Ear to the ground:
“I don’t get all these spam emails about the ‘Oprah diet pill.’ Oprah’s fat.”
– Local woman remarking on what is obviously a poorly thought-out spam-paign strategy
Launching a new era
The time-honored local tradition of the January permit party may be the latest to fall victim to modern technology. The BLM San Juan River office has stepped into the digital age with the launch of an online permit application and lottery system for 2015. No more stamps, pesky envelopes, xerox-ed applications and mad dashes to the post office. Would-be river runners need only go as far as the nearest wifi connection and log onto www.recreation.gov and search “San Juan River.” Also new this year is a shortened permit season, with permits required for the three-month window of April 15 - July 15.
But applicants are advised not to shuffle around in their jammies too long. The lottery application deadline ends at 10 p.m. Jan. 31. Applicants will be notified of lottery results via email Feb. 12, and unclaimed permits will open up to the unluckier masses on March 16 (also via the website).
As in years past, there is a nonrefundable $6 fee on all applications, and full payment for all permits must be made by March 15. Fees range from $10/person for the upper stretch, $20/person for the lower and $30 for the whole enchilada.
For the non-fair-weather boater, online reservations may also be made for trips launching Jan. 1 - April 14 on a first-come, first-served basis. For those who don’t mind a little heat and possible low flows, trips launching after July 15 can also reserve online starting March 16 at 8 a.m.
And if postcards and snail mail is your thing, not to worry. The Chama River lottery permit system is still entirely old school. For more on that, call the BLM’s Taos field office at 505-758-8851.
Move over Dog
There’s a new bounty hunter in town. Or two. At 7 p.m. Sun., Jan. 11, Animal Planet will air the second season of its hit series (their words) “Rocky Mountain Bounty Hunters.” As you would guess, the show features “adrenaline-fueled” tales of wrangling outlaws in the West, and is shot on location in none other than Durango and Cortez. Two of the show’s three main stars, Clint, aka “Mr. Bailbonds,” and Dayson, his righthand man, met in 2011 after doing a couple recovery jobs together. Both were raised on cattle ranches in Colorado and when not hunting fugitives, Clint works on the family ranch, and Dayson is a firefighter and EMT.
The third bounty hunter, Rob (apparently last names are not big in the biz) tracks bad guys (and ladies, we would presume) in Montana, through “the harsh environment of the scenic, yet deadly Rockies.”
This season, charges range from arson to drug trafficking to assault. Alas, it is unclear where this ties into the Animal Planet theme, but perhaps there is a special episode dedicated to off leash scofflaws or owners who refuse to pick up after their pets.