Stories in this list received the most page views on SummitDaily.com from Aug. 24-30. 

1. Man reported missing found dead in Breckenridge

A man who was reported missing after he was last seen leaving Rocky Mountain Underground on Monday, Aug. 25, around 9:50 p.m. has been found dead, according to the Breckenridge Police Department. 

Around 2 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 27, officers from Breckenridge Police Department and the Summit County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a body found near Boreas Pass Road. Investigators identified the deceased man as Michael Derosa, 31, who was reported missing Tuesday, Aug. 26, according to the Breckenridge Police Department Facebook post.

“At this time, no foul play is suspected,” the post stated. “We thank the community for their concern and support. Our condolences are with the family and friends.” 

— Summit Daily staff

2. Former supervisor of most-visited national forest shares concerns about ‘deliberate dismantling’ of public lands

Months after retiring from his longtime role as the supervisor of the White River National Forest — the country’s most visited national forest — Scott Fitzwilliams says he is witnessing a “deliberate dismantling” of public lands.

In an interview earlier this month with The Landscape, a podcast produced by the Denver-based Center for Western Priorities, Fitzwilliams discussed why he felt forced to retire after 16 years as forest supervisor. He said the efforts of President Donald Trump’s administration to reduce staffing and funding for federal land management agencies, like the U.S. Forest Service, have led him to conclude public lands are under attack.

“It’s quite apparent to me that this is a deliberate dismantling of the public land institutions that this country has had for 130 years,” Fitzwilliams said in the Aug. 13 interview. “This is my elevator speech that I give everywhere: I think public lands are one of the great experiments in democracy. Nowhere else in the world does this. We have set aside land in the public trust, owned by everyone, and we’re messing with that.”

— Ryan Spencer

3. US Forest Service proposes parking, trail and dispersed camping changes at popular recreation area near Breckenridge

An open house Wednesday, Aug. 27, will give residents a chance to hear from the U.S. Forest Service about its Southern Tenmile recreation access plan, which proposes improvements to trailheads, trails, signage, parking, campsites and shuttle systems.

The Southern Tenmile area includes some of Summit County’s most popular recreation sites — Spruce Creek, McCullough Gulch, Blue Lakes and Quandary Peak — all within the Camp Hale Continental Divide National Monument.

The access plan and management framework came from a study, initiated in April 2024, completed by the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center.

A U.S. Forest Service document outlining the access plan stated fees would be charged, designated campsites would require reservations and visitors would need to take a shuttle or reserve parking for the popular areas during the peak visitation season, which would roughly be June through September.

The area sees around 237,000 visitors a year, according to the document, and that “high visitation” combined with a “lack of facilities and infrastructure” needed to support it has “negatively impacted” the area.

— Kyle McCabe

4. DarkSky International says Breckenridge is the ‘first mountain ski resort community in Colorado’ to receive its certification

On Friday, Aug. 22, it was formally announced that the town of Breckenridge has officially been designated as a certified dark sky community by DarkSky International.

In 2007, Breckenridge began its journey to reduce light pollution by adopting an exterior light ordinance. Since then, any new construction that has been built in the town has been Dark Sky compliant.

Breckenridge began pursuing Dark Sky certification in 2023 by working to meet the program requirements, eventually replacing noncompliant streetlights in 2024. Breckenridge is currently working with residents to have any non-compliant lighting meet Dark Sky regulations. 

According to DarkSky International, Breckenridge marks the “first mountain ski resort community in Colorado” to receive dark sky community designation.

— Cody Jones

5. More than 3.5 million birds migrated over Colorado in 1 night this week. Residents are being asked to turn out their lights to help them

Coloradans are being asked to dim their lights to aid millions of birds flying over the state each night amid the annual fall migration.

Every year, billions of birds migrate north in the spring and south in the fall. Nearly 80% of birds that migrate do so at night, often navigating by starlight, according to the National Audubon Society. However, artificial light from humans can disorient the birds, throwing them off their migration path and sometimes causing them to collide with buildings or windows.

“Our artificial lights are a big problem for them,” Richard O’Brien, the chair of Lights Out Colorado, said in an email. “They have amazing journeys, sometimes thousands of miles to South America. It’s time to remind our neighbors: Turn out unneeded outdoor lights, each night for at least the next month.”

— Ryan Spencer