Environment - The Durango Herald

Haviland Lake to be drained; fish limits lifted

CPW says repairs necessary on dam’s outlet structure

DATE: Aug 14, 2019 | CATEGORY: Pine River Times news

Mobile home park’s sewage lagoon still seeping into Lightner Creek

Owner hopes to build new treatment plant or connect with Durango’s sewer system

DATE: Aug 9, 2019 | CATEGORY: Local News

Volunteers sought to help repair trails, burn scar north of Durango

Nonprofits to hold ‘Hermosa Resilience’ event Saturday

DATE: Aug 7, 2019 | CATEGORY: Local News

Environmentalists seek to protect dunes sagebrush lizard

CARLSBAD, N.M. – A small lizard native to southeast New Mexico is the latest animal to spark a debate between environmentalists, the federal government and oil and gas operators. ...

DATE: Aug 4, 2019 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Man who drove Jeep into Dolores River likely won’t be charged

Rodney Thompson tried and failed to cross during high water

DATE: Jul 23, 2019 | CATEGORY: Local News

Rare trout will be protected in Southwest Colorado creek

‘Instream flow’ will keep water in tributary of San Juan River

DATE: Jul 22, 2019 | CATEGORY: Local News

Bonita Peak Superfund not affected by EPA shakeup

Mines around Silverton remain on immediate action list

DATE: Jul 19, 2019 | CATEGORY: Local News

EPA drills into American Tunnel to unravel mine pollution mystery

Driven by desire to know what lies beneath, crews bore deeper every day

DATE: Jul 17, 2019 | CATEGORY: Local News

EPA says it will carry out work Sunnyside Gold refuses to do

Former mining company refused work order last week

DATE: Jul 16, 2019 | CATEGORY: Local News

Durango trees create city character, increase property values

Over 100 different varieties have to be hardy to survive, arborists say

DATE: Jul 12, 2019 | CATEGORY: Local News

San Juan County sheriff cracks down on illegal off-roading

Two ATVs suspected of damaging alpine tundra are confiscated

DATE: Jul 11, 2019 | CATEGORY: Local News

Sunnyside Gold says ‘no’ to EPA’s work order at Superfund

Mining company: ‘SGC will no longer be a pawn in this never-ending science project’

DATE: Jul 10, 2019 | CATEGORY: Local News

Colorado history gets weird, wild, wacky at Fashion Do’s and Don’tsAnnual Snowdown event has become so popular, auditions are now required

Cowboys. Fancy ladies. Gold miners. Even-toed ungulates that some in Durango might consider more like rats.Where can you find a runway show that takes you on a whirlwind tour through the weird, wacky and wildly exaggerated 150 years of Colorado history? Only at Durango’s annual Fashion Do’s and Don’ts, held Wednesday, where models and audience members wore costumes celebrating Colorado’s sesquicentennial – the theme of this year’s two-week Snowdown celebration.Standout acts included the Ghosts of Durango, which featured four of Durango’s most famous ghosts: a Rochester hotel ghost in a Victorian get-up of a more “modern” variation; the Strater Hotel’s head of housekeeping, also head of more discreet services; a young girl haunting El Rancho’s bathroom; and Sheriff Bob Thompson, killed in a 1906 gunfight. according to emcee Suzan Lane. A Another act was the Secret Circus Society, featuring Rubi Starr, Jeni Gross, Tabatha Joy Bettin, Adrienne Young and Ethan Deffenbaugh dressed as a car and the roadside pests better known as deer. Group members said the inspiration for the costume came from lived experiences driving Durango roads. The two-person Cantine Couture act starred Leslie Ponce and Tyler Frakes in an homage to the plentiful variety of Mexican restaurants found in any Colorado town. Ponce, dressed in comically large Mexican pointy cowboy boots, ambled down the runway as if taking a stroll under the hot, dusty, high-altitude sun, while Frakes flitted about the stage in a bright yellow salsa dress. Ponce said this year’s costume had been tough to decide, but the final decision was inspired by TikTok videos of Mexican cowboys in pointy boots. This was the duo’s third year strutting down the runway. Why they keep coming back for more, Frakes said laughing, was, “for the fame, the glory and the attention.”

Fashion Do’s and Don’ts has been one of the most highly anticipated Snowdown events since its inception in the 1990s. It has more than doubled in size over the past several decades. Last year, there were a record number of models, and in order to keep the event at a manageable size, this year’s fashion show was the first one to require the acts to audition. But many of the models were unfazed by the change. “It was actually easy,” said Jodi Zuber, one part of the two-person duo that made up the 1950s Texas Invader Ski Couple. Her partner-in-costume, Danny Jaques, said they had been doing this for several years, and it’s good with everything going on in the world to “get some levity and let your hair down.” The performers were not the only ones in costume. Audience members also dressed in a wide variety of unique takes on what makes Colorado, Colorado. JonBenet Ramsey made a miraculous appearance, being played by an 82-year-old woman, as did Casa Bonita, an ensemble that included a taco, sopaipilla and gorilla in chains – to name some of the characters. By the end of the show, people were in high spirits, as usual. “It was just delightful,” said a first-time audience member. If blessed with the chance to get the much coveted tickets – he said he would jump on it. jbowman@durangoherald.com

Annual Snowdown event has become so popular, auditions are now required

Photos: Snowdown 2026 Fashion Do’s and Don’ts

Photos: Durango High School basketball teams lose to Montrose High School

Photos: Local girls high school wrestling at La Plata TriDurango girls wrestling went 2-0 to win Tri on Thursday night at Bayfield

Durango girls wrestling went 2-0 to win Tri on Thursday night at Bayfield

Photos: Fort Lewis College women’s and men’s basketball take on Westminster UniversityBoth Skyhawks teams were victorious on Saturday afternoon

Both Skyhawks teams were victorious on Saturday afternoon

Photos: An afternoon in 2004 with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell as he works on Capitol HillDurango Herald Photo Editor Jerry McBride had the chance to spend an afternoon with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell in 2004, photographing him during meetings and around the Capitol.

Durango Herald Photo Editor Jerry McBride had the chance to spend an afternoon with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell in 2004, photographing him during meetings and around the Capitol.

Photos and video: ICE protests return to DurangoAbout a dozen protesters tried to block federal agents from leaving with a detainee on Thursday

About a dozen protesters tried to block federal agents from leaving with a detainee on Thursday

The Durango Herald’s year in photos 2025

Photos: Chapman Hill fires up the snow guns

Haviland Lake to be drained; fish limits lifted

Mobile home park’s sewage lagoon still seeping into Lightner Creek

Volunteers sought to help repair trails, burn scar north of Durango

Environmentalists seek to protect dunes sagebrush lizard

Man who drove Jeep into Dolores River likely won’t be charged

Rare trout will be protected in Southwest Colorado creek

Bonita Peak Superfund not affected by EPA shakeup

EPA drills into American Tunnel to unravel mine pollution mystery

EPA says it will carry out work Sunnyside Gold refuses to do

Durango trees create city character, increase property values

San Juan County sheriff cracks down on illegal off-roading

Sunnyside Gold says ‘no’ to EPA’s work order at Superfund

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