Jon Pinnow

Feb 26, 2024 | cpr.org | Gillian Coldsnow |Jon Pinnow

In Colorado, there was a man, who became a town, which became a tourist attraction and movie star of sorts. And now: “Buckskin Joe” is in private hands. “Buckskin Joe” was one of the early prospectors near Hoosier Pass in the 1860s. Miners used his name for a tent city that sprang up, and “Buckskin Joe” the town grew: saloons, hotels, a courthouse. It was the seat of Park County for a while. Then the gold ran out. Cut to the 1950s: the town re-born as a theme park.

Feb 26, 2024 | cpr.org | Jon Pinnow

In its heyday, the olive-green and gold Colorado pikeminnow was a big catch. Anglers a hundred years ago caught fish more than 5ft long and upwards of 80 pounds, lured from rivers with hardware or baited with frogs and chicken. But by 1973, the fish became one of the first fully protected by the Endangered Species Act. Decades of damming the riverways of the West had severely restricted its range, and stocking non-native sportfish in streams and reservoirs had introduced fierce competition.