MEEKER | The week of Oct. 29 – Nov. 1, 2018, was officially proclaimed “Bat Week” through national proclamations from the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. The Blanco Ranger District along with Meeker High School (MHS) junior, Nick Massey, celebrated Bat Week by presenting fun[Read More…]
Tag: Blanco Ranger District
Type 2 incident team takes on Cabin Lake Fire
“This is going to be a marathon, not a sprint,” said Rio Blanco County Sheriff Anthony Mazzola of the efforts to suppress the Cabin Lake Fire along the South Fork drainage at a second public meeting Wednesday for concerned citizens held at the Buford School. Overnight Tuesday a storm cell[Read More…]
Plane extracted from Flat Tops Wilderness by helicopter
MEEKER | When a small single-engine airplane performed an emergency landing in the Flat Tops Wilderness in January, everyone breathed a sigh of relief that plane’s occupants were able to walk away from the event uninjured. But that’s not the end of the story. The pilot and his wife were[Read More…]
Forest Service issues temporary closure for Lost Solar Fire area
RBC I As of Wednesday morning, the Blanco Ranger District issued a temporary area closure order for the Lost Solar Fire area in the Flat Tops Wilderness. The lightning-caused fire has grown to approximately 4,500 acres since it started Aug. 8 and is burning in mixed conifer and aspen and[Read More…]
Farewell…
The Rio Blanco County commissioners honored Ken Coffin, the U.S. Forest Service District Ranger for the White River National Forest—Blanco Ranger District, on Oct. 26 with an Award of Special Recognition for his years of service locally to build community relationships and encourage multi-use of public lands. Coffin has accepted[Read More…]
Pack it in? Pack it back out, too
RBC I Westerners take great pride in their independent and self-sufficient nature, but that spirit is not always evident in the backcountry when people leave their trash for “someone else” to remove. Earlier this month, a Colorado man was sentenced to federal prison as punishment for massive littering, including leaving[Read More…]
Area rangers launch ‘Every Kid in a Park’
RBC I The Blanco Ranger District is proud to help launch the Every Kid in a Park program as part of President Obama’s commitment to protect our nation’s unique outdoor spaces and ensure that every American has the opportunity to visit and enjoy them.
Big prescribed burn planned north in county
MEEKER I The Blanco Ranger District of the White River National Forest plans to conduct a prescribed burn in the Aldrich Lakes area sometime in late September or early October.
Meeker, Colorado – Home of the 2012 Capitol Christmas Tree
After more than a year of planning and gathering ornaments, the 2012 Capitol Christmas Tree, harvested 40 miles east of Meeker in the White River National Forest, was delivered, decorated and lit in front of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 4, 2012.
Capitol Tree celebrations
MEEKER I The excitement continues to build as preparations are made to cut, wrap and deliver Colorado’s gift to the nation, the 2012 Capitol Christmas Tree, and everyone in Rio Blanco County is invited to take part in the celebration Nov. 3. Since it was announced last December that the[Read More…]
Middle Elk fire area closed
MEEKER I The Middle Elk Fire on the Blanco Ranger District is located some 30 miles north of New Castle, Colo., to the west of the Buford New Castle Road at Hiner Springs. For safety reasons the area of the fire remains closed at this time.
Help decorate the Capitol Christmas Tree
RBC I What an opportunity for the young people of Colorado! Colorado kids can help provide one of the more than 5,000 handmade ornaments that will adorn this year’s Capitol Christmas Tree. Kids providing ornaments will be entered into a drawing for a trip to Washington, D.C. accompanied by their[Read More…]


