Data shows decline in number of spills, but skyrocketing methane emissions in New Mexico
Across the West, spills from oil and gas development take a toll on lands, waters, and communities that live nearby. In Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming — the Mountain West’s top oil and gas-producing states — companies report thousands of spills each year, which release toxic materials such as crude oil and produced water. For the past four years, the Trump administration’s “energy dominance” agenda ramped up drilling across the West while slashing environmental safeguards, and during the administration’s first three years spills in these Western states steadily rose.
Last year, however, spills in each state declined compared to past…
Key findings from Colorado College’s 2021 Conservation in the West Poll
For the past eleven years, Colorado College’s State of the Rockies Project has released its Conservation in the West Poll, providing a benchmark for assessing Western attitudes towards conservation, energy development, and public lands. This year’s poll results show the continuation of a trend that voters in the West care deeply about clean air and water, wildlife, and public lands, regardless of party affiliation. Across the board, Western voters prioritize public lands protection and expect the same from their elected officials.
The Conservation in the West Poll began in five states in 2011, and has since expanded to include eight…
How conserving 30 percent of the United States’ lands and waters can protect biodiversity, combat climate change, and benefit all Americans
In this report, we explore some — but certainly not all — of the methods of land conservation that will be integral to achieving the 30x30 goal. Along the way we explore some of the places that have already been protected, celebrating past conservation efforts and considering how to move forward to protect our lands, waters, wildlife, and the communities that rely on them.
This story map is the ninth installation of our ongoing “Road to 30” series exploring the vision of protecting 30 percent of our land and water by 2030. In this storymap, we’ll explore how conserving more land and water directly benefits hunters and anglers, examines barriers and challenges faced by sportsmen and women that impact their ability to hunt and fish on public and private lands, and illustrates how the 30x30 goal can improve recreation access and protect fish and wildlife.
This story map is the sixth installation of our ongoing “Road to 30” series exploring the vision of protecting 30 percent of our land and water by 2030. In this storymap, we’ll explore how conservation efforts in urban areas can help address environmental injustice and the nature and climate crises simultaneously, and put locally-led conservation efforts that benefit people as well as nature into practice.
This story map is the sixth installation of our ongoing “Road to 30” series exploring the vision of protecting 30 percent of our land and water by 2030. In this storymap, we’ll explore the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP), a landmark effort to conserve the iconic California desert and focus renewable energy development in suitable areas — a consensus plan that the Trump administration may soon roll back.
This story map is the third installation in our ongoing “Road to 30” series exploring the vision of protecting 30 percent of our land and water by 2030. Here we will look at how National Wildlife Refuges play an important role in reaching 30 percent protected land while also increasing recreation access and environmental education opportunities for local communities.
View Storymap Here
Across America, natural areas that we rely on for clean air and water, biodiversity, outdoor recreation, and local economies are disappearing. From habitat fragmentation to the widespread impacts of climate change, lands and waters throughout the country are being lost to…
This story map is the second installation in our ongoing “Road to 30” series exploring the vision of protecting 30 percent of our land and water by 2030. Here we will look at the ways tribal land management can play an important role in reaching 30 percent protected land and how cooperation around the establishment of Bears Ears National Monument serves as a promising model.
View Storymap Here
Across America, natural areas that we rely on for clean air and water, biodiversity, outdoor recreation, and local economies are disappearing. From habitat fragmentation to the widespread impacts of climate change, lands and waters throughout…
Protecting 30 percent of America’s public lands and waters by 2030 starts locally
This is the first installment in a series exploring the importance of protecting 30 percent of America’s lands and waters by 2030, and the ways land can be conserved to reach this bold conservation goal.
View Storymap Here
Across America, natural areas that we rely on for clean air and water, biodiversity, outdoor recreation, and local economies are disappearing. From habitat fragmentation to the widespread impacts of climate change, lands and waters throughout the country are being lost to development and degradation every day. …
Maintaining our parks and creating new recreation opportunities are critical
Weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, the Great American Outdoors Act was introduced in the Senate, with bipartisan support and tweeted endorsement from President Trump. The bill combines two popular programs that support conservation, rural economies, and access to outdoor recreation throughout the country — addressing the maintenance backlog at national parks and establishing permanent full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
As the country faces an unprecedented public health crisis, the Great American Outdoors Act is more important than ever. Public lands are a rare space where people can spend time in a responsible…
Hannah Rider
Policy and Research Associate | Center for Western Priorities | Denver, CO
