Wildlife habitat, endangered animals and recreation could all be at risk in state’s biggest public land sale in modern history.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/47337219

A Western Slope coalition has been working to buy the $99 million water rights at Shoshone Power Plant for years. They thought they had the money in 2025 — then it was frozen.

In a major win for the Western Slope, the Trump administration released $40 million in funding for the purchase of powerful historic water rights on the Colorado River tied to the Shoshone Power Plant.

The Colorado River Water Conservation District, which spans 15 counties in western Colorado, has been leading the charge since 2023 to purchase the water rights from the hydropower facility’s owner, a subsidiary of Xcel Energy, for $99 million. In early 2025, it seemed like they’d soon be ready to write the check when the federal government granted $40 million toward the purchase during former President Joe Biden’s final hours in office.

Days later, the Trump administration froze the funding, pending review to ensure the grant aligned with the incoming president’s policy priorities. The release of the funds a year and a half later marks a significant step forward in the water rights acquisition, which will still take years to complete.

The Colorado River District thanked the state’s congressional delegation and its local coalition for their support.

“By advocating for the Shoshone Water Rights Project in Colorado and Washington, they helped deliver a durable and permanent solution for the entire Colorado River system,” Andy Mueller, the Colorado River District’s general manager, said in the news release.

Western Slope communities want to preserve the way these water rights have historically functioned so water supplies will be more certain and predictable long into the future.

For over a century, the Shoshone water rights have shaped how water flows through the Colorado River and its tributaries, influencing its delivery to Front Range and Western Slope water users.

The power plant, located off Interstate 70 in Glenwood Canyon, has some of the largest, oldest water rights directly on the Colorado River in Colorado. Under water law, this seniority means Shoshone gets its full water supply even in times of shortage.

Because the power plant can demand water year-round, and because it returns all of the water it uses to the river, Shoshone has major benefits for the environment and water users farther downstream. Farmers, ranchers and recreation outfitters can make business decisions with more certainty. The reliable flows protect critical habitat areas for endangered fish species. Downstream cities have better water quality.

Water watchers in western Colorado have worried for years about what would happen to the water rights if the aging facility was shuttered, or if another entity bought the rights and decided to change how, and where, the water flowed.

So they launched the Shoshone permanency project, a yearslong effort that attracted a broad array of supporters and continues to tackle bureaucratic hurdles and opposition from big players in Front Range water.

The Colorado River District and its partners finalized a purchase agreement with Xcel Energy in late 2023 to buy the water rights. But the deal came with fine print.

Under the agreement, the Colorado River District will own the water rights and lease them back to Xcel so the facility can continue to generate hydroelectric power.

The river district also wants to keep Shoshone’s water in the river — not diverted to other uses — whenever the power plant is not generating hydropower. To make that change, the Colorado River District needed approval from the Colorado Water Conservation Board, which it gained in late 2025.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/47171138

The Colorado State Democratic Party, reflecting the anger of rank-and-file Democratic voters, rebuked Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday over his decision to release Tina Peters from prison.

Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado, a Democrat, was censured by his own party on Wednesday night over his decision to free Tina Peters, a high-profile election denier and supporter of President Trump who had been serving a nine-year prison sentence for tampering with voting machines.

The censure by the Colorado State Democratic Party came after more than 700 infuriated Democrats signed onto a grass-roots effort to rebuke Mr. Polis for commuting Ms. Peters’ prison sentence last week. The censure measure, voted on during a state party central committee meeting on Wednesday night, passed with 89.8 percent support.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/47111315

Gov. Jared Polis made the remarks at The Colorado Sun’s annual legislative recap event at the University of Denver, only to be drowned out by a small group of protesters

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday said he doesn’t regret his decision to commute the prison sentence of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, despite widespread condemnation from Democrats and some Republicans, who said it will embolden election conspiracy theorists ahead of the 2026 midterms.

“I think this will be remembered fondly,” Polis said at The Colorado Sun’s annual legislative recap event at the University of Denver. “The nation needs to have a reconciliation and healing.

“People know I’m a man of action,” he added. “I’m a bold person, I’m going to do things that I think are right, and that’s why people put me here. They want me to do things that I think are right.”

Peters, an ally of President Donald Trump who has touted election conspiracy theories, was convicted in August 2024 of orchestrating a security breach of her county’s election system in a failed 2021 attempt to uncover voter fraud. Polis on Friday cut Peters’ nine-year prison sentence in half and ordered her to be released on parole June 1, saying she was being unfairly punished for her political views.

The chairman of the Weld County GOP was arrested Thursday on suspicion of soliciting a child prostitute, internet luring of a child and attempted child sex assault, all felony charges.

The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office said Hunter Rivera, a 24-year-old who lives in Windsor, was arrested during “an operation targeting child predators.”

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/46916832

The extraordinary, but expected, decision puts Gov. Jared Polis at odds not only with fellow Democrats, but also with many Republicans in Colorado

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Friday cut former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters’ nine-year prison sentence in half, and ordered the 70-year-old, who has become a national martyr for election conspiracy theorists, released on parole June 1.

Peters’ sentence for orchestrating a security breach of her county’s election system in 2021 in a failed attempt to uncover voter fraud is now four years and four and a half months under a clemency order issued by the governor.

“She, because of her incorrect and unpopular speech, got an unduly harsh sentence,” Polis said Friday in an interview with The Colorado Sun, adding that he believes her new sentence is still “very harsh.”

“I’m not pardoning her,” he explained. “I publicly have said very early on I would not even consider a pardon. She’s a convicted felon. She deserves to be a convicted felon. She will remain a convicted felon.”

The extraordinary, but expected, decision puts Polis at odds not only with fellow Democrats, but also with many Republicans in Colorado — including the man who prosecuted Peters and a list of conservative local elections officials outraged by Peters’ behavior.

The governor’s move — which comes as Polis and Colorado have faced mounting criticism and retaliation from President Donald Trump — also likely ends any speculation about his political future as a Democrat. By commuting Peters’ sentence, Polis, who has been mentioned as a possible presidential contender, has probably neutered any chance of rising in his party’s ranks.

The governor’s closest advisers have privately counseled him against inserting himself in Peters’ case, warning of the intense political risks.

Polis’ decision, which came as he announced clemency for dozens of other people convicted of crimes in Colorado, will also likely cast a pall over his last six months in office and make him a pariah among fellow Democrats. He is term-limited and cannot run for reelection in 2026.