From The Pueblo Chieftain (Peter Roper):
Vilsack is waiving restrictions on the federal Conservation Reserve Program to allow ranchers to graze livestock or cut hay on land otherwise set aside for recovery and enrolled in the federal conservation program. The CRP pays ranchers and farmers to leave land out of production. The secretary issued similar rule changes in the Wetlands Reserve Program, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Federal Crop Insurance Program…
As for crop insurance, Vilsack is asking insurers to give farmers a 30-day extension on unpaid insurance premiums and, in return, USDA will give a grace period to insurance companies in collecting those premiums.
The federal department has designated 1,297 counties in 29 states suffering disaster conditions, making all of those farmers and growers eligible for lowinterest emergency loans.
From the Glenwood Springs Post Independent (Kirk Webb):
…it’s OK to fish the Roaring Fork and Colorado rivers, but I encourage anglers to get an early start in the mornings and to be off the water by 3 p.m. to minimize any possible negative impact to the fish. Generally speaking, the rivers are at their coldest at 6 a.m. and are at their warmest at 6 p.m.
When handling trout, take the time to fully revive them prior to release and to keep the fish in the water as much as possible. This also means that I discourage the use of taking the obligatory “grip and grin” fish pictures.
Quiet water on the edges of the main flow is the ideal water type to revive and resuscitate fish to let them “catch their breath” again, ensuring an ethical release. I also try to fish with the heaviest leader and tippet that I can get away with to land fish as quickly as possible, which is a practice that all should do, regardless of water temperatures or time of year.
Don’t overlook the middle and upper Roaring Fork River either, where high water temperatures are not an issue. The cold water of the Fryingpan River empties into the Roaring Fork River in Basalt, which aids in regulating and cooling the warmer waters of the Roaring Fork, acting much like a swamp cooler for the river.