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SteamboatToday.com •

One year in, Routt County Mental Health Response Team shows positive impact

The Routt County Mental Health Response Team, now just over a year old, is continuing to make a positive impact for local residents in crisis, with 128 calls for service through August of this year.


Assistant County Manager Melina Bricker presented the first set of substantive data on the program to county commissioners at their Oct. 12 work session, documenting how many individuals were served, what a response can look like and perspectives from local law enforcement officers on both how th...
SteamboatToday.com •

Development-fee debate reveals no easy answer to Steamboat Springs’ housing challenge

After months of comprehensive discussion regarding a potential linkage-fee program that would require commercial and residential developers to help fund workforce housing for jobs and residents their projects create, the Steamboat Springs City Council signaled a split last week on how to move the program forward — or whether to move it forward at all.


At council’s regular meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 15, Planning Director Rebecca Bessey presented city staff’s final recommendations on implementin...
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Routt County bear incidents surge 410% from previous year

Routt County has seen a nearly 410% increase in reported bear incidents compared to last year, with 952 incidents reported in the county through Sept. 10 compared to 187 incidents reported in 2025 through the same date, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife records. 


This year, 13 bears in Routt County have been euthanized, and nine have been relocated as of Sept. 10, representing a dramatic increase from last year, when no bears were euthanized or relocated, the records show.


As of Sep...
SteamboatToday.com •

Mental health survey finds Yampa Valley residents struggle with loneliness, substance use disorders

The Steamboat Springs City Council heard a sobering assessment of behavioral health in the Yampa Valley on Tuesday: Despite strong awareness of local resources and a reputation for community support, many residents still face loneliness, high levels of substance use and persistent barriers to getting care when they need it.


Brittney Wilburn, executive director of Northwest Colorado-based nonprofit The Health Partnership, summarized to council at their Tuesday meeting the results of two survey...
SteamboatToday.com •

Steamboat Springs police chief defends use of Flock cameras

In a public forum packed with 80-plus people Tuesday night, Steamboat Springs Police Chief Mark Beckett defended Flock camera technology and underscored its benefits — while also acknowledging a wide range of concerns and objections voiced by community members. 


The two-hour session in Steamboat’s Centennial Hall, facilitated by former City Council President Jason Lacy and attended by another 70 people via Zoom, was announced in late July as discussions on the use and potential abuse of Flock...
SteamboatToday.com •

Routt County planners issue second corrections letter regarding Stagecoach Mountain Ranch proposal

The Routt County Planning Department has issued a second corrections letter to Discovery Land Company regarding its Stagecoach Mountain Ranch proposal, identifying more than 120 questions, conflicts and missing materials that must be resolved before the county completes its review of the project’s 10 pending land-use applications, according to a Monday update on the county’s Stagecoach Mountain Ranch page. 


The 11-page letter, dated Aug. 10 and signed by Routt County Assistant Planning Direct...
SteamboatToday.com •

Town of Hayden becomes first Routt County municipality to add data center language into development code

The Hayden Town Council has voted 4-1 to amend the town’s municipal code to include language around data centers, making it the first Routt County municipality to add language directly addressing data centers into its development code. 


The formal decision, with council member Elaine Hicks casting the sole “nay” vote, came at the Aug. 6 town council meeting after a series of July discussions regarding how the town should regulate potential data center development and close gaps in its land us...
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 •

How New Jersey couple’s road trip to Steamboat Springs became a 21-day search for their lost dog

When New Jerseyan Carly Fairweather learned that her Steamboat Springs cousin was getting married this summer, she and her husband Sean Lenahan decided to take a road trip throughout Colorado with their dog, Little Bit.


While the couple intended to make unforgettable memories, one experience came about unexpectedly — and they’re unlikely to ever forget it.


The couple lost their precious pup for three weeks as she traveled far and wide across Routt County.
The couple arrived in Steamboat on...
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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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...
SteamboatToday.com •

Routt County, Hayden seek $89 million unified settlement as Hayden Station closure nears

Routt County’s future is at a crossroads as the community grapples with the 2028 closure of Hayden Station, a coal-fired power plant that has long been an economic cornerstone for the region. 


At Monday’s work session, Routt County commissioners laid out the stakes and their strategy for negotiating with Xcel Energy, the plant’s owner, and the Colorado Public Utilities Commission over how the transition away from coal should be managed, funded and shaped.


Commissioners Sonja Macys, Angelic...