DENVER -- Colorado's Mineral Belt in the central and southwestern parts of the state is rich in deposits of so-called critical minerals, the kind used to produce everything from smartphones to wind turbines and batteries that power electric vehicles. A new report released today by conservation groups lays out guidelines for sourcing minerals in ways that protect wildlife habitat and the outdoor-recreation economy.

John Gale, conservation director for the group Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, said the report's recommendations can help avoid disasters such as the toxic 2015 Gold King Mine spill that turned Colorado's Animas River orange.

"We want to make sure that those minerals, as they're extracted, are done so in a responsible way," Gale said. "And we hope that we've learned from the past. That should teach us something about how we move forward to our mining future here."

The report's guidelines call for any new mining sites to be located far from critical fish and wildlife habitat. They also underscore the need for a transparent proposal process, where all stakeholders, including affected communities and indigenous tribes, have a seat at the table.

The report comes in response to a 2019 executive order issued by the Trump administration outlining a strategy for extracting critical minerals domestically to protect supply chains and national security.

Nearly half of the nation's critical mineral deposits are within trout and salmon habitat, and one in ten deposits lies beneath protected public lands.

Ty Churchwell, mining coordinator of Trout Unlimited's Angler Conservation Program, said some of the current administration's policies could have profound negative impacts.

"Some of them include fast-tracking permitting for new mine-site proposals," Churchwell said. "I think the thing that's probably of most concern to us is opening up what are now currently protected public lands to critical mineral development."

The U.S. currently relies on imports for 31 of the 35 minerals listed by the federal government as critical, many coming from places that lack labor and environmental protections.

Churchwell said the nation will not be able to mine its way out of supply-chain challenges, and points to alternative options, including reclaiming critical minerals through recycling, and reprocessing old mine waste.


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Reducing the number of wildlife-vehicle collisions is the goal of a bill before the New Mexico Legislature this session.

Sen. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, is a co-sponsor, after steering passage of the New Mexico Wildlife Corridors Act in 2019. Stewart said residential and commercial development combined with climate change have fragmented wildlife habitat, forcing animals to cross roads with heavy traffic in some areas.

"So, it's about a $20 million problem, between health and car accidents," Stewart pointed out. "It's hard to put a price on killing wildlife."

Eddy, Lincoln and Otero counties have been identified as having some of the most dangerous highways in the state for local wildlife, frequently killed by motorists. State data also shows between 2002 and 2018, more than 11,000 deer were involved in crashes, or about 671 each year.

The state's 2022 Wildlife Corridors Action Plan identified 11 safe-passage projects to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and restore habitat connectivity.

Jeremy Romero, regional connectivity director for the National Wildlife Federation, said the measure would create a $50 million dedicated fund to support implementation.

"Really, this bill is kind-of a next step to the Wildlife Corridors Action Plan, which was prioritized and developed via the first piece of legislation," Romero explained. "This is the most critical step, because without the funding, we can't accomplish these projects."

While expensive, Romero argued wildlife crossings can be an effective solution.

"I have a lot of friends and family that have hit wildlife in various different capacities, some having a little bit more damage than others," Romero noted. "You hear about it all the time, and it's a big issue not only across New Mexico, but the country."

He added it is estimated completing all 11 of the safe-passage projects would cost about $350 million.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Two state agencies have teamed up to make safer wildlife migration a priority in Utah.

The Utah Wildlife Migration Initiative relies heavily on GPS tracking data received from mammals, birds and fish, which gives coordinators a good picture of where animals are spending time, the routes they take, and areas where safe migration routes are needed.

It is a joint project of the state's Division of Wildlife Resources and Department of Transportation.

Blair Stringham, wildlife migration initiative coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, said they have now completed more than a hundred projects, and for them to be effective, they have to align with animals' tendencies and behaviors.

"Some of the really cool things we have done though, we've been able to install overpasses, which are essentially bridges going over roadways so animals can move back and forth," Stringham explained. "They've been really successful, with a lot of different animal species."

Stringham pointed out they have also been able to install underpasses, as well as fencing projects to keep wildlife off roads. They have even found ways to help fish move from one stretch of river to other tributaries if they were cut off by roadways.

Stringham emphasized helping animals migrate can save their lives in the process. Even so, about 4,900 deer were killed last year due to vehicle collisions. Stringham acknowledged many people do not realize the material damage which results from these accidents can add up quickly. He added keeping wildlife off the roads keeps people safer, too, and the evidence shows the projects are helping.

"We tend to see a huge improvement in the number of collisions with wildlife when we do these kinds of projects," Stringham observed. "We've seen anywhere from 75% to 90% success on most of these."

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources recently released an app, called the "Utah Roadkill Reporter." It allows anyone to report animals killed on the road as they come across them. Stringham stated it helps contractors locate and remove carcasses, and the data is also used to plan future projects to help prevent wildlife-vehicle collisions.

Migrating wildlife can struggle with the extensive fencing throughout the West, and a new study is filling in the gaps on where these fences are in southwest Montana.

Simon Buzzard, senior coordinator of wildlife connectivity for the National Wildlife Federation and the report's lead author, said the variety of wildlife in the region is extensive, from large mammals such as pronghorn, mule deer and grizzly bears, to ground-nesting birds such as sage grouse.

"This host of species that migrate between public lands and private lands, across elevation changes and across state borders; we don't know how fences are impacting those movements," Buzzard pointed out. "That's why it's important to create this data."

Fences are designed to contain livestock movement on working lands but can entangle other species moving through the region. Buzzard noted more wildlife friendly fencing designs can help migrating animals better navigate fenced areas. He added hard-to-navigate fencing is an issue not just on private lands but public lands as well.

The preference is for fencing to be no higher than 40 inches, and for bottom wires to be at least 18 inches off the ground.

"To allow for sensitive species like pronghorn to go under but also for juveniles of other species," Buzzard emphasized. "Juvenile elk, juvenile moose, black bears. A lot of these large-bodied mammals still prefer to go under fences than to go over them."

Buzzard's study found only 3% of sampled fences in Beaverhead and Madison counties had bottom wires 18 inches or higher and only 6% had top wires of 40 inches or lower.

He noted financing is available for landowners to convert existing fencing into wildlife-friendly fencing, especially if a lot of big game species move across their lands.