BODY OF MISSING SWIMMER RECOVERED

Searchers have recovered the body of a Colorado Parks and Wildlife employee who went missing while swimming in Steamboat Lake.

The 24-year-old man, whose name has not been released, was swimming outside of the boundaries of a swim beach when witnesses saw him struggle and go under the water Tuesday afternoon. His body was recovered Tuesday night.

Routt County Coroner Robert Ryg says the man, who regularly swam in the lake in the evenings, was not from the United States but had been studying in the country.

The death marks the second at Steamboat Lake in less than a month. On June 15, a 64-year-old Kansas man drowned.

Surveys show grouse numbers are up.

A grouse that has been the focus of an ongoing legal battle over whether it warrants federal protection has seen its numbers increase by nearly 30 percent in the past year.

Officials say aerial surveys for the lesser-prairie chicken in New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas show an overall upward population trend in the past six years.

More-favorable weather patterns this past year contributed to apparent increases in some areas where the birds are found.

Officials say there’s concern that moderate to severe drought over portions of the grouse’s range this year could hurt the population next year.

As part of a voluntary conservation plan, economic incentives are offered to landowners and companies that set aside land to reduce impacts to the bird and its grassland habitat.

Colorado designates interstate as pollinator highway.

GREELEY» The state Department of Transportation is working to make a stretch of interstate from Denver to Nebraska friendlier for bees and butterflies.

The Greeley Tribune reports the state legislature in May designated the stretch of Interstate 76 as the Colorado Pollinator Highway. According to the department, this section was chosen because it runs through environmentally sensitive areas and is a key path for migratory butterflies.

Under the designation, a roadside manager will promote genetically appropriate plants for the area that are resistant to invasive species, and crews will not mow past 15 feet from the highway from April to September. The department will also partner with groups to map roadside habitat and restore or improve those areas.