Our Stories

The Latest by Ted Zukoski

Staff Attorney

Ted was an attorney in the Rocky Mountain regional office from 2003–2018. He protected wilderness, roadless areas and the planet's climate on behalf of conservation groups in the Four Corners' states.

February 28, 2008

Speaking Truth of Power

By Ted Zukoski

Once upon a time, in a far-away rectangular state, there was a power source so pure it left no waste and would never run out. And from it sprang the modern environmental movement, not to welcome it, but to kill it dead. Not quite the fairy-tale ending, eh? But the proposed Echo Park Dam, using …

February 25, 2008

Keeping Colorado Wolf Free

By Ted Zukoski

Since the 1930s—following decades of shooting, trapping, and poisoning—Colorado has been a wolf-free zone. There are two ways wolves can return to Colorado: with human help, or under their own power.  The Department of the Interior over the last few months made decisions calculated to block both avenues of return. First, the National Park Service …

February 19, 2008

Follow the Money: Environmental Protection Loses Ground

By Ted Zukoski

The Bush Administration’s hostility to environmental protection is not news. But seeing the numbers in black and white (or, as in this chart, in red and green) is startling. Created by the Appropriations Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, it shows that the President’s budget for the Interior Department—which manages national parks, national wildlife …

February 12, 2008

The Whine of Drill Rigs … And Energy Executives

By Ted Zukoski

The old energy economy—oil and gas—is booming in Colorado, driven by high prices and the Bush administration’s push to aid America’s addiction to fossil fuels. Thousands of new wells have been drilled—many on public land—and ranches, hunting opportunities, wildlife, air quality, public health, and the wildness of the West have all suffered. Colorado legislators and …