The Pole

You may want to be extra vigilant about not leaving your keys in your car. According to Durango Police, vehicle theft rose 50 percent last year over 2019, with 54 cars stolen in 2020.

The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission will be hosting the first of three online sessions on the topic of wolf reintroduction Wed., April 28, from 6-8 p.m. The purpose of the sessions is to provide the Commission as well as members of the public an understanding of what it means to have wolves on the landscape and how experts from other states have approached wolf management.

Move over endorphins. According to a new study, we can thank endocannabinoids, our internally homegrown versions of cannabis, for the euphoria we feel during exercise. In the study, which was written up recently in the New York Times, runners still developed the mild intoxication of runner’s high, even if researchers blocked the bodies’ ability to respond to endorphins. 

Trails, campgrounds, mountains and rivers weren’t the only outdoor venues teeming with COVID weary recreationists last summer. Golf also saw a huge upswing in participation. According to Hillcrest Golf Course, the local muni saw a resurgence of golf participation last year, with more than 57,000 rounds played in 2020 – a 37 percent increase over 2019. This is more than double the national trend, which saw golf numbers increase 14 percent year-over-year, the largest gain the industry in 17 years. 

Hiking and biking season is almost upon us in Southwest Colorado, which brings with it a host of concerns and considerations, not the least of which is co-existing with wildlife. 

Of course, the apex predator at the top of most of our worried minds when jaunting about the backcountry alone is the mountain lion. Perhaps no other animals are as simultaneously feared and revered as the mysterious, large cats.

Durango School District 9-R is getting on the bus – the electric bus, that is. Last week, 9-R announced it won a $328,803 grant for a fully electric school bus and charging infrastructure. The 81-seat bus is expected to be operational by next fall.

The days of scrawling your name and phone number with a Sharpie on your gear are over. A Boise-based company has come up with a tech-age solution to the age-old problem of lost or yard-saled gear.

For $3.99, Karmik Outdoors will send you a QR code decal for all your most precious toys. The unique code will trace you gear back to you, all with a simple smart phone scan (provided, of course, that whomever finds your flotsam, jetsam and improperly secured roof items is a believer in gear karma in the first place.)