Julia Kumari Drapkin

iSeeChange producer,  Julia Kumari Drapkin and biologists, Michael Soule and Chris Floyd take calls from listeners about changing animal populations and behaviors  in Western Colorado.

Change is in the air in the North Fork. What can newcomers to the valley do to show respect to long time residents and their traditions while still being civically engaged and involved in planning local events?  Listen as long-time locals and newcomers discuss these sometimes uncomfortable issues in our community.

The summer monsoons have finally arrived in Colorado. And when it rains it pours. Highway 24 between Redcliff and Leadville washed out yesterday, and ditches have flooded more local roads as well. But at the same time, neighbors down the road don’t get a drop.

For the iSeeChange project, KVNF’s Julia Kumari Drapkin asked Colorado’s state climatologist about why it’s so hard to predict when and where it will rain.

Produced by Julia Kumari Drapkin, the iSeeChange project at KVNF is part of Localore, a nationwide production of AIR designed to accelerate transformation and extend public service media to all Americans.   KVNF was selected as one of  only 10 Localore stations across the country—learn more at airmediaworks.org. Localore is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Wyncote Foundation, the John T. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Interactive storytelling partner Zeega co-produced TheAlmanac.org with iSeeChange.

For KVNF and iSeeChange, Julia Kumari Drapkin goes to the streets during the Cherry Days festival  to find out what changes people are seeing this summer.

While the dry weather has been fueling catastrophic wildfires, it’s also fueling worries about hay. Without water, there’s no hay. Without hay, there’s no food for livestock. For KVNF and iSeeChange, Julia Kumari Drapkin has been talking to ranchers and scientists about what water stress on the Western Slope looks like in the long run.

Residents in Paonia look to Mount Lamborn every year to gauge whether there will be enough irrigation water in the summer. But with a winter that never came and the earliest, driest spring on record, residents are preparing for drought. Yet 2011 saw record snow and rain? iSeeChange has been talking to citizens and scientists about what's driving extreme weather in the Western Slope and what declining irrigation water means for farmers, ranchers, and residents.

The National Interagency Fire Center reported yesterday that unusually high temperatures and dry conditions, combined with light winter snowpack, are heightening the risk for extreme wildfire risk in Western Colorado through May, particularly as temperatures increase through June. Traditionally, mid-May marks the start of wildfire season on the Western slope, but this year there was an earlier start. For iSeeChange, KVNF’s Julia Kumari Drapkin reports on what’s changing when it comes to fighting wildfires.

Produced by Julia Kumari Drapkin, the iSeeChange project at KVNF is part of Localore, a nationwide production of AIR designed to accelerate transformation and extend public service media to all Americans.   KVNF was selected as one of  only 10 Localore stations across the country—learn more at airmediaworks.org. Localore is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Wyncote Foundation, the John T. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Interactive storytelling partner Zeega co-produced TheAlmanac.org with iSeeChange.

iSeeChange is produced by Julia Kumari Drapkin and brought to you by KVNF and Localore, a national public media initiative produced by AIR: the Association for Independents in Radio and with financial support by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Wincote Foundation, the John D and Katharine T. McAurthur Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

What happens when a family of ranchers and coal miners sit down for breakfast with a climate scientist from NASA, to talk about global warming and drought? For iSeeChange and KVNF, Julia Kumari Drapkin found out.