KDNK's Local Newscast airs weekday mornings at 6:41 and 7:41 during Morning Edition.
Hunger-Free Colorado has just issued a new research study on “Food Stamp Enrollment and Barriers in Colorado’s Ski Resort Counties” that found Eagle, Pitkin, Routt and Summit Counties have some of the lowest rates of food stamp enrollment in the state. News director Gavin Dahl spoke to Joël McClurg, data and research manager at Hunger-Free Colorado to learn more. Garfield Country enrolls about half of all eligible low-income residents in food stamps, better than the ski resort counties but still below the state average. More info at HungerFreeColorado.org.
Conservationists are handing Donald Trump a short list of species that need protections, and the Greater Sage Grouse made the top ten. Eric Galatas has more.
The public comment period on the Bureau of Land Management’s plan to protect the Gunnison sage grouse has been extended until January 19th. The Gunnison sage grouse is listed as a threatened species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. About 4,000 live in the Gunnison Basin and another thousand are scattered across western Colorado and eastern Utah. The BLM manages much of the bird’s habitat and wants to amend its resource management plans. Conservation groups have criticized the proposal as doing too little to protect the bird. Deer and elk populations could also benefit from hand-thinning of pinyon-juniper trees, mowing or roller-chopping, prescribed burns and erosion control, among other methods. A programmatic environmental assessment will cover the Northwest District plus the Grand Junction field office. More information at blm dot gov. Just search for Gunnison Sage Grouse.
