In this episode discusses how to get in front of backcountry danger in the winter. 

Outdoor agencies across Colorado have seen an increase in park visitation and off-grid winter recreation. Recreating in the backcountry requires certain precautions and equipment to ensure a safe outdoor experience.

Podcast host Mark Johnson talks with two CPW experts on winter backcountry recreation. Ben Plankis is the trails coordinator for the northeast region of the agency and Michael Haskins is a park ranger at Chatfield State Park who assist backcountry search and rescue teams with rescue missions.

For more information on backcountry winter safety courses, visit colorado.com/WinterBackcountrySafety and take the Colorado Backcountry Winter Safety Pledge. 

TOPIC LIST:

2:40 - what do people need to consider when they head up into the high country

3:56 - know before you go - Check Avalanche and Weather Forecast at colorado.gov/avalanche 

4:37 - equipment to keep you safe should you be caught in an avalanche

5:40 - avalanche awareness classes

6:38 - what to know if new to Colorado

7:28 - what should you look for when in potential avalanche terrain

8:05 - advice for experienced backcountry visitors

9:40 - snow conditions this year and more people venturing out in the backcountry

10:10 - guidelines for heading up into the backcountry

11:38 - easy access into the backcountry can lead people into a false sense of security

12:30 - what to do/know/have if you need help

15:20 - COTREX trails app and cell phone GPS capabilities

On this episode we will feature Staunton State Park, the second-newest park in the state system, which opened back in May of 2013. Park Manager Zach Taylor tells us about Staunton's myriad of outdoor recreation opportunities at the gorgeous, and expanding, park located just off Highway 285, about an hour west of Denver.

We flash back 20 years ago and discuss Colorado's efforts to reintroduce the Canada lynx in the San Juan Mountains in southwest Colorado. We'll talk with Senior Wildlife Biologist Scott Wait, who was a part of the original reintroduction efforts as well as Eric Odell, CPW's Species Conservation Program Manager who gives us an update on how lynx are doing now in Colorado. And we ask if there are parallels that can be drawn from the lynx reintroduction to an upcoming wolf reintroduction, as Coloradans voted to pass Proposition #114 - The Restoration of Gray Wolves, a measure directing the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission to develop a plan to reintroduce gray wolves west of the Continental Divide. 

Topic list:

2:40 - motivation to reintroduce lynx back in the late 1990s

3:50 - planning process to reintroduce lynx

5:25 - where did the animals come from

6:43 - what was the transaction process to obtain the lynx for reintroduction

8:30 - criteria for the animals to bring to Colorado

9:40 - how does the process unfold for release

11:35 - Scott Wait’s memories of the first release 

13:15 - figuring out where to release the lynx

14:45 - when did the lynx stop being released and why

16:55 - why is it important to have lynx in Colorado

17:50 - lynx dispersal after release and where can they be found now

18:40 - what makes for good lynx habitat

19:55 - the physical attributes of lynx

21:55 - how many lynx are in Colorado

23:50 - how does the species handle human disturbance from high levels of outdoor recreation

25:15 - can we learn anything from the lynx reintroduction and apply it to a wolf reintroduction

2020 has seen the two largest wildfires in Colorado history and over 600,000 acres have burned across the Centennial State. Along with many of the obvious concerns that come with fires of such magnitude, additional concerns have been expressed towards the effects on wildlife. In the episode of Colorado Outdoors, we'll dive right into the pros and cons of wildfire as it relates to wildlife, aquatic life and the health of our forests.

Providing us with the context will be senior wildlife biologist for CPW's northeast region Shannon Schaller, northeast region senior aquatic biologist Jeff Spohn and Casey Cooley, who is CPW's forest habitat coordinator. 

Fishers Peak is a new 19,200-acre state park in southern Colorado by Trinidad that connects grasslands to the east with foothills and mountains to the west, serving as a corridor for wildlife movement. For much of its modern history, the peak has been private property, part of a ranch that was off-limits to the public. But now it is owned by the state of Colorado. And when it opens on Friday, Oct. 30, it will be a place where visitors will be able to hike, hunt, mountain bike, watch wildlife and all the other activities that Colorado Parks and Wildlife properties have to offer.

On this introductory episode of CPW's podcast - Colorado Outdoors - we go in-depth with Director Dan Prenzlow on conservation and balancing that with the explosion in population and thirst for outdoor recreation in Colorado. Prenzlow mentions how the outdoors have been an outlet during COVID and how CPW focused on ‘managing to yes’ to be open to the citizens of Colorado during the pandemic. With that, CPW has seen park visitation hit record numbers and fishing and hunting license sales are up. Wildlife topics are discussed, as is the opening of Fisher’s Peak, the newest state park in Colorado.

TOPICS DISCUSSED

2:57 - background on Dan Prenzlow and how he became Director of CPW

5:45 - his perspective on being the Director

7:37 - talking about conservation - the “wise use” of our natural resources

8:42 - wildlife that we manage and restoring wildlife species

12:45 - ballot initiative on the restoration of Gray Wolves

14:45 - balance between conservation and outdoor recreation

21:37 - the outdoors have been an outlet during COVID in the state of Colorado

24:47 - fishing and hunting license sales are up

26:20 - a hunting story on how it took him 20 years to draw a mountain goat license 

30:10 - why it is so important that people do not feed or try to domesticate wildlife

32:03 - bear conflicts and management

34:06 - Fishers Peak State Park opening