Rocky Mountain News

Early this year, officials at Rocky Mountain National Park devised a plan to shoot as many as 100 cow elk within the boundaries of the park. They are taking this dramatic step because the park's elk have grown too numerous and, more importantly, too sedentary. 

Members of the media were invited to Rocky Mountain National Park’s east side on Wednesday to witness an activity unprecedented inside the Park’s borders: the shooting of a wild animal. 

Residents whose properties abut Rocky Mountain National Park look with alarm at the patches of trees on the mountainside killed by bark beetles 

An environmental group called on the Department of the Interior to cease fire on a plan to use volunteer sharpshooters to reduce elk herds in Rocky Mountain National Park, instead urging officials to release wolves into the park “as part of the long-term solution to the elk over-browsing problem.” 

The plan has been a decade in the making, but finally sharpshooters will begin thinning the growing elk herd in Rocky Mountain National Park. The two teams include National Park Service employees, Colorado Division of Wildlife employees and here's the key 22 screened volunteers. 

About 5:30 p.m., Friday, Rocky Mountain National Park Service dispatch was notified about a stranded climber in the Lumpy Ridge area of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Rocky Mountain National Park’s journey toward wilderness designation has taken another step toward realization following a rare Sunday vote in the U.S. Senate. By a 66-12 margin, the Senate voted to remove hurdles that had been holding back wilderness designation on more than 2 million acres in nine states, including Rocky Mountain National Park. 

For many visitors, winter is their favorite season to enjoy Rocky Mountain National Park. The park is less visited but still very much open and alive with activity. Beautiful backcountry areas can be reached on snowshoes, skis and (at lower elevations) even with hiking boots.

Democratic Sen. Ken Salazar isn't clocking out early, as Tuesday marks the opening session of the 111th Congress. With about two weeks left on the job as Colorado's senior senator before his confirmation as interior secretary, Salazar said he is confident about several of his legislative bills protecting Colorado's energy, natural resources and the environment.

I'm done. I'm done with cooking and cleaning for family guests, with giving presents I'm not even sure anyone wants. But I'm not done with getting together with the family -- not by a long shot. That's why I'm such a fan of reunions -- held anywhere but my house. Next up: Beaver Creek, Colorado, in February, for the skiers in the family. They'll come from California, Colorado and Connecticut for the chance to have some fun in the snow together.

Looking for a unique gift idea for the holidays? A Rocky Mountain National Park Annual Pass is a great gift for that person who enjoys visiting the Park or would like to visit more often.

Frigid temperatures and snow swept into Colorado, dropping up to a foot of snow in the mountains and causing driving restrictions across the state. As much as 5 inches of snow has fallen in the metro area, with some areas east of Denver reporting as little as 2 inches. Five inches of snow fell on the north Denver suburb of Westminster.

Rocky Mountain National Park has seen a 5 percent dip in visits this year, with high gas prices likely to blame. The National Park Service, on average, saw a slight decrease in visitation at its parks and monuments from the start of this year through October.

Celebrate New Year’s Eve at the annual Diamonds in the Sky midnight fireworks show over Grand Lake, Colorado. View the fireworks over Colorado’s largest natural lake from this mountain village situated just outside Rocky Mountain National Park.

An experimental fire planned for beetle-killed lodgepole pines in Rocky Mountain National Park should help determine when the trees are most flammable. Officials incessantly cite the increased risk of fire danger in beetle-killed forests as the prime reason to cut and thin dead lodgepole pine