Badger Creek: Big Country with some Big Problems

Article by Jeffrey Keidel

Land use – January 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine

The Badger Creek Watershed is BIG country. The area encompasses 135,000 acres stretching northeast of Salida.

But such statistics belie its vast and isolated beauty. The open range of the upper part of the basin, seems to go on forever. Black and Waugh Mountain serve as guideposts to keep oriented, but it’s still easy to get lost. The lower basin is rugged piñon-juniper terrain. Locals talk of ticks and rattlesnakes “down there.”

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One way to cope with the multitude

Article by Jeffrey Keidel

Federal agencies – April 1995 – Colorado Central Magazine

“Who are those guys?” asks a rider peering through the dust of the valley floor. Behind him lay the rugged terrain of desert and river, mountain and plain. Squinting into the distance for a uniform, a hat, or anything to identify the authorities below, his partner replies, “I dunno… I just don’t know.” They mount their horses and head for the hills.

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Heavy Metal Water

Article by Jeffrey Keidel

Environment – January 1995 – Colorado Central Magazine

Several state-run water-quality improvement projects, including one in Central Colorado, have come to a screeching halt because the federal Environmental Protection Agency has changed the rules.

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