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Julia Coccaro is a journalist based in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, covering government, housing, education and public safety in Routt County. Her work centers on local accountability reporting and the people, policies and decisions shaping Northwest Colorado communities. See her featured stories below.

SteamboatToday.com •

Inside the Piceance-East Douglas wild horse gather: A fight over horses, habitat and Western lands

A helicopter buzzes over the trees near an oil refinery in Northwest Colorado’s Piceance Basin, veering strategically around power lines toward a small band of wild horses as it seeks to drive as many as it can across the rugged landscape into a catch pen. 


A white horse flips around, running the opposite direction. The helicopter follows suit and cuts off its escape. 


“It’s too close,” says one wild horse advocate of the helicopter. “It’s too low.” 
The wild horses — the white horse inclu...
SteamboatToday.com •

Behind the scenes of the Fishhook Fire base camp

When some people think of wildfires, they often picture the spectacle: helicopters, towering smoke, flames reaching the sky and firefighters gathering en masse to risk their lives to save lives, property and nature alike.


But just as important — and sometimes overlooked — are the bodies and minds that coordinate with remarkable precision to make large-scale wildland fire response possible in the first place. 


Though the Fishhook Fire north of Rabbit Ears Pass is now near full containment,...
SteamboatToday.com •

Started hours apart, 2 Routt County fires challenge local response

Routt County’s first two notable wildfires of the season ignited within two hours of each other Sunday afternoon, prompting evacuation orders, road closures and a multi-agency response across the region. 


The first wildfire start, located just north of Rabbit Ears Pass and four miles southeast of Mount Werner, had spread to at least 100 acres as of 2:15 p.m. Monday. That fire, called the Fishhook Fire, was first reported around 12:30 p.m. Sunday and was zero percent contained as of Monday, ac...
SteamboatToday.com •

Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp. launches ‘Steamboat Hospitality,’ drawing pushback from councilor

Steamboat Springs City Councilor Amy Dickson had choice words Tuesday night regarding Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp.’s launch of “Steamboat Hospitality,” an expansion of the resort’s operations into property management and hospitality. 


Ski Corp. Director of Communications Maren Franciosi announced the launch in a statement released July 1, calling Steamboat Hospitality “a new business division bringing together lodging and property management, homeowner services, real estate and association ma...
SteamboatToday.com •

Routt County commissioners raise concerns regarding proposed 13,850-acre oil and gas lease sale north of Hayden

Routt County commissioners are raising concerns about a proposed federal oil and gas lease sale covering nearly 14,000 acres of national forest land north of Hayden, with Commissioner Sonja Macys calling it potentially the “largest extractive resource play” in the county during her lifetime. 


The U.S. Forest Service is analyzing an expression of interest for oil and gas development on approximately 13,850 acres in the Hahns Peak/Bears Ears Ranger District of the Routt National Forest, accordi...
SteamboatToday.com •

Yampa Valley Housing Authority opts against November 2026 Slate Creek annexation measure

The Yampa Valley Housing Authority has decided against submitting a petition to the Steamboat Springs City Clerk to put an annexation measure for the Slate Creek Neighborhood — formerly known as Brown Ranch — on the November 2026 ballot, instead formally committing to their original roadmap to put the annexation question on the November 2027 ballot.


The decision came after an hour-and-a-half discussion at a special meeting convened by the housing authority Thursday afternoon, where board memb...
SteamboatToday.com •

Routt County Planning: Data centers ‘prohibited’ under development code

Data centers are highly unlikely to come to Routt County any time soon, according to Routt County Planning Department staff. 


Routt County Planner Michael Fitz told the newspaper this week that the county’s Unified Development Code, adopted in 2024, includes a list of allowed uses, of which data centers are not mentioned. Any uses not included in that list are then “prohibited by default,” said Fitz. 


“There are great (and justifiable) fears in many parts of the country that data centers c...
SteamboatToday.com •

Steamboat Springs, Routt County officials talk potential ballot measures in 2026, 2027

Steamboat Springs and Routt County officials are beginning to map out what could become a crowded slate of ballot questions over the next few election cycles, raising concerns about voter fatigue and prompting early discussions about coordination and timing.


During a joint work session Tuesday night, members of the Steamboat Springs City Council and Routt County Commissioners identified a growing list of potential measures that could appear between 2026 and 2027, ranging from funding for the...
SteamboatToday.com •

Brown Ranch renamed ‘Slate Creek Neighborhood’ as governance group moves forward

The Brown Ranch Governance Group, convened by members of the Steamboat Springs City Council, the Routt County Commissioners and the Yampa Valley Housing Authority, is pivoting away from the “Brown Ranch” name, opting instead to refer to the long-proposed affordable-housing development as the “Slate Creek Neighborhood.”


According to the March 26 meeting minutes, “the group reached consensus to rename the project they are working toward (previously Brown Ranch).” 


“From here on out,” the min...
SteamboatToday.com •

Routt County commissioners hold off on state nuclear funding support request

Routt County commissioners are holding off on endorsing a state push for future federal nuclear energy funding, opting instead for broader community input amid a wave of interest in advanced nuclear technologies for Northwest Colorado’s energy transition.


The Colorado Energy Office, backed by the governor’s office and the Office of Just Transition, reached out to Routt County commissioners March 10 with a request for a letter of support that centers on a U.S. Department of Energy request for...
SteamboatToday.com •

Bennet casts affordability as Colorado’s defining challenge in bid for governor

After hosting an affordability roundtable in Routt County last month, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet described what he sees as Colorado’s defining challenge — and part of the reason he’s running for governor.


“We have an affordability crisis in Colorado,” Bennet told the Steamboat Pilot & Today in a Jan. 22 interview. “This is not a passing problem. It goes to the very heart of what kind of state we’re going to be.”


Bennet, who announced his campaign for governor in April last year, said one of...
SteamboatToday.com •

City leaders demand swift fix to ‘unacceptable’ conditions at YVHA-developed affordable housing projects

Steamboat Springs city officials met with Yampa Valley Housing Authority leaders, Mission Rock Residential representatives and Overland Property Group executives Wednesday morning to address persistent complaints about maintenance, cleanliness and compliance at three local YVHA-developed, Mission Rock-managed affordable housing projects. 


Nearly 150 people tuned into the meeting via Zoom, including city staff, current and former city councilors, county officials, YVHA board members, and staff...
SteamboatToday.com •

‘Deplorable’ living conditions: Anglers Four Hundred resident speaks out

When longtime Steamboat Springs local Bright Stevenson signed his lease at Anglers Four Hundred, he expected stable, reliable, well-managed housing in a community marketed to Routt County’s working class. 


Instead, he found “a disaster”: a unit that was not move‑in ready, dirty common spaces, hallways and stairwells littered with trash and grime, and what he described as a disappointing lack of support from both the Yampa Valley Housing Authority, which developed the property in partnership w...
SteamboatToday.com •

Community members speak out on Stagecoach Mountain Ranch as City Council prepares to finalize letter to county

Nearly 20 community members attended Tuesday’s regular Steamboat Springs City Council meeting to comment on Stagecoach Mountain Ranch, the proposed 6,100-acre private ski area to be developed by Discovery Land Company, as council prepares to submit a letter to the Routt County Board of Commissioners regarding potential impacts to the city.


At council’s Oct. 14 meeting, councilors, chief among them Councilor Amy Dickson, had expressed their opinion on the Stagecoach Mountain Ranch development,...
SteamboatToday.com •

Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp. retreats on 20-year funding pledge for Regional Transportation Authority

With an early-September deadline looming to finalize a ballot question proposing the formation of a Regional Transportation Authority, Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp. has backed away from a pledge to commit $1 million annually for the next 20 years to help fund it.


Although not ruling out a longer-term commitment, Ski Corp. is now committing to only a one-time, $1 million contribution to the RTA — an unexpected change that could potentially fracture the proposed RTA’s coalition of Yampa Valley l...
SteamboatToday.com •

‘Blindsided’ — Steamboat STR enforcement leaves locals reeling; council to revisit policy

Steamboat Springs’ approach to enforcing short-term rental licensing has come under intense scrutiny, as mounting evidence reveals a pattern of abrupt, punitive action with no prior notice or warning for property owners, leaving many feeling blindsided, financially devastated and ignored by their local government.


The wave of frustration among local STR operators has prompted the Steamboat Springs City Council to consider whether the current policy is fair and effective, or in need of reform....
SteamboatToday.com •

‘The view doesn’t pay the bills’ — Steamboat teachers speak out

In Steamboat Springs, the view is world-class, the community is tight-knit and the teachers are among the most dedicated you’ll find anywhere.


But for the educators shaping the next generation, living in the town they serve has become a daily struggle defined by housing insecurity, second or third jobs, tolls on mental health and a constant juggling act just to get by.


“The cost of living in Steamboat Springs, especially housing, has reached a point where many of our teachers can no longe...