Plains to Peak BulletinSpring 2015

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2014-15 Speakers Series: Spring Semester EventsMonday, February 23rd, 2015 at 7:00pm, Gates Common Room, Palmer Hall, Colorado College

Rediscover the Prairie: A Journey through North America’s Imperiled GrasslandsRobin Walter ’12 and Sebastian Tsocanos ’12Traversing the Great Plains of North America on horseback, the Rediscover the Prairie project aims to celebrate the immense beauty of the North American grasslands. Rob-in Walter and Sebastian Tsocanos have set out to explore our legacy as stewards of this land, shaking hands with the landscape and the people who call it home. They contin-

ue to examine the roles ranching, farming, and wildlife conservation play in protecting our prairie heritage. Inviting discussion with local ranchers, farmers, ecologists, artists, and the public alike, their work dives into the region’s rich historical past, sheds light on its present condition, and hopes to inspire creative possibilities for its future.

Thursday, March 5th, 2015 at 7:00pm, Gaylord Hall, Worner Campus Center, Colorado CollegeAmerica’s Public Lands: From Yellowstone to Smokey Bear and BeyondRandall K. Wilson, Professor of Environmental Studies at Gettysburg CollegeRandall K. Wilson is a professor of Environmental Studies at Gettysburg College in Penn-sylvania where he teaches courses on environmental policy, natural resource management, sustainable communities, and the geography of the American West. His recent book, America’s Public Lands: From Yellowstone to Smokey Bear and Beyond, explores the dra-matic story of the origins of the public domain, including the century-long push toward privatization and the subsequent emergence of a national conservation ideal. Arguing that we cannot fully understand one type of public land without understanding its relation to the rest of the system, he provides in-depth accounts of the different types of public lands.

Monday, March 30th, 2015 at 7:00pm, Gates Common Room, Palmer Hall, Colorado CollegeWorking Landscapes and Landscapes that Work: A Panel Discussion

Jennifer Peterson, Executive Director, Rocky Mountain Field InstituteDuke Phillips, CEO, RanchlandsBryan Bird, Wild Places Program Director, WildEarth Guardians Thomas Sheridan, Research Anthropologist at the Southwest Center of the University of Arizona

This culminating event of the State of the Rockies Project’s focus on large landscape conservation will convene experts and practitioners from the nonprofit, ranching, and conservation community. Discussing the diverse approaches to land management in the West and the effects those practices have on communities, economies and environments, our panelists will cover many of the issues affecting landscapes across the western United States.

Visit www.stateoftherockies.com for more info.

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Table of Contents4 What is the “State of the

Rockies”?As the Rockies Project culminates a two-year focus on large landscape conservation in the West, what’s next? After five years of polling the Rocky Moun-tain West, and ongoing research with Colorado College students, the Project plans for the future.By Brendan Boepple, Rockies Project Assistant Director

6 Twenty Years After Reintroduction: Managing Western WolvesIn 1995, wolves were reintroduced to the north-ern Rockies. Twenty years later the reintroduc-tion and management of the species remains as contentious as ever. One of our current student researchers has chosen to delve into the topic, taking a look at the history of the species’ return and the transition to state management.By Caroline Martin, Rockies Project Student Researcher

8 Melting Alpine Glaciers in the Rocky MountainsA changing climate has shown many effects across the western United States. One of the most vis-ible changes has been the loss in snowpack and reductions in the region’s few glaciers. However, no two impacts are equal. Our student researcher, Kevin Moss, has researched the ecologicial and economic impacts of shrinking alpine glaciers.By Kevin Moss, Rockies Project Student Researcher

10 In the Field with the RockiesProject Research TeamThis is the second installment of a report covering the Project’s field research during the summer of 2014.During the summer of 2014, the Rockies Proj-ect once again continued its tradition of field re-search, engaging a diverse group of stakeholders from Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Utah. This account of the Project’s field research covers some of the many benefits of getting out on-the-ground and interacting with those people closest to the important issues we investigate.By Emma Longcope, Rockies Project Student Researcher

Colorado College State of the Rockies ProjectFaculty DirectorEric P. PerramondAssistant DirectorBrendan BoeppleRockies Project FellowSam WilliamsRockies Project Student ResearchersMax HittesdorfBrooke LarsenEmma LongcopeCaroline MartinKevin Moss

ContributorsBrendan Boepple is the Assistant Director of the State of the Rockies Project and has been with the Project since 2010. Brendan’s inter-ests include conservation finance, work-ing landscapes across the West, and the nexus between outdoor recreation and conservation.

Caroline Martin is a 2014-15 State of the Rockies Project Student Researcher. Originally from Charlotte, North Caro-lina, her research focuses on wolf man-agement in the West, with a particular emphasis on state management plans.

Kevin Moss is a 2014-15 State of the Rockies Project Student Researcher. Kevin spent the summer of 2014 re-searching the effects of melting glaciers in the Rocky Mountain West. His field re-search took him to the Wind River Range of Wyoming and to Montana’s Glacier National Park.

Emma Longcope is a 2014-15 State of the Rockies Project Student Researcher. Emma enjoys combining her passions for outdoor recreation and environmen-tal education to educate people about the natural world.

State of the Rockies Project Mission:Building upon Colorado College’s 130 years of service to the region, the Rockies Project conducts research and outreach throughout the Rocky Mountain West, help-ing Rockies residents clearly see our communities, our environment, and our economy so we can better shape our future.

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What is the “State of the Rockies”?A Letter from Brendan Boepple, State of the Rockies Project Assistant Director

In early February, the State of the Rockies Project released the results of our fifth annual Conservation in the West Poll (www.coloradocollege.edu/stateoftherockies/conservationinthewest). The survey of 2,400 voters across six Western states (Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming) asked questions about attitudes towards conservation, natural resource issues, and the future of the West. This year, we focused some of our questioning around the general field of “Why the West?” to see why residents throughout the region choose to live here. We also repeated our historical questions that gauge attitudes towards subjects like water, public lands, and the state of Western economies. This fifth polling effort adds to years of data that have been used by poli-cymakers, government agencies, economic development groups, and nonprofits throughout the West. This work has given us even greater insight into the actual “State of the Rockies.” It has also allowed us to analyze our own research and outreach here at Colorado College by gaining a greater sense for the concerns of the region. This year, we were also fortunate to conduct an oversample of Millennial voters. What does the next gen-eration actually think about conservation and the future of the West? We have often taken an affinity to public lands, and a desire for clean air and water for granted when discussing these young voters. And we have often seen those same concerns manifest themselves in the sixty students who have passed through the State of the Rockies Project in the last twelve years. But the stereotypes hold true:

“Virtually all Millennials in the West say they have visited public lands managed by the U.S. government (98%). A significant majority (62%) have visited these public lands six or more times in the last year, and close to half (45%) say they have visited ten or more times. Despite their frequent visits to these places, they clearly worry about children growing up today not spend-ing enough time outdoors, with four-in-five (79%) viewing it as a problem, and fully 44% placing it in the category of an extremely or very serious problem.”

Other indicators also show that this generation is already looking towards the future. Healthcare, technology, and wind, solar and renewable energies top the list of industries when asked about the future of their state’s economy. Additionally, when asked about issues that are seen as problems in their states, the top three issues considered “very important” were: the low level of water in rivers; pollution of lakes, rivers or streams; and inadequate water supplies. We take these concerns to heart as we plan for the future of the Rockies Project. We have always seen the scarcity of water as one of the most pressing issues pertaining to the future of the West. Thus, as we bring an end to the past two years of focus on large landscape conservation in the West, we are excited to return the Project to a focus on Western water. This focus on the West’s most precious resource will allow us to continue the traditional aspects of the Project that have been successful while also evaluating the areas in which we might improve. The subject of water will act as a foundation as we seek to be more inclusive across the CC campus, the state of Colorado, and the Rocky Mountain West. Additionally, as we position ourselves to provide the best resources for the personal and profes-sional development of our students, we also hope to strengthen our connections across the West and certainly with Colorado College alumni and graduates of the Rockies Project. Thank you to our Rockies Project friends, supporters and followers. We hope you will continue to stay in touch, engage with the Project and our students when possible, and join us as we shift to our 2015-16 State of the Rockies Project: The Scales of Western Water.

Brendan BoeppleState of the Rockies Project Assistant Director

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Twenty Years After Reintroduction: Managing Western Wolvesby Caroline Martin, 2014-15 State of the Rockies Project Student Researcher

Once the most abundant carnivore in the American west, their peak population probably reaching around 400,000, grey wolves were hunted to the brink of extinction by humans in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1995 when they were reintroduced into the Greater Yellowstone region, northwestern Montana, and central Idaho, the species was estimated to be mostly extinct in the lower 48 states. Wolves of the species Canis lupus had to be rounded up in Canada and transported south in order to reintroduce them. The decision to reintroduce wolves was politically bold and highly contested, and remains “the most controversial issue in the West” according to many people I interviewed in the field. Last summer, I travelled through Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Utah with my fellow Rockies research-ers in order to delve into this topic and find out what had happened to wolves since reintroduction twenty years ago. I spoke with many experts, some who worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and had been dealing directly with wolves for decades, and others who owned ranches and felt the renewed presence of the predator through livestock losses. What I discovered were two very distinct camps of opinions: ranchers and conservation-ists. Wolves are truly hated by many rural landowners, especially those who raise livestock like sheep and cattle that make easy prey for grey wolves. In 2013, the predators were responsible for at least 102 livestock deaths in Montana alone, and those were only the cases proven to be caused by wolves. In all three states, where wolves now have stable populations (Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho), there are specific areas in which they can be hunted as big game, and many eager outdoorsmen willing to participate. On the other side of the table are the conservationists who stress how important large predators are in any ecosystem and in evolution. This group has often been labeled as “urban environmentalists” as they normally re-side in cities and towns, as opposed to ranchers who are actually dealing with wolves in rural areas. However, wolf

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David Spiegel

In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, wolves have thrived and returned as a fixture of the landscape.

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advocates have a point. There has been evidence that wolves have helped to improve ecosystems throughout Yellowstone National Park since their reintroduction. The renewed presence of predators in the park cause elk herds to be more mobile, which has substan-tial affects on the larger ecosystem. For example, since elk feed on as-pen trees, notable improvements in aspen growth result from wolf reintroduction, with subsequent effects on riparian areas and the ecosystem as a whole. While these specific effects—known as trophic cascades—have been called into question, there is no doubt that large predators keep populations of their prey in balance and help maintain a healthy ecosystem. However, in the northern Rocky Mountain region, humans mostly eliminated griz-zlies and grey wolves, previously the two most abundant and important large predators. As these two species begin to repopulate the region, there must be some sort of compromise between the two sides, those against large predators and those for them. Mike Jimenez of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service represents this compromise in many ways. He has worked closely with grey wolves since their reintroduction and recognizes their vital role in the region, but also knows that the Northern Rockies have become much more populated and developed than they once were. He stated that “the ability to hunt wolves has absolutely increased people’s tolerance towards them” and believes in ranchers educating the government about their issues with preda-tors. Mike believes that grey wolf populations can thrive in the American West once again, but they must be able to coexist with the people who live there. In 1995, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released 35 wolves into Idaho, 31 wolves into Yellowstone Na-tional Park, and 56 wolves into Montana. At the end of 2013, there were a minimum of 1,691 wolves in at least 320 packs and at least 78 breeding pairs in the entire northern Rocky Mountain region, and an estimated total of 2,000 wolves. As the animals continue to recover in astounding numbers, state governments have chosen to man-age them with hunting seasons and other approaches aimed at reducing predator-livestock conflicts. My research focused on how the three governments of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming have chosen to regulate wolf populations within each of their boundaries. Through a comparative study of these three state management plans, investigating management setbacks and successes, my research has focused on what can be learned from each state’s experience. Additionally, as wolves continue to expand into places like Colorado, Washington, and Oregon, it is also important that other state governments learn from these examples moving forward. The fate of the Western wolf has yet to be determined.

- Caroline’s full report on wolf management in the Rocky Mountain West will be released in the 2015 State of the Rockies Report. -

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Caroline and the Rockies Project team meeting with journalist and author Todd Wilkinson in Bozeman.

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Melting Alpine Glaciers in the Rocky Mountainsby Kevin Moss, 2014-15 State of the Rockies Project Student Researcher

Climate change is affecting Western landscapes in many ways, from the subtle to exceedingly obvious. One of the clearest examples is the rapidly shrinking glaciers in Wyoming and Montana. This past summer, I investi-gated how the melting glaciers in the Wind River Range and Glacier National Park are affecting humans, species, and ecosystems. By corroborating scholarly articles with in-person interviews, I came to fully appreciate how cru-cial glacial meltwater is to the health of ecosystems and society alike. Glaciers are known as “nature’s water towers” because they serve as stable, year-round sources of meltwater. With climate change, glaciers become even more important as weather patterns become less predictable and snow melts earlier in the spring. Unfortunately, glaciers in the American West are melting so rapidly that they will cease to exist in the near future. Hall and Fagre (2003) predict that glaciers in Glacier National Park will disappear com-pletely by 2030. Glaciers in the Wind River Range are predicted to exist for a few more decades, but they decreased in size by 25% on average between 1985 and 2005 (Cheesbrough et al., 2009). These predictions and statistics warn of a startling future where glaciers will be absent from the arid West that has grown to depend on them. The melting glaciers in the West will have varied effects depending on their location. In my research, I found that the melting glaciers in Glacier National Park will have strong ecosystem impacts while those in the Wind River Range will have large human effects by influencing agriculture. More specifically, bull trout, a native and keystone predator in Glacier National Park and the Flathead Watershed, will sustain serious habitat impacts due to decreasing glacial melt. Bull trout require a narrow temperature range for successful spawning and rely on

State of the Rockies Project Videographer, Alex Suber, took this image of Grinnell Glacier during summer 2013 fieldwork. Compared with an historic photo from the National Park Service, the extent of glacial melt over the last century is put into context.

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glacial melt to regulate streams at a suitably low temperature. With the absence of glaciers, it is quite foreseeable that bull trout will be significantly challenged to successfully breed in Glacier National Park, which could cause immediate and substantial effects throughout the ecosystem. The melting glaciers in the Wind River Range will also affect species and ecosystems, but the most obvious impacts will be those on agriculture. Like most of the West, farmers in the valleys surrounding the Wind River Range rely primarily on snowmelt to irrigate their crops. Glaciers act as buffers during low snow years and are a key source of late summer and fall water flow after all the previous winter’s snow has melted. Without the glaciers, farmers in Wyoming will face serious challenges throughout the growing year and especially at harvest. Wyoming produces the 8th most barley and 20th most hay in the United States, while also supporting an $800 million cattle industry, so the economic impacts of reduced late-season flows will be substantial.

The reality of melting glaciers in the West will hopefully further illumi-nate the incredible impacts that climate change will have on ecosystems, eco-nomics, and agriculture. Finding ways to mitigate the ecosystem impacts and deal with an ever decreasing water sup-ply will be a significant challenge for land managers throughout the 21st century.

- Kevin’s full report on alpine glaciers in the Rocky Mountain West will be re-leased in the 2015 State of the Rockies Report. -

Brendan Boepple

Some of Glacier National Park’s full-time residents.

Kevin, and the rest of the Rockies Project team at Glacier National Park, in Montana.

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Missives From the RoadIn the Field with the Rockies Project Research Team

by Emma Longcope, 2014-15 State of the Rockies Project Student ResearcherThis is the second and final installment of Emma’s trip report from the Rockies Project summer 2014 field research

trip. The first half of the report was published in the Fall 2014 Plains to Peak Bulletin.

David Spiegel10

III. Hope in Big Sky Country“The big question you should be asking me is: what should you do?”

–Gary Tabor, Director of the Center for Large Landscape Conservation

After finishing our meeting in Laramie, we piled back in the van and set off for Rock Springs to meet with Craig Thompson, a professor of earth science and engineering at Western Wyoming Community College. On the drive, I watched the prairies roll by with renewed interest, as if I could grow to know them as Lockwood does by merely gazing out the window. The grass turned increasingly golden as the sun moved West with us. Light moved on the fields in sweeping strokes; the openness of the landscape allowed us to witness the sun’s movement- our movement, really- in a new way. Thompson showed slides: ‘before’ pictures of mountain slopes covered in white and ‘after’ pictures of the same slopes, grey and brown and green. He spoke to us with not only data but also stories of his own, stories of discovery. He and Jeff Lockwood had worked together, studying climate change and the biology of insects in the ice of Knife Point Glacier in Fremont County, Wyoming. “Jeff called me up at eleven o’clock one night,” Thomp-son said, “to tell me that he’d discovered all the insects were the same species, same sex, and had gone extinct 100 years ago.” Thompson speaks with a certain enthusiasm about his work, but he also voices a worry about a “deficit of understanding.” “We [as this generation of scientists] have failed in our ability to effectively communicate the urgency of climate change… We just haven’t done quite enough,” he lamented. “I’ve got a full time job, and I do this [research] at my leisure. It’s sad. I can count on my hands the number of people who go in and care about stuff like this,” he said. We continued to discuss the best ways to communicate with the public about climate change, and turning to solutions, we asked, “Do you have any ideas about how we’re going to solve this?”

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Craig Thompson looked around the room at our earnest faces and said without missing a beat, “I do. You’re going to do this for us. It’s all on you.” The following morning in Dubois, Wyoming, we reached a cluster of small log buildings at the end of a dirt driveway surrounded by striking, stretching ranchland. We got out of the van and a soft white cat wound through our ankles. This was the property of Meredith Taylor, conservationist, educator, and, with her husband Tory, co-owner of Taylor Outfitting. Their log home was adorned with wind chimes, and a gleaming solar array was perched on top. Inside, pots and pans hung from the ceiling, and coffee mugs hung from an elk antler. Honey was gathered in mason jars on the stove. Oil paintings on the wall depicted horses and elk in front of sunsets and dramatic mountain peaks. Furniture was made from smooth tree limbs and trunks. Most notable were the plate of fresh homemade pastries on the table and the pie on the counter filled with huckleberries, a local delicacy. Meredith shared Thompson’s sentiment that area locals are unfortunately uninformed or disinterested when it comes to environmental issues. “The average person on Main Street is so busy making a living, they don’t think about snowpack. They don’t realize that it’s all connected,” she said. Few people experience these connections as deeply as the Taylors. Tory was once president of the Wyoming Wildlife Federation, Meredith once worked for Greater Yellowstone Coalition, and for nineteen years they have been running an outfitting company combining hunting, natural history, and conservation. They have seen changes in the public consciousness and changes to the land on a broad scale. “As you get older, things change, they get faster, they get bigger. But I sure don’t remember the sun being this intense. The plants are stressed,” said Meredith. The pair are wonderful storytellers. They tell of watching wolves den in alpine meadows, of wolves ripping apart elk in the feeding frenzy. Stories that convey the raw nature of living in harmony with wild animals. The talk turned to environmental literature and changes in the way wilderness is perceived. Tory pointed out that while Muir could be considered a purist, writers of his age did not wrestle with issues such as wilderness

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as a recreational playground or the debate about wheels-in-wilderness to the extent we do today. A new generation of writers is being called forward. “A lot of [environmental writers] have slipped away, or are getting gray around the edges. I hope you con-tinue to write about the value of wilderness, whether a person ever sees it or not,” he said. “You know what we need? Another Edward Abbey. It’s been a while since we’ve had a real hell-raiser.” The way he looked at us, we couldn’t help but feel hopeful in spite of the deficit of public understanding. He described the matter in the most straightforward manner, emphasizing that the problem wasn’t primarily one of education or statistics but one of a lack of doers. A problem we could fix by doing. As we stood to go, he looked out the window to the grasses and mountains beyond us and said, “It’s pretty easy to get cynical in this day and age. It’s a beautiful world.” Todd Wilkinson, an environmental journalist and writer based in Bozeman, Montana, echoed the conser-vationists to whom we’d already spoken with his plea for us, the rising generation, to continue the necessary work. “We need you more than ever,” he urged. We pressed him for what, exactly, we should be doing. “Everyone says we should be getting technical degrees… [but] the day is going to be carried on sound environmental communication,” he said. “So here’s to the liberal arts majors, the broad thinkers. I’d lay in front of bulldozers for you guys. You are important.” As we talked to more and more stakeholders, we realized more and more how much we are counted on. As individuals, as a group of researchers, and as representation of a generation, how we act will influence the future. This was not news to me; as young people interested in conservation of the natural world, we have all heard this rallying cry repeatedly. Yet there was something about being so entrenched in the true issues of each place, while hearing the call from those most invested and influential, that made the message hit home in a way it hadn’t before. With increased investment and knowledge comes increased responsibility. To continue deepening our knowledge and growing our appreciation, we headed to the Blackfoot Chal-lenge in southern Montana, a collaborative effort among ranchers, locals, and conservationists to create “better rural communities through cooperative conservation.” We visited the Iverson Farm, rolling lush green land rimmed by more shadowy-blue mountains. Ranch dogs begged us to throw an old tennis ball as we listened to farmers discuss the intersection between conservation and livestock. “It’s about the land and it’s about the kids,” one said. Jim Stone of Rolling Stone Ranch is a third generation cattle farmer and rancher. He talked to us in the midday heat about collaboration, community, and local ranchers’ resistance to change and the conservation move-ment. His son, Brady, stood up next to him with a shy smile. “What do you have in mind for the future?” his father asked. Brady didn’t hesitate: “I want to run the farm.” These people have built their stories into this land, both the stories they tell and the stories that have yet to come. They, too, seem insistent that we realize the depth of our responsibility. “We could partner up and do things, I always welcome that,” Jim Stone said. “It’s all up to you.” We spoke with Gary Tabor in a café in Missoula, Montana, with local art and waitresses in home-sewn aprons. We asked him questions of policy and change and he said eventually, “The big ques-tion you should be asking me is: what should you do?” “In someone’s lifetime, this whole thing is going to happen. Science and ecology are going to come to a head. This is not the time to debate. This is the time to do… We need [your] energy and per-spective,” Tabor continued. “We need switched-on young people… if you don’t show up, you can’t influence.” We sat on the banks of the Flathead River the next day. The sun didn’t quite make it through the clouds, but sent shining crepus-cular rays down to the pines. As I played with watercolor paints, dip-ping my brushes in the eddy at my toes, I was quietly grateful that

Rancher Jim Stone and his son, Brady, along with others from the Blackfoot Challenge, talk to a group about the ben-efits of community-collaborative conservation.

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we are able to travel the Rocky Mountain region and do our best, on a hurried schedule, to “show up.” To show up at the riverbanks and foothills and grasses and take as much in as we can, deepening our connection, and further-ing our investment in the West. It was cool that night. We all gathered around the fire and watched it throw embers, warm red stars, against the white ones above. We were nearing the northern apex of our trip. A few days later, after vast foggy Flathead Lake and the towering peaks of Glacier National Park, we turned south.

IV. Utah“We still know that it’s the ground we’re trying to protect.”

–Terri Martin, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance Southwest Regional Organizer

“There is no shortage of water in the desert but exactly the right amount, a perfect ratio of water to rock, water to sand, insuring that wide free open, generous spacing among plants and animals,

homes and towns and cities.” –Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire

Utah was 105 degrees. We had the greatest concentration of meetings here, determined to hear a wide variety of stakeholder positions on the various land-management practices and initiatives in the area. The perspectives were easy to get lost in. As we met with more government officials and experts in their specific fields, there was less talk of the importance of knowing and spending time within the landscape, less talk of our role and responsibility, and more talk of federal designations, presidential decrees, wilderness as currency and wilderness as a revenue stream. There was talk of trust almost as a bargaining tool; trust for the sake of meeting a goal. It became increasingly clear how deep the fractures were between stakeholders, but I was also impressed at how considerate and well spoken each person we talked to was. There is no clear good or bad side. Pull on any one strand and it becomes clear that this is a tangled and messy web. Terri Martin of Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance stood out as a unique voice. Terri talked in acro-nyms about initiatives and legislation, but she also touched on the why aspect that seemed to be missing in some of our other Southern Utah meetings. She talked of the people who have found beauty in intimate connection and knowledge of place. “Amongst peo-ple who know the red rock, there’s an incredible community of devotees who realize [the wild desert]’s importance on a spiritual level,” she said. “Big landscapes are vital for health and well-being.” She recognized the roots of what was at stake, discuss-ing the area’s history of xenophobia and resentment of the federal government. It is easy to get wrapped up in personal perspectives of each stakeholder, of the various wants and paths and dead-end bills. Ultimately, though, “We still know that it’s the ground we’re trying to protect,” Martin said. We traveled to Moab, further south over that dusty, cracking ground. The red rocks were welcoming to me; I have spent enough time in the desert for the landscape to feel like a second home. In many ways, though, I am still an outsider. I play in Moab, but I do not know it as Lockwood knows the prairie. I am on a mission to deepen my understanding of the way the lizards grip the rock, the way the occasional rain disappears the instant it hits the thirsty sandstone, the way the locals carve out a living in a place early settlers thought to be uninhabitable.

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My outsider status grew more obvious as we talked to Heidi Redd of Dugout Ranch, a cattle property nestled among the fissured cliffs. I had visited those cliffs to climb them and look down from above; I would have said I knew the area, but somehow I had never taken note of the log buildings and meadows right in front of me, the heart of Indian Creek. “It used to be that if we saw car lights driving down the road, we knew they were visiting us,” Heidi said. “There was nowhere else to go.” She, more than anyone, has written her stories onto this landscape and witnessed the changes it has endured. “It is easy to remember a time, 50 years ago, when you never saw a soul, and it was easy to think of it as all yours. You were the only one. Then, boom, the Park.” Heidi referred to Canyonlands National Park, established in 1964, and can trace the history of the area back to the beginnings of the protected land. At first, she maintained close friendships with the people involved with the Park. But “if you live on the land, you see slow changes happen-ing. You know what’s going on.” In 1970, a paved road brought visitors. The “outback feeling” was lost. Friendships dwindled and were lost; the cookouts stopped. “When you have National Parks, you have development,” Heidi asserted, “and had we wanted to develop, we could have made hundreds of millions. But more than money, we value the beauty of this land. The openness of it.” She, too, finished with a call to action: “It’s up to you to get this straightened out, and good luck– you don’t have much time.” Inspired by Heidi’s enthusiasm, we left the ranch to explore the very park we’d discussed. While it only deepened my confliction about the role of parks and development, it was a wonderful hike. Clouds rolled in to give us a break from the insistent heat as we hiked past dried-up creek beds, mushroom-shaped rock formations, and the “needles,” strange sandstone towers. As novel and moon-like as the landscape felt to me, I thought of Heidi and others for whom it was home. Nearing the end of our trip, we were still just passing through.

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We continued to speak with more stakeholders from all walks of life: ranchers, conservationists, recre-ationalists, federal officials, county commissioners, and state representatives. We asked all sorts of questions to try to wrap our heads around the various wants and needs of the communities surrounding the various issues. Issues of borders and boundaries, of wolves and cattle and grizzlies, and most of all of conflicting human values and pri-orities. Ashley Korenblat, Co-Founder of Public Land Solutions and CEO of Western Spirit Cycling based out of Moab, believes dialogue between stakeholders should focus on shared desired outcomes rather than values. When the conversation focuses on desired outcomes, it becomes clear that people want essentially the same thing. People want a better future for their children. People want the landscape to remain for those who follow. Few want this with more vigor than Jane Butter of the Grand Canyon Trust. We rafted down the Colorado River the following day, past the Fisher Towers, through Castle Valley, and on as we talked to Jane about her con-servation values. The river was sun-yellow and the surrounding rocks were drenched orange-red. We alternated between meeting in the boat and hopping out to float the current, laughing with anticipation of each wave. It is clear from both her attitude and the outcomes of her work that Jane has poured her soul into her en-vironmental efforts. She talked with us about balance, spirit, and the importance of passion. This was just what we needed as we prepared to head back North, overwhelmed by the many ways in which we are called to work for the land. How can one spend the time and effort required to make a significant positive impact without losing energy and optimism? Jane was honest about the difficulties of her path, but also joyful about the rewards. She recognized the common ground under everyone and that a fractured system of communication exists between those with interest in the land. She showed us what it looks like to work tirelessly for what you believe. We finally reloaded the van with gear that seemed to have multiplied and followed our swerving marker-on-map line through sagebrush turning to pines and mountains. It led back to Colorado Springs, home base.

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The Colorado College State of the Rockies Projectwww.StateoftheRockies.com

14 E. Cache La Poudre St. Colorado Springs, CO 80903

Rockies@coloradocollege.edu (719) 227-8145

Rediscover the PrairieThis cover photo comes to us from Sebastian Tsocanos and Robin Walter, Colorado College graduates of the class of 2012, and founders of the Rediscover the Prairie project. During the State of the Rock-ies Project’s focus on large landscape conservation in the West, we have been proud to work with the intrepid duo as they seek to raise awareness of the Great Plains. In their own words:

“Traversing the Great Plains of North America on horseback, our project will celebrate the im-mense beauty of the North American grasslands. We will explore what our legacy as stewards of this land has been and what it might become, shaking hands with the landscape and the people who call it home. Inviting discussion with local ranchers, farmers, ecologists, artists, and the public alike, our journey will dive into the region’s rich historical past, shed light on its present condition, and help inspire creative possibilities for its future. Film, photography, and writing will help us share the stories we encounter along the way. We will examine the roles ranching, farming, and wildlife conservation play in protecting our prairie heritage. Our multi-faceted project merges science, art, education, outreach, and of course, horses in a way we are certain will excite a deeper understanding and appreciation of the natural world and our place within it.”

Learn more about their project at: www.RediscoverthePrairie.org.