Road CC to accommodate the Cow Canyon CO2 development west of Pleasant View. An interim northbound left-turn lane was installed in late July while Kinder Morgan continued to develop plans for permanent improvements.
"The design includes a left-turn deceleration lane, right-turn acceleration lane and restriping the highway through Pleasant View," said Matt Ammerman, of Kinder Morgan.
Construction began Sept. 15 and is expected to finish by Oct. 31.
The state Highway Access Code requires developers to provide highway improvements to mitigate impacts at intersections and access locations.
Through the project's completion, motorists can expect only minor travel impacts and traffic slowing during daytime hours, Monday through Friday.
All tree-needle loss not the same
Evergreen trees shedding needles in the foothills in Southwest Colorado may be going through an annual ritual - not dying from bark beetles.
Evergreens that are beginning to shed needles look different than beetle-killed conifers, the Colorado State Forest Service said.
The difference can be seen in conifers in La Plata, Archuleta, San Juan, Dolores and Montezuma counties.
Needles on beetle-infested trees typically change color throughout the entire tree. The color goes from an off-green to reddish-orange. The trees also will show other signs of beetle attack, such as popcorn-shaped pitch tubes on the trunk and boring dust at the base of the tree.
Needles on evergreens not infested by beetles commonly shed needles on the lower portion of the crown or those closest to the trunk.
The needles typically turn yellow, then reddish-brown before falling. Trees stressed by drought or root damage may shed more needles to keep the tree in balance with its root system.
Storm spoils big horn sheep hunter's day
An injured hunter was rescued via helicopter from the Lime Creek drainage south of Silverton on Sunday during one of the most ominous storms of the season.
The San Juan County Sheriff's Office and search-and-rescue teams from Ouray, San Juan and La Plata counties were dispatched, but with treacherous terrain and deteriorating weather, air support was called in to aid searchers.
Mark Webber, of Bayfield, was hunting big horn sheep in the mountains northeast of the Lime Creek Campground, San Juan County Sheriff Sue Kurtz said, when he cut his leg in a rugged, remote and steep environment.
"He got the sheep on Friday and was (preparing) to pack it out on Saturday," she said. "He slipped and cut his leg with his knife."
She said the rescue began Saturday about 4 p.m. Initially, a Flight For Life medical helicopter was used, and it helped pinpoint Webber's location, picking up his location by GPS from his cellphone.
About 10 a.m., Webber was flown to Durango-La Plata County Airport.