![The Roundup newsletter with sheep and dog](https://cdn.statically.io/img/i0.wp.com/aspenjournalism.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/4-5-24-The-Roundup-HEader-1200x628px.jpg?resize=780%2C348&ssl=1)
![This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is AJ-mailchimp-sub-header-letter-from-the-newsroom-1200x133px-1170x130.jpg](https://cdn.statically.io/img/i0.wp.com/aspenjournalism.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/AJ-mailchimp-sub-header-letter-from-the-newsroom-1200x133px.jpg?resize=780%2C87&ssl=1)
![Downtown New Castle on a quiet winter morning reveals the town’s rural appeal and opportunities for economic development.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/i0.wp.com/aspenjournalism.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Downtown-New-Castle-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C473&ssl=1)
Happy Friday and welcome back to The Roundup. To the charge of having gone too long since last sending this newsletter, we must plead guilty, begging for leniency given the mitigating factor that it has been a busy couple of weeks with many in depth stories — including the latest on the Crystal River Wild and Scenic process, what to expect as the spring runoff draws near, fear of abandonment for coal-plant water rights and a push for wolf coexistence — plus a successful community event on April 9 at The Arts Campus at Willits, co-presented with the Colorado Water Trust. Thanks to all who attended. Catch up on all of that and more below and look out for two new stories to publish before the end of the weekend, including the latest installment in Paul Andersen’s “In Search of Community” series.
Thanks as always for reading and supporting Aspen Journalism’s nonprofit newsroom.
– Curtis Wackerle
Editor and Executive Director
Aspen Journalism
![WATCH EVENT RECORDING](https://cdn.statically.io/img/i0.wp.com/aspenjournalism.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/hanging-in-the-balance-watch-video-preview.jpg?resize=780%2C439&ssl=1)
![Water desk](https://cdn.statically.io/img/i0.wp.com/aspenjournalism.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/AJ-mailchimp-sub-header-water-desk-1200x133px.jpg?resize=780%2C87&ssl=1)
Bill would protect Yampa Valley coal plants’ water from abandonment
Water would stay in river after plants close in 2028
By Heather Sackett | April 17, 2024
Wet March boosts snowpack, streamflow forecasts
Runoff still depends on temperature, dust on snow
By Heather Sackett | April 12, 2024
Steering committee IDs three ways forward for Crystal River protection
Subcommittees formed on IGAs, peak instream flow and federal designation
By Heather Sackett | March 29, 2024
![Environment desk](https://cdn.statically.io/img/i0.wp.com/aspenjournalism.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/AJ-mailchimp-sub-header-environment-desk-1200x133px-Recovered.jpg?resize=780%2C87&ssl=1)
Native-carnivore bill would tie depredation compensation to coexistence strategies
Giving reintroduced wolves a ‘fighting chance’ would require ‘new way of doing business’ for some ranchers
By Amy Hadden Marsh | March 31, 2024
![In search of community](https://cdn.statically.io/img/i0.wp.com/aspenjournalism.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/In-search-of-community.jpg?resize=780%2C87&ssl=1)
Along the Colorado River: Where community blossoms and the economy grows
How ‘better jobs, closer to home’ could reshape the region
By Paul Andersen | March 24, 2024
![Data dashboard](https://cdn.statically.io/img/i0.wp.com/aspenjournalism.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/AJ-mailchimp-sub-header-data-dashboard-1200x133px-Recovered.jpg?resize=780%2C87&ssl=1)
Data dashboard: Aspen and Snowmass hotels and lodges were about three-quarters full in March
The Fork ran at 107.7% of average at Stillwater and 130.7% below Maroon Creek on April 14.
By Laurine Lassalle | April 15, 2024
• March occupancy reached 73.1% for the Aspen and Snowmass combined this year, down from 75.8% last year.
• Roaring Fork basin snowpack dropped from 17.9 inches of snow-water equivalent on April 7 to 16.4 inches on April 14.
• The Fork ran at 107.7% of average at Stillwater and 130.7% below Maroon Creek on April 14.
There are always stories that need a journalist to pursue them. These Aspen Journalism investigative stories are published for you, the community, and our collaborators as a public service, thanks to the generosity of our readers and funders. Will you join them?