Anthropogenic - Fall 2024

Anthropogenic Fall 2024

WHO WE ARE

The Colorado College's State of the Rockies Project encourages students to further their academic interests in the ecological, social, and political challenges of living in the Rocky Mountain West Students embark on inter-disciplinary investigations around the region to discover the possibilities for balancing human activity without spoiling the natural environment.

OUR MISSION

The State of the Rockies Project enhances understanding of and action to address socio-environmental challenges in the Rocky Mountain West through collaborative student-faculty research, education, and stakeholder engagement.

Visit www.stateoftherockies.com for a complete version of the magazine.

State of the Rockies

State of the Rockies Project

stateoftherockies

rockies@coloradocollege edu

http://stateoftherockies com/

Front Cover: Lady in the Bathtub of Stars, Bears Ears National Monument. Photo by Megan O’Brien ‘25.

San Juan Mountains, Colorado | Photo by Kayla Mackel, '26

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Cyndy Hines

chines@coloradocollege.edu

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

O’Neal-Freeman

FROM: Chevy Chase, MD

MAJOR: Organismal Biology and Ecology

HOBBIES: Playing ultimate frisbee and soccer, wild swimming

FUN FACT: I’ve lived in the Amazon rainforest!

Annabel Meyer

FROM: Charlotte, NC

MAJOR: Environmental Studies

HOBBIES: Spending time outdoors, whether that’s running, skiing, biking, or climbing.

FUN FACT: I have a pet gecko that’s older than I am

FROM: Katy, TX

MAJOR: Environmental Science

HOBBIES: Running, hiking, reading

FUN FACT: I have an identical twin sister.

FROM: Scituate, MA

MAJOR: Environmental Studies

HOBBIES: Ceramics, running, reading, and baking

FUN FACT: I worked at a bird sanctuary this summer!

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

FROM: Newton, MA

MAJOR: International Political Economy

HOBBIES: FUN FACT: I had my license for 3 years before I drove on the highway!

FROM: Loveland, CO

MAJOR: Education

HOBBIES: Swimming, cooking, painting, yoga, and hiking

FUN FACT: I am training to go to the 2028 LA Olympics for pickleball.

Alice

Libby Cutler

Macy McCauley

Mary Cate Kiser

Greetings

Greetings! As the end of summer nears, I’m happy to share the projects and activities of the State of the Rockies research teams. Since our last edition of Anthropogenic, our Rockies fellows and research students have been hard at work exploring the social, environmental, and political challenges of living in the Rocky Mountain West

In this edition of Anthropogenic w share the exciting work of our students with projects led by myself and our Project Specialist Cyndy Hines, in collaboration with many staff and faculty across campus Over the summer, research teams were in the field gathering data on projects such as the Survey of Public Lands Visitors, Dark Skies, Waldo Canyon Fire, and the Oil and Gas Industry of Colorado

In addition, research fellows were hard at work analyzing data from previous years of these projects, writing draft papers, and preparing articles for journal submission. Our Adventurous Spirit Film Team was also in the field working on a new creation. We are proud of our students’ work!

In other exciting news, our 2023-24 Adventurous Spirit Film Team was nominated for best student film at both the Seattle Film Festival and Winter Park Film Festival for Root Bound, a short feature film exploring the dangers of climate change We also received a renewal of the $800,000 2-year grant from the William and Flora Hewlett foundation, which will facilitate upcoming Conservation in the West Polls and related projects

Looking ahead to the 2024-25 academic year, we will start many new exciting projects that span the academic year and summer Keep an eye on our social media pages and the CC Handshake website for new opportunities We are always looking for motivated students to work with us on our research projects, especially students who want to preserve the beautiful landscape of our region

Finally, I’m sad to say my Directorship will be ending this December. The last four years have been such a joy for me working with our Project Specialist Cyndy Hines and the student fellows and researchers. The State of the Rockies has been a highlight of my time at CC, and I will be forever grateful for this experience. I look forward to seeing what the future holds and where it will take our students!

Thank you for all of your support, and enjoy this edition of Anthropogenic!

Kat Miller-Stevens, PhD She/her/hers

Director, State of the

Rockies

Associate Professor of Business

State of the Rockies Project: Navigating Change

Sunrise at Willow Lake | Photo by Maren Greene, ‘24

Dr Kat Miller-Stevens

Cyndy Hines

Across the Rocky Mountain West: A Summer with the 2023 Public Lands/Dark

Skies Survey Team

Exploring the extent to which dark skies matters to residents and visitors of the Rocky Mountain West

By Alison Mueller-Hickler

2023 Have Waldo Canyon ponderosa pine forests bounced back?

Student ecology researchers embark on a long-term demographic study of Pinus ponderosa regeneration in Waldo Canyon following the 2012 forest fire

By Chris Burich, Liam Kietly, Sydney Morris, Theo Ollier, Charlotte Pulido,

2023 Adventurous Spirit Film Team Project

Watch our twice-nominated State of the Rockies premiere student film: ROOTBOUND

2023 Dark Skies Project

Considering dark skies conservation through art history, economic, and biological perspectives By Alice O’Neal-Freeman

2024 Waldo Canyon

Students tackle Phase 2 of the Waldo Canyon post-fire ecological study

By Libby Cutler

A Point of Diminishing Returns

The Flaws in Modeling a Production Function of of Economic Productivity Over Water Availability By Nicole

Craighead

2024 Adventurous Spirit Film Team Project

Watch our twice-nominated State of the Rockies premiere student film: ROOTBOUND By Alice O’Neal-Freeman

2024 Dark Skies

Mapping Light Pollution and Indigenous Attitudes Toward Dark Skies Conservation in the Rocky Mountain West By Alice

O’Neal-Freeman

2024 Vintage Poster Contest Winners

Winning poster art of the 3rd annual State of the Rockies Conservation in the West poster contest By

Annabel Meyer

2024 Student Photo Contest Winners

Winners of the annual State of the Rockies Conservation in the West student photo contest By Libby Cutler

One-to-one ratio: a unique experience for Konrad Gunderson, ‘26

By Annabel Meyer

Arches National Park, Utah | Photo by Olivia Petipas '21

What are the Top Environmental Concerns of CC Students?

By Nicole Craighead, ‘26

When asked, CC Students often recognize State of the Rockies and identify their one source: Rockies’ Worner Tabling Events

Throughout the year, we’ve organized multiple events to identify the student body's primary concerns regarding climate change. Over the course of four tabling events, we gathered and analyzed data from a total of 112 entries, providing a clear synthesis of the climate issues most important to students

The foremost concern was clear: water Students expressed worries about natural resource use, ranging from preservation and pollution to scarcity and regulation. The State of the Rockies annual poll reflected similar concerns among the general public in the Rocky Mountain West Among Colorado participants, 95% feared low river flow levels, with 68% considering it extremely serious Colorado tied with Arizona for second place in significant concerns, topped only by New Mexico participants

While CC students predominantly feared

the dwindling water supply, they also echoed another sentiment expressed in the polls: water quality Poll data found that 86% of residents feared the same issue alongside microplastic contamination, poor drinking water

quality in low-income areas, and hazardous facilities' release of water

Following the fears of water was a concern for fire risk, comprising nearly a fifth of students. Again, the entries reflected various aspects of the problem, but most prominently, the fear of wildfire risk.

Alongside the threat of wildfires came the more significant concern of deforestation in the area Students' fears are timely, given the past seasons of severe forest fires Last July, the Little Mesa fire outside Delta, Colorado, saw over 4,000 acres burn after a lightning strike hit the area. This year, forecasters are more optimistic about this forest fire season, though still projecting over 5,000 acres to burn.

A response that weaved throughout the tabling event data but deterred from climate change-related issues were policy concerns Students expressed a mutual fear of land privatization and its impact on public park accessibility. Poll data echoed these concerns, notably in support

Survey results from 2023-2024 State of the Rockies tabling events.

Lone Bison, Yellowstone National Park | Photo by Owen Reeve '27

of the 30x30 conservation goal, which aims to protect 30% of inland and ocean regions by 2030. An overwhelming 83% of Colorado voters supported this proposal, reflecting strong bipartisan agreement

The poll also united water inadequacies and land conservation concerns with its focus on the Dolores River Flowing 241 miles through Colorado, the river is crucial for water distribution, native species, and agricultural irrigation.

The Dolores River Proposal aims to protect over 68,000 acres of public land across four counties and has been debated for two decades In the past two years voter support has only grown, reaching 92% of participants this year

Compiling data from the tabling events, the student body's primary concerns were easy to streamline.

Issues in water allocation, deforestation, and conservation methods for protecting our lands and waters were clear Analyzing the 2024 Poll further confirmed that student concerns closely align with those prevalent statewide This alignment raises a crucial question: if there is broad consensus on these issues, why are we struggling to translate them into concrete actions?

Data taken from 2024 State of the Rockies Conservation in the West poll

Data taken from 2024 State of the Rockies Conservation in the West poll

Student Spotlight

Henry Hodde, ‘24 “Forged by Fire”

Henry Hodde studied Environmental Science at Colorado College. During the summer of 2022, Henry worked with the State of the Rockies first Public Lands Survey Team where he was inspired by the past wildfires of Rocky Mountain National Park in 2020 and the East Troublesome Fire of 2018 His podcast, ‘Forged by Fire’ is about wildfires in the West in 2023 and how they impact communities. The podcast’s three episodes “highlight the resilience” of the “impressive people” who work to combat wildfires in today’s changing climate.

Within the three episodes, is a collection of experiences and expertests ranging from the founder of the Be Wildfire Ready nonprofit, fire mitigation experts, and individuals belonging to communities who have been personally affected. He shares stories of prescribed burn projects and ways people can prepare their houses for wildfires.

When making the podcast, Henry had to listen to all his recordings from 2022 and pull out what he thought were “really importance pieces of tape” that either had good conversation points or provided details that were “valuable to the story.” His recent internship at NPR helped him navigate the challenges of putting together a podcast He gained valuable insights on piecing together both Zoom and in-person interviews while making their audios the same quality.

During the spring semester, ‘Forged by Fire’ will be presented on the Sounds of CC (SOCC) where they will stream each of the podcast’s episodes weekly Along with its debut on the Colorado College radio Henry is hoping to have the podcast aired on KRCC and published in the Grand Lake newspaper

You can listen to the podcast on Spotify here.

Henry Hodde, ‘24 during summer his research in 2022. Photographer unknown.

Calwood Fire, Boulder, CO | Photo by Owen Braley

Faculty Spotlight:

Visualizing the Past: How Past Glacial Models Can Predict Our Future

By Nicole Craighead

Eric Leonard began his career over forty years ago at Colorado College with an intention to push students to consider how the deglaciation crisis can be answered not only from current climate data, but that of the past. By which he means not just several centuries, but thousands of centuries prior

When I attended his talk to the CC community back in October 2023, I could tell I was surrounded by an audience of impressive chemists, geologists, and glaciologists, alike, all ready to hear the wealth of knowledge of Eric’s worldly experiences. Eric has studyied rocks and glaciers from Tibet to Chile during his career But where he turned our attention to that day was much closer to home-- the Rocky Mountain West

In his presentation Colorado GlaciersPast, Present, & Future (but mainly past), Eric stayed true to his title, placing great

emphasis on the Last Glacial Maximum era or LGM

He asked the driving questions of the location, extent, and timing of past glaciers and how their climatic conditions compare to present day and to the trajectory of deglaciation

Eric made his expertise clear from the start, explaining the insufficiency of radiocarbon dating to the surprise of many audience members. Rather, he argued, the usage of cosmogenic radionuclide (CRN) surface exposure dating was necessary in modeling past glacial formations. He explained that CRN dating revolutionized his field of study in the 90s, as glacial deposits rarely have organic matter in region’s like the Rockies, which is an essential compound in radiocarbon dating but not in CRN methods.

Notes from Leonard’s CC talk. Nicole Craighead

Dr. Eric Leonard, Professor, (Ret.) Geology Department, Colorado College (above) in field in South Africa.

With the help of CRN dating, Eric was able to create models that mapped the periods of the last glaciation maximum and deglaciation era in Colorado These models then took his studies to the next level, probing the question: how does the past period of deglaciation help in the study of future climate change? Analyzing the deglaciation period allowed for a basis of comparing climatic conditions such as precipitation patterns and temperatures of today His work also proved the efficacy of contemporary modeling methods and in which ways they may fall short, advancing the field’s understanding of the limitations of such models when used to predict future conditions.

In talking to Eric, he clearly had a breadth of knowledge in the area, but for the sake of simplicity pointed to the last glacial maximum glaciers models in northern Utah and Colorado and southern Wyoming Here the glaciers exposed a pattern between the precipitation and temperature changes from the present day, likely a cause of the presence of large past lakes that are now completely retreated in western Utah and Nevada.

These lakes served as local moisture sources for glaciers in the Uthan mountains and influence tapered off quickly eastward across Colorado

He also noted that other pieces of evidence like vegetation in our current climate echo similar patterns to that observed at the last glacial maximum. However due to the climate models of LGMs that run at low spatial resolution,

they do not capture the effects of features like LGM lakes due to their small size

Through sets of interviews and presentations from Eric, it was clear that in deepening our understanding of what is to come of glaciers in the Rocky mountain region lie in an unassuming answer can be found 16,000 years in the past.

Copper Mountain, Colorado. Photo by Ethan Castette, ‘26.

Pyramid Peak, Colorado | Photo by Whitton Feer, ‘23.

Full Moon, Arches National Park, Utah | Photo by Shaylan Shaeff, '26

2023 Faculty-Student Research Project Findings

By Dr. Kat Miller-Stevens

In 2023, State of the Rockies featured two summer fellows’ projects at the SCoRE Conference. Charlotte Toogood ’24, Layla Haji ’25 and Willow Ma ’24 worked with Rockies Director Kat Miller-Stevens and Dr. Jason Machado from UCCS on a project called “Why So Emotional? An exploration of the use of emotional advocacy in nonprofit organizations”. Using content analysis, this project analyzed the testimonies of 48 individuals representing nonprofit organizations at legislative hearings discussing Colorado SB19-181, a bill aimed to regulate the oil and gas industry. Another team of summer fellows including Zoraiz Zafar ’24 and Mustafa Sameen ’25 worked on a project titled “A preliminary analysis of opinions on the oil and gas industry through the annual Conservation in the West Poll Survey” In this study, the fellows examined five years of opinion poll data asking questions about the oil and gas industry in the Rocky Mountain West Zoraiz and Mustafa’s research built on the work of former Rockies summer fellows Saigopal Rangaraj ’23 and Zoey Roueche ’24 who began this project in the summer of 2022

Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado | Photo by Macy McCauley, '25

A Preliminary Analysis of Opinions o the Annual Conservati

Saigopal Rangaraj, Zoey Rou

Colorado College State

The oil and gas industry has experienced unprecedented growth in the United States in the last 20 years, the result of increases in population and per capita consumption of goods. However, this industry, in addition to fracking, is a complicated and often controversial topic because of the health and environmental risks associated with its practices. Thus, this study delves into the responses from 2018 to 2022 of the Conservation in the West Survey which aims to capture bi-partisan public opinions of registered voters in the Rocky Mountain West region on a variety of topics. Specifically, this study looked at whether respondents wanted the then-incumbent administration to focus on ensuring the safety and quality of the environment or on prioritizing domestic energy production It found that, overall, there is a greater support in the 8 surveyed states for focus on environmental issues than there is for domestic energy production through years 2018 to 2021, but that this support declines in states where fracking is legal and additionally declines in the year 2022, likely because of increased gas prices. Furthermore, the findings of this study indicate that female-identifying individuals are more likely to support focus on environmental issues over domestic energy production

U S makes up 5 percent of the Earth’s population, but accounts for nearly 30 percent of its annual energy consumption

In 2021, 60.8 percent of U.S. Energy came from fossil fuels such as natural gas (38 3 percent), coal (21 8 percent), and oil (0 5 percent) as the U S consumed an average of 19 78 million barrels of oil per day

Increases in population and per capita consumption of goods have led to immense growth in the industry in the 20th century

In 2000, there were 23,000 active hydraulic fracturing wells compared to 300,000 in 2015, an increase of 1,204 percent

Fracking now accounts for over 70 percent of U.S. natural gas production and over 50 percent of U S crude oil production

The U S is responsible for 14 percent of global carbon emissions, producing more than 5,416 million tons of CO2 annually

Fracking is known to cause air and groundwater pollution, impacting plant and animal species (including humans, especially those who live close to such sites)

The oil and gas industry has undeniably had adverse effects on the environment and has fueled the climate crisis the world now faces, but refuses to take the accountability and action needed to prevent this crisis from worsening

Climate change will impact all individuals on this Earth, but will have disproportionate impacts on BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of color) communities and those that are socioeconomically disadvantaged

The Obama administration’s policies surrounding the oil and gas industry and fracking contained both regulatory and supportive measures:

Vetoed the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines

Spent nearly 34 billion USD supporting over 70 fossil fuel projects around the world

Set stronger fuel economy standards, increased clean energy generation (especially solar and wind), and set strict renewable energy and efficiency targets at the federal level

The Trump administration’s policies surrounding the oil and gas industry and fracking were overwhelmingly supportive rather than regulatory:

Modified safety rules to allow for rail transport of highly flammable liquefied natural gas Ended environmental impact reviews of natural gas export projects at the Department of Energy

Authorized oil and gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska

Made significant changes to many major national parks, especially in the Rocky Mountain West region, to allow for increased fracking, drilling, and mining permits on the federally-owned land.

The Biden administration’s policies surrounding the oil and gas industry and fracking have worked to both combat the actions of the Trump administration, stimulate the economy amidst a global pandemic, and curb globally fluctuating oil and gas prices

Eased oil and gas industry methane controls

Boosted natural gas exports

Lifted the E15 summertime ban

Regulating the oil and gas industry and active fracking wells by disclosing chemicals used in fracking operations, strengthening industry cleanup requirements, and plugging abandoned oil and gas wells

The Conservation in the West Survey is an annual poll sponsored by the Colorado College State of the Rockies Project and is conducted by New Bridge Strategy and Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates. The poll aims to capture bi-partisan public opinions of registered voters in the Rocky Mountain West region The states that are surveyed each year are Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Respondents are asked questions relating to the conservation public lands, energy, water, wildlife, wildfire, and other pressing challenges in the region

on the Oil and Gas Industry through ion in the West Survey

ueche, & Zoraiz Zafar

e of the Rockies Project

We looked at the responses the Conservation in the West Survey received in the five-year period from 2018 to 2022. The sample size was the same for all the polls conducted across the time period, with 3200 respondents surveyed annually Furthermore, an equal number of 400 respondents were surveyed in each of the eight states. We compiled a database which merged the responses received across this period Then, we proceeded to look for questions that were the same or very similarly worded across all five editions of the poll Eventually, we decided to statistically analyze a question that asked respondents about their views on whether the federal government should focus on environmental issues or domestic energy production. For most of the statistical and regression analyses, STATA was used as the preferred statistical software.

Support for focusing on environmental issues was consistently higher than support for focusing on domestic energy production in all Rocky Mountain states, with the exception of Wyoming

Support for focusing on environmental issues increased throughout the 2018-2021 period before seeing a slight decrease in 2022

Rising gas prices starting from the second half of 2021 could be most likely attributed to this decrease

The states that fall in the category of fracking states include Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming

Conversely, the states that fall in the category of non-fracking states include Arizona, Idaho, and Nevada.

Respondents from states with no fracking are more strongly in favor of focusing on environmental issues instead of domestic energy production

The gap between the two categories of states gradually increased from 2018 and 2021. After reaching its peak in 2021, the gap came down sharply in the 2022 survey.

For the year 2021, female-identifying and non-white respondents were found to be more likely to support focusing on environmental issues over bolstering domestic energy production.

The regression equation and table above depict our deployed model and the results of the logistic regression we ran with a binary dependent variable and two binary predictors

Colorado College’s State of the Rockies project encourages students to explore critical environmental and social challenges of the Rocky Mountain West Through faculty-led research and out-of-classroom experiences, students gain an appreciation of the region’s physical characteristics and the impact of human land use activities while employing an interdisciplinary approach to finding balance between human activity and our environment

Current Chair: Dr Kat Miller-Stevens, Economics & Business

ABSTRACT

Why

Colorado College State Kat Miller-Stevens, PhD. Jaso Charlotte Toogood, Willow M

This research delves into nonprofit policy advocacy within the context of SB 19-181, an important bill that aimed to regulate the oil and gas industry in Colorado Through examining the nonprofit organizations that participated in public hearings for SB 19-181, this study aims to provide insight into the characteristics of and tools used by these organizations to engage in policy advocacy The research identifies a variety of advocacy tools, including narrative techniques featuring heroes, victims, and villains, as well as the use of moral values, technical data, and emotional appeals. This paper offers valuable insights into the strategies, challenges, and impacts of nonprofit advocacy and contributes to the broader understanding of the role of nonprofits in shaping public policy

RESEARCH QUESTION:

How do nonprofit organizations use emotions, characters, and narratives as an advocacy tool?

NONPROFIT

ADVOCACY TOOLS

Nonprofit organizations use a variety of techniques and strategies to effectively advocate for policies and influence decisionmakers (Cairney, 2019) A primary tool used is the creation of compelling narratives that are able to resonate with the target audience (McBeth, 2018) These narratives often feature conventional characters in stories that evoke strong reactions, such as:

heroes representing positive values victims who experience injustice villains that are responsible for harm

Nonprofit organizations also leverage moral values, scientific data, and emotional appeals to help strengthen and solidify their messages Emotional appeals include: anger blaming someone else fear and anxiety when looking ahead or thinking of consequences gratitude for policymakers or government or the oil and gas industry compassion towards others who have suffered

For example, highlighting wildlife preservation appeals to moral values, presenting air quality statistics leverages scientific data, and mentioning an emotional sentiment such as children's health often triggers emotional responses.

of the Use of Emotional Advocacy Organizations

on Machado, PhD. Layla Haji, a and Jonathan J. Pierce, PhD.

e of the Rockies Project n

COLORADO’S SB 19-181

This was a landmark bill passed in 2019 that enacted substantial reforms in the regulation of the oil and gas industry It was introduced to address growing public concerns over the impacts of oil and gas operations on public health, safety, the environment, and wildlife.

SB 19-181 created major changes:

shifting authority over drilling permits from state to local governments

strengthening air quality protections

mandating that regulators prioritize public health and safety over production

It was seen as a political victory for environmental advocacy groups, community activists, and legislators who had pushed for stricter regulation of the oil and gas industry in Colorado However, the bill also faced strong opposition from oil and gas industry groups who argued that it would harm energy production and jobs.

METHODOLOGY

This study used a qualitative approach where we analyzed oral testimonies of 48 individuals who represented nonprofit organizations at the legislative hearings for Senate Bill 19-181 that aimed to regulate the oil and gas industry in Colorado Testimonies were analyzed using a codebook drawn from previous literature on emotions, narratives, and characters.

PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

Testimonies are more likely to mention victim and villain, rather than hero.

Attitudes towards the oil and gas industry are mixed: the majority are not assertive that oil and gas causes a negative impact, but also not able to say the it does not cause negative impact, or generate a positive impact.

Emotions are also mixed, and respondents showed: compassion towards people employed by the oil and gas industry fear of both the oil and gas industry and SB 181 being too stringent anger towards the oil and gas industry.

Testimonies are more likely to use moral issues rather than technical and scientific information as evidence. Lastly, environmental justice is not a frequently mentioned theme among the testimonies

2024 Faculty-Student Research Fellows Projects

By Dr. Kat Miller-Stevens

Fellows Updates

This summer, State of the Rockies fellows Anna Amacher ’24, Zara Zafar ’27, and Layla Haji ’25 worked on a project analyzing data from the Public Lands Survey to explore individuals’ opinions on the use of public lands. Over the summer, the team created a codebook of variables drawn from previous literature on public lands use. Using this codebook, nearly 400 individuals’ responses were analyzed and recorded. The team will continue this project into the fall. In addition, Zara helped complete the writing of a paper titled “An analysis of opinions on the oil and gas industry through the annual Conservation in the West Poll Survey”, which was started by previous Rockies fellows Saigopal Rangaraj ’23, Zoey Roueche ’24, Zoraiz Zafar ’24, and Mustafa Sameen ’25

Fellows this year are working with Colorado College faculty to focus on climate related issues pertaining to the Rocky Mountain Region and adjacent areas The five fellows, Anna Amacher ‘25, Zach Dinklage ‘25, Ethan J Stewart ‘25, Zara Zafar ‘26, and Layla Haji ‘25 all have unique but intertwining projects and interests in how climate influences our lives in the Rocky Mountain Region

2024 Fellows and Faculty Research Projects

Anna Amacher

Anna is a State of the Rockies Summer Fellow. She will be conducting public policy research focused on environmental sustainability. More specifically, she will be working on projects related to dark skies, oil and gas, and watershed coalitions Her research will involve the collaboration with Professor Kat MillerStevens to explore the impacts of these issues on the Rocky Mountain West This research aims to contribute to the understanding and development of policies that promote environmentally

responsible practices and sustainable resource management in the South West region.

Zara Zafar

This summer Zara is collaborating with Professor Kat Miller on extending and refining the draft paper: Analysis of opinion on the Oil and Gas Industry through the annual Conservation in West Survey Written by past State of the Rockies fellows, this paper provides framework that breaks down the correlations between demographics and

responses to the Conservation of West Survey questions. She will be working on further strengthening the linkages outlined in the paper and developing the qualitative analysis. Together, they are preparing the paper for publishing in a relevant journal

Layla Haji

This summer, Layla will be focusing her research on Public Lands. She will be looking through the results of Conservation in the West Poll over the last

Sunset from camp near Blanding, Utah, June 2024 | Photo by Cyndy Hines

few years and the Public Lands & Dark Skies projects that have been ongoing research projects at State of the Rockies. With this data analysis, her goal for this summer is to highlight any interesting information and draw on broader research surrounding public lands in the last few years By the end of the summer, this information will be compiled and formatted to demonstrate its applicability to broader public lands studies and she plans to share the findings with intention of policy change where applicable.

Zach Dinklage

Zach is focusing on a project titled “Colorado River Water Rights and Economic Impacts” in collaboration with Colorado College Professor Michelan Wilson. Michelan Wilson is a microeconomist with research interests in environmental and natural resource

Meet the 2024 Fellows

economics and environmental justice. Together, they aim to get a better understanding of recent water policy changes for the Colorado River In their research, they want to understand how changes in water policy have affected the livelihoods, agricultural practices, and resilience of small-scale farmers facing water scarcity. This research strives to answer two main questions: What coping strategies have farmers adopted in response to changes in water policy, and how have these strategies affected their livelihoods? And, How do farmers perceive the fairness and effectiveness of current water policy regulations in addressing their needs and challenges?

Ethan Stewart

Ethan is focusing his summer research on water policy in the west and its distributional impacts. Through a policy

critique of the Colorado River Federal Water Agreement between California, Arizona, and Nevada -- all states that have access to the water of the Colorado-- he aims to analyze ways in which urban appropriation of rural and indigenous water resources may negatively impact disadvantaged communities By analyzing this agreement from an environmental justice perspective, he hopes to contribute to existing literature on the topic and highlight the areas in which policy change is necessary. Stewart aims to submit a coauthored paper with Dr Michelan Wilson, the newly hired environmental economics professor, to a journal for publication Ethan’s literature review of Colorado River policy and impacts led him to develop an idea for tree restoration in Denver, Colorado. Ethan aims to continue his research this fall with Dr. Wilson and maybe co-write a paper with her on his research on Colorado River appropriation.

Dr. Michelan Wilson is an assistant professor in the Economics and Business Department and an environmental and resource economist. Her research focuses on the valuation of the environment as an input in production. Her work explores the impact of environmental degradation on societal welfare, and the environmental justice implications of pollution and environmental policies. She is also interested in working with community organizations on answering environment-related questions that are important to them.

Michelan is from Jamaica, where she received her Bachelor’s and Masters in Economics. She received her PhD in Economics with environmental and natural resource concentration from the Department of Economics at Colorado State University. She joined Colorado College in 2023.

Zara Zafar ‘25

Zara is currently a rising Senior. She is an international student from Pakistan. Zara is interested in International Relations and Economic Development. She enjoys travel and thrifting, and is involved in SASA, CC competitive communications, and student journalismat Colorado College.

Anna Amacher ‘25

Anna is currently a senior at Colorado College, and is pursuing a major in Business, Economics, and Society (BESoc) and has been honored on the Dean’s List for the 20222023 academic year Her professional journey includes serving as a Legislative Analyst at the Nuclear Energy Institute, a Government Affairs Intern at Edison Electric Institute, and an Economics Grader at Colorado College She is gaining hands-on experience with Long Path Technologies, a startup founded by CC alumni, which is at the forefront of methane emission monitoring technology. She is dedicated to merging economic insights with technological advancements for a sustainable future.

Layla Haji ‘25

Layla Haji is a rising senior studying neuroscience and anthropology at Colorado College. This year she will be helping Kat Miller Stevens analyze data that has been collected over the years on public lands and dark skies. In her free time, she enjoys running, being an EMT, and spending time with my friends.

Ethan Stewart ‘25

Ethan is a senior economics major and environmental studies minor from Fayetteville, Arkansas. He is very interested in the many intersections between economic, environmental, and justice issues, particularly in the Rocky Mountain region, and in studying climate change solutions and impacts The State of the Rockies program provides an exciting opportunity to support in its inspiring and meaningful mission to research and inform the public on regional environmental issues In his free time, he enjoy reading, hiking, and listening to podcasts

Zach Dinklage ‘25

Zach Dinklage 25’ is a BESoc major and physics minor from Santa Barbara, California He became interested in energy and natural resources growing up in drought prone areas of the West including Utah and California Understanding our relationship to energy and water has become increasingly important for Zach as he works to combine is knowledge in economics and business policy with energy consumption and water usage Zach is looking forward to researching recent policy changes regarding Colorado River water rights, to understand the economic impacts on a variety of stakeholders

Rafi’s very first pair of hiking shoes.

2024 Waldo Team L to R: Ben Curry, ‘25, Rachel Phillips, ‘25, Mary Cate Kiser, ‘27, Tyler Mielke, ‘26, Rafiul Khan, ‘26.

| Photo by Cyndy Hines

Student-Led Research: A Roving Think Tank

by Cyndy Hines

Student-led State of the Rockies social and natural science-based research and projects are aimed at finding ways to balance how we live with the responsibility of caring for our natural world We provide students opportunities to build skills and apply classroom knowledge to practical projects to help prepare them for life after Colorado College.

Our climate-focused research takes us deep into the social and ecological dilemmas and across the diverse landscapes that shape our lives here in the Rocky Mountain West We contemplate ways we can attenuate human environmental impact while addressing

equity and inclusion issues. Our goal is for students to pursue their academic interests, or perhaps discover new ones, as they engage in inter-disciplinary research and projects

Working on a Rockies project enables students to take learning beyond the 31/2-week block plan. In the field, in the lab, and when interviewing and reporting, students apply their coursework knowledge, gain skills and practical experience, and consider how their work contributes to finding an equilibrium between human activity and ecosystem integrity

Because art and science are inextricably

intertwined, many of the projects we design require students to present research and use some form of creative expression disseminated across a variety of platforms, (e g , GIS; radio; print; and electronic journalism; art and design; social media; photography) This approach to applied integrated design and research appeals to students from diverse backgrounds across many academic departments.

We recognize the importance of sharing research findings through academic and creative outlets to increase the size of our audience and the diversity of our participants with the goal of motivating others to take interest and action.

Sunset over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Silvercliffe, Colorado | Photo by Cyndy Hines

By Cyndy Hines

physiological processes of animals and plants Colorado College’s 2023 Conservation in the West poll data suggests seeing stars at night is valued by more than 70% of residents and is a major draw of visitors to the region’s various expansive public lands and dark skies designated areas. The allure of the physical landscape, wildlife, climate, and starry nights are reasons many of us live and recreate here in the Rocky Mountain West

Growing populations and increased development of Rocky Mountain western cities and rural communities are sources of increasing light pollution in the region

y p y p policymakers, residents, and visitors. We are interested in determining how different types of land and economic development contribute to and exacerbate the issues related to increasing light pollution To explore this, students are investigating the source and extent of light pollution and the implied impacts of pervasive artificial light on urban and rural communities in the Rocky Mountain West. We are interested in knowing if artificial light at night disproportionately affects marginalized populations such as lower-income populations in urban environments, and who and what are the major contributors to artificial light pollutions in these communities

By studying light pollution in several urban and rural locations in the region, 2024 Dark Skies student researchers are deciphering whether the spatial distribution of people--i e , who lives where--is influenced by the location and intensity of artificial light at night and identifying the top contributors to light pollution in these areas We conducted interviews, measured and photographed the extent of artificial light at night, and recorded nighttime sound in locations of varying artificial light levels. A comparison between the urban environment and several rural communities will be made to determine how light pollution from growth and development affects the nighttime environment

Bears Ears National Monument Project

Voters surveyed in the 2024 Colorado College State of the Rockies Conservation in the West poll are concerned about disappearing starry skies Why does

Full moon in Bears Ears, Utah. Photo by Alice O’Neal-Freeman,’27

managing public lands to ensure there are more outdoor places free of light pollution to see the stars at night matter to 89% of poll respondents? The attention to disappearing western starry skies has led to an increased interest and actions to protect night skies from the far-reaching effects of human activity

One example of such initiatives is the management plan for Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah. Incorporating best management practices for night sky and dark environments on Bureau of Land Management public lands is highlighted as a prime concern for Indigenous tribes whose cultures and lifepractices are tightly tied to the cosmos A better understanding of the pervasiveness of artificial light on night environments is a key component of the co-management plan.

Our intention is to learn what concerns residents of these communities have about the brightening of the night sky This summer, a team of Rockies student researchers worked with The Bears Ears National Monument (BENM) Inter-tribal Coalition to design survey and in-person interview questions for residents of towns bordering the national monument to gauge their awareness of the Bears Ears Inter-tribal Co-Management Plan and gather their opinions of a possible dark sky designation of BENM We are also interested in the level of tribal member participation in the implementation of comanagement plans and educational initiatives to preserve dark skies and cultural and natural heritage.

We are exploring the extent to which artificial light from population growth and development of nearby communities, (Bluff, Blanding, Monticello, and Moab, Utah), may potentially impact Bears Ears National Monument This is of interest as BENM tribal members contemplate designating BENM as an international dark sky preserve which could lead to increased visitation to the monument. Would a dark skies designation of BENM attract more visitors? Is tourism a benefit to the local economy? What are the

pitfalls of community growth and development in rural southeastern Utah towns bordering popular public lands?

We hope to provide Inter-tribal Coalition leaders information gained from this study to help improve communications and increase community involvement

2024 Waldo Canyon Fire Project

The Re-establishment of a Ponderosa Pine Forest: a Multi-scale Retrospect of the Waldo Canyon Fire, Woodland Park, Colorado

This summer, Waldo Canyon student researchers completed field data collection for phase two of the study during June and July We are using GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and statistical analyses of data collected in 10 sites in day-two of the burn area to expand and strengthen the data set collected during phase one of the study. We are interested in mapping ponderosa pine regeneration in these locations to determine whether ponderosa pine regrowth is more likely in some sites than others as influenced by differences in physical site conditions (e g , slope, elevation, aspect, etc ) and burn severity An absence of ponderosa pine seedlings and saplings may indicate whether the long-term survival of this species is likely given drier conditions and hotter temperatures in the region-- an outcome of a changing climate exacerbated by the growing popularity of living in the Rocky Mountain West

2024 Sustainable Landscapes Projects:

A Point of Diminishing Returns: The Flaws in Modeling a Production Function off Economic Productivity Over Water Availability

An economic perspective on water conservation in cities in the West intrigued a State of the Rockies student researcher to report on how Colorado Springs, Colorado city officials plan to supply water to a booming population, now and in the future

2024 Adventurous Spirit Films

State of the Rockies film students are continuing their exploration of the human condition and the attitudes of residents and visitors toward life in the Rocky Mountain West as influenced by the physical constraints and social pressures of climate change. Water supply is a serious concern for residents living in the Rocky Mountain West. In 2024, the Conservation in the West Poll found 66% of survey respondents think water availability is a significant problem The 2024 State of the Rockies Adventurous Spirit Films team spent their summer interviewing and filming residents, conservationists, environmentalists, and activists for a documentary feature on historic and today’s water conservation policies for and management efforts of the Delores River, a major tributary of the Colorado River system. The team is particularly interested in how allocation, drought, and overconsumption of the river have shaped and continue to impact the Southern Ute Mountain Ute Tribe

The Delores River is capturing national attention as conservation groups push for its designation as a national monument.

Residents in the region, like the Southern Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, worry the designation as a national monument will further restrict use of the area by the tribe who depend on the landscape for their livelihood and to practice traditional ways of being

A free campus screening will be held in the spring of 2025. The team aims to enter several film festival competitions in the spring and fall of 2025.

2023 Student-Led Summer Research Reports:

The Re-establishment of a Ponderosa Pine forest: a Multi-scale Retrospect of the Waldo Canyon fire, Woodland Park, Colorado

Research findings for phase one of our study of ponderosa pine regeneration following the 2012 Waldo Canyon forest

fire, Woodland Park, Colorado, can be found in the following 2023 project report Preliminary field data analyses indicate ponderosa pine generation is occurring in sites in high elevations and on steep slopes. Much of the forest patches depicted in 2011 aerial imagery of the study sites are now grass, shrub, or bare ground 2023 aerial imagery interpretation, verified by field site reconnaissance and data collection, and GIS analyses, reveal little evidence of a new cohort of ponderosa pine individuals following the 2012 Waldo Canyon fire.

Are Starry Skies Worth Saving?

2023 Dark Skies research team members executed phase three of the Public Lands Visitors Dark skies project The 5-member team interviewed residents and public lands visitors to learn who visits public lands and why, and to what extent seeing starry skies at night was a reason for their visit. Findings from their individual student research projects demonstrate the deep connection we have to the land and to the cosmos though we may not

understand why we feel at peace in the outdoors, or what draws our eyes upward to contemplate the night sky

Big Starry Skies: Does out of Sight Mean out of Mind?

Celestial bodies and their movements were subjects of contemplation by early humans through the ages This is evidenced by the oldest of art forms (cave paintings, petroglyphs, ceremonial costumes, sculptures, pottery, etc ) created to record and communicate cultural ideologies and belief systems. Studying ancient artifacts reveals the importance of night skies in our past and sheds light on what our decoupling from cosmic rhythms may mean for life in the future What can we learn from historical art about our connection to the stars-how they shaped our minds, our survival, and our lives? How is our ancient connection to starry skies expressed through art today? Does our relationship to the stars exist only in our past?

These questions led us to research the topic of night skies in contemporary art

(1850’s-today) to create a virtual exhibit of artwork that represent elements of the night skies of the Rocky Mountain West During the 2023-2024 academic year, a student researched the art history of starry skies over the past 150 years to gauge whether the importance of our relationship to the cosmos is present in the consciousness of modern society

The goal of the exhibit is to raise awareness of the importance of night skies to humans biologically, culturally, and artistically.

The Economic Benefits of Night Skies Conservation

In the fall of 2023, a team of students, CC professor, Dr Guanyi Yang, and University of Northern Colorado professor, Dr Mark Eiswerth, investigated the economic value of tourism of night skies by surveying nighttime stargazers at the Great Sand Dunes National Park to determine how much people valued seeing stars at night. Their research findings attempt to determine if pristine night skies are economically beneficial to conserve

Interstate 40 heading northwest into Albuquerque, New Mexico after a night of collection light data. Photo by Alison Mueller-Hickler, ‘26.

2023 Student Research

Waldo Canyon. | Photo by Ollie Beland ‘25

Across the Rocky Mountain West: A Summer with the 2023 Public Lands/Dark Skies Survey Team

By Alison Mueller-Hickler

‘26

y Survey Team was nothing short of eventful as we traveled across all eight of the Rocky Mountain West states Joining Nathalie, Brigitte, Lily, Liam, and Jesús in the field brought along a variety of experiences From seeing Monument Valley in Utah jam-packed with tourists reliving an iconic scene from Forrest Gump to getting a 12-passenger CC van out of the sand at Lake Powell, there was never a dull moment.

We started our work in Block 8, spring 2023, when we met Corey Hutchins of the CC Journalism department Corey provided meaningful insights concerning journalism and interview processes. During these meetings, I observed the nuances of interviewing and how getting an answer is usually dictated by what a person is doing or the use of certain words that discourage participation Outside of interview preparation, we worked to schedule our trips during the summer, taking into consideration a sense of place, and researching the area and the people who live there. We ended up with three trips averaging around five days each with a two-week fourth trip to finish up the summer.

The first trip taught us the importance of flexibility We left the Sustainability House at around 2:30 pm on Friday, June 16th with a van stuffed with food and supplies

Our goal for the following five days was to learn from Denver Post reporter Bruce Finley, practice to the art of interviewing, and get our first interviews

On our way to Westcliffe, Colorado we drove through hills and valleys densely populated with nourished trees from the recent rainfall. Every few moments, Cyndy would turn down the music and point out the window to identify popular trees like Aspen, Douglas fir, and Juniper and tell us how to identify them based on shape and leaf color

At around 5:30 pm, we arrived at the Finley family cabin, a gorgeous redpainted wood structure with a large deck and upstairs patio overlooking the valley below Staying true to the cabin theme, it also had a plethora of bear decorations hidden around We settled in and Nathalie, Lily, and I took a short hike to explore the nearby campsite while Liam and Jesús started preparing dinner.

After dinner, we decided to do some night-time work and plan for the next day, training day This training day was

Loveland, Colorado | Photo by Macy McCauley '25

Team selfie! (Left to right: Jesús Lara Rivas, ‘25 , Liam, Mullen, ‘26, Cyndy Hines, Brigitte, Arcoite, ‘24, Alison Mueller-Hicker, ‘26, Nathalie San Fratello, ’25, and Lily Frost, ‘26. | Photo by Lily Frost

special because for the first time Lily, Nathalie, Brigitte, Liam, and Jesús would interview people. This planning also came with the first of many changes in our trip’s schedule Due to heavy rain in the area, we decided to stay another night at Bruce’s, which was difficult to accept at first, as we were so excited to visit more new places.

The next morning, we all squeezed around the wooden table to learn from Bruce. We built upon what we had learned from Corey in Block 8 and added into consideration length of discussion The best part was that after a 10-minute break, Bruce and Cyndy would demonstrate how it was done Their five-minute interaction was hilarious and engaging and showed us that it is okay to make mistakes during the interview.

At 11:30 a.m. it was finally interview time! We filed into the van and Bruce directed us to our first interview site, the Comanche Trailhead at San Isabel National Forest As we pulled in, we immediately saw two people sitting next to a map of the trail, and we knew they would be our first interview. However, what we did not know was that it was going to start pouring rain and we would have to conduct the interview under the cover of the restroom stall. Bruce began the interview and quickly let the team take over with Lily, Nathalie, and Brigitte taking charge We learned that they were a trip leader and a student from the Outward Bound School in Leadville The trip leader, Tanmay Bain, was delighted to help the team with their survey and even stuck around to discuss Brigitte’s personal project with her!

After this interview, our confidence was soaring I thought that, due to the rain, we would have a tough time finding people, let alone people who would agree to stand in the pouring rain to answer our questions. It was a nice surprise to be wrong. There were often hikers and runners coming off the trail who would enthusiastically answer our questions. It was quite the scene because we had taken shelter from the rain in our van, and

Jesús Lara Rivas, ‘25 and Liam Mullen, ’26 preparing mangos and steak for some dinner-time burritos.

Photo by Cyndy Hines

whenever someone came within sight, one of our team members would say “I’ve got this! Does someone want to come with me?” and they would jump out of the van to approach the hiker.

At the end of our rainy hour at the trailhead, we had completed 10 interviews and received no rejections, which was spectacular

After a couple hours, the team decided they wanted more action, so we once again piled into the van and drove to the town of Westcliffe, an International Dark Skies Association certified area. Finding people to participate in the survey in town was a lot more difficult than at the trailhead Immediately, Nathalie and Liam experienced rejections I thought that experiencing rejection was going to be difficult on the team’s moral; however, they took it in their stride and immediately searched for another person. Conducting their interviews, the team appeared as though they had been doing this for a long time and today was not their first day. By the end of our session in town, we had collected an estimate of 37 interviews

That night, we layered up and drove to the Smoky Jack Observatory The first thing I

noticed was the usage of red light in the telescopes which I had never seen before, but Jesús had. He explained that it was used to see at night as an alternative to white light because it affected our vision and eyes less harshly, so we could see the stars more clearly while not contributing to light pollution This method spoke to the town’s commitment to preserving the dark sky. We were able to look through a series of telescopes to see the different constellations and galaxies. We interviewed some of the hosts and volunteers, and the consensus was that the event was definitely worth staying up late

The next morning, started the long drive towards Mancos State Park campground, which was right next to a beautiful lake. We set up our tents and decided to let everyone explore for an hour or so before cooking dinner. Liam and I went on a trail run around the lake which included getting lost several times and even crawling under barbed wire! Brigitte also went on her own run, Nathalie and Lily went to see if they could swim in the lake, and Jesús went on a hike. Afterward, we sat under the stars and drank hot chocolate. It was a very peaceful moment when we decided instead of rushing onto the next location we had planned, Gunnison, we would skip it all together and spend a day at Mesa Verde National Park and the surrounding towns

The next morning, we had a nice quiet breakfast and drove to Mesa Verde However, interviewing would look different because we were on National Park Service grounds and did not have the documentation to survey within National Parks (a program which we opted out of because we believed that wearing neon vests with clipboards would not help attract participants), so we decided just to have conversations with the park-goers, while not taking any notes, and asking for their contact information to follow up later.

After our day at Mesa Verde, we visited a giant Folk Art stand on the side of the highway Everywhere you looked there

were these crazy, huge wood carvings of popular figures like Obama and the Lorax, and animals like bears and raccoons We talked to the owner and designer of the folk art, Dave Sipe. He said that seeing the stars in the sky was very important to him and that he lived by the phrase “more love, less gov.”

On the final day of the first trip, we visited Durango and Chimney Rock National Monument where Nathalie talked to a ranger who stated that accessibility was an interesting issue for parks and monuments because decisions had to balance making them for everyone while also preserving the area around the trail. The Chimney Rock ranger also stated something similar to a ranger at Mesa Verde That the National Park Service has been facing increasing demands that they preserve dark skies and promote educational programming This is mainly rising from the recent tourist interest in protecting dark skies and being able to see the stars; a core issue that we are surveying.

Trip 2 was the most chaotic of them all. The plan was to go to several locations in Utah and Arizona to interview a variety of people for both the team’s main and individual projects It started with an

unexpected delayed start by a day, therefore cutting the trip short and forcing a re-evaluation of the locations we wanted to visit This re-evaluation was followed by not being able to find anyone to interview and the van getting stuck in the sand at Lake Powell.

On Wednesday, June 28th, we finally were able to leave Everyone was super excited and packed the van quickly to get as much of an early start as we could for the ninehour drive ahead of us As we entered Arizona, we listened to ABBA, making it a

mini dance party at the end of an extremely long and tiring drive. That night we camped at Valley of the Gods, right below the Lady in the Bathtub Butte The next morning, we packed up and drove to the town of Blanding We got a handful of interviews at a Native American Arts and Crafts store One of the most notable interviews was with a Navajo woman who worked behind the counter and a nearby gas station. She was very surprised that we had asked her to participate in the survey because she said no one had ever asked for her opinion even though she has lived on those lands all her life She also showed us some beautiful photos taken of the area When we were finished, we decided to drive towards Lake Powell hoping to find interviews at the campsite and in Page, AZ.

On our way there, we finally caught a break! We saw a bunch of people congregated on a piece of the highway taking pictures and a couple of jewelry stands We pulled over and realized that the reason this place was so packed, other than it being Monument Valley, was because it was Forrest Gump Hill, and that everyone here wanted to take a picture. It was amazing to see the impact a movie has on society making this hill in Utah a popular tourist destination.

At Monument Valley, Nathalie inter-

The 2023 PLSDS team on a canyon hike at Mesa Verde. Photo by Alison Mueller-Hicker, 26.

Liam Mullen, ‘26 admiring the rocks on the side of the canyon. Photo by Alison Mueller-Hicker, ‘26.

-viewed a couple of the Navajo vendors about the way they interpreted the stars and the night sky, and how their perspectives were different than ours

Liam attempted to interview one of the three bikers on massive Harley-Davidsons wearing a Trump 2020 shirt but got turned down. However, Liam did end up getting a short interview from a Polish man who had come in a large group. During the interview, he stopped Liam for a second, took out his phone, snapped a picture of the motorcycles, turned to Liam, and said “Oh, so American ”

At Lake Powell, we followed Cyndy to the beach where there were a hundred RVs were parked on the shoreline. It was fascinating to see all trucks and RVs and no tents. Next thing we knew, the van sputtered and then wouldn’t move no matter how much pressure Nathalie put on the pedal We were stuck

We started to shovel out the sand with our hands and once we felt like all tires had some reasonable space we told Nathalie to try to drive. Unfortunately, every time we did that the van only went a couple of feet and then stalled and sank. I decided to go find some shovels or someone to help pull our van out because

it looked like there were more than enough A couple lent us some shovels and offered to help us We took most of the air out of the tires to help with the sinking, and the couple brought their truck over to see if they could wench us out. Next thing we knew, there was a giant, raised truck bouncing on the sand coming right at us. The couple driving it attached us to the truck and drove. We all pushed with all our might and then the van started rolling and then it was gone We ran after it, cheering happily, and watched them drive it to the hard sand We were grateful for all their help

For the rest of the trip, the team would visit Horseshoe Bend, Dinosaur Tracks, Four Corners Monument, the Durango Farmer’s Market, and Treasure Falls.

Throughout the summer, we continued to improve on our interview skills and gained confidence The presence of a student group in the Mountain West states serves as an important reminder of

the necessity to corroborate online and telephone surveys with data collected in person Beyond the survey’s goal of gauging the individual characteristics of park attendees, how they recreate in the parks, attitudes toward climate change, and other conservation topics, it is important to recognize the voices and communities that are underrepresented and marginalized concerning access to recreation and in data collection throughout the region

During my time with the PLSDS team members, I had the opportunity to learn that a survey is dramatically impacted by the people conducting the interviews, so here are a few things I learned about Jesús, Liam, Lily, Nathalie, and Brigitte.

Jesús is a major team player and one of the most caring people you will ever meet He always thinks of others and truly believes that everyone has the capability of doing anything they put their mind to He is a great teacher and listener. When I told

Nathalie San Fratello, ‘25 looking at the horses in Utah. Photo by Lily Frost, ’26.

2023 PLSDS Team at Valley of the Gods. Photo by Cyndy Hines

Nathalie is the most spontaneous and energetic person. She knows how to make you laugh. She enjoys the little things and it is so easy to feel like you have known her for years She has a passion for fashion and up-cycling

Brigitte is motivated and intelligent It seems like she is involved in everything on campus and is incredibly knowledgeable. Her connection to public lands and outdoor recreation makes the project a thousand times more meaningful. She is also a bird watcher and loves to identify birds from far away I have never really found birds that interesting, but now I pay more attention to them because of Brigitte’s passion

Top: The crowd at Monument Valley / Forrest Gump Hill.

Bottom: Forrest Gump Hill at Monument Valley. Photos by

him I had never built a fire before and asked if he could show me, he said that not only was he was going to instruct me how to do it, but that I would build it by myself! It gave me so much confidence and I actually did it!

Liam is goofy and enjoys finding interesting trails. He knows how to make everyone laugh and will bring you on trail runs that are so amazing you forget you

This summer experience with the Public

honest opinion. She also has the most amazing talent for flower identification and will try to identify any flower you ask her to on a hike. She has a cool magnifier for her camera to pay attention to detail on the plants

RVs around Lake Powell | Photo by Alison MuellerHickler, ‘26

Meet the 2023 PLS Team

Corey Hutchins is the co-director of the Journalism Institute at Colorado College. His work has appeared on the cover of The Nation, The Washington Post, Slate, The Daily Beast, and The Texas Observer, among others Corey Hutchins started working with State of the Rockies last year by teaching the Public Land Survey team how to use the journalistic method in the field He joined the Public Lands Team because it is a great opportunity for students who are interested in putting their journalistic research and interviewing skills into practice in some of the most beautiful places in the West

For most of her childhood, Brigitte Arcoite '24 knew no connection to our natural world as she had grown up in a relatively dense metro area in Norwalk, CT This all changed when she was introduced to a small state-funded wilderness therapy-like program tucked away in the woods of northern Connecticut Brigitte's rigorous involvement in this reciprocal environment helped her discover her passion for environmental advocacy alongside a community-engaged approach She is eager to explore this passion in a new way alongside State of the Rockies

Lily Frost ‘26 is from Berkeley, California and pursuing an organismal biology and ecology major She is interested in human interactions with the natural world and minimizing our impact on different ecosystems. The dark skies public lands survey is a combination of her conservation and journalism interests and an opportunity to form a qualitative understanding of recreation and conservation in the Rocky Mountain west.

Jesús Lara Rivas '25 is studying Geochemistry at Colorado College He was born and raised in Venezuela; moved to New Mexico, for boarding school at UWC-USA He has played tennis for about 14 years and loves backcountry activities, particularly backpacking Jesús' not-so-common hobby is Archery His research interests vary from Geopolitics to Stable Isotope Geochemistry and Trace element Biogeochemistry He intends to use his individual research opportunity in the Dark Skies Project to study the effectiveness of Wilderness Areas as conservation-designated land or Isotopic Tracers of the impact of humans in federal lands

Liam Mullen '25 is a rising senior from Chapel Hill, North Carolina He enjoys running, hiking, and spending time outdoors His interest in conservation was sparked by spending time in the beautiful mountains of Colorado He plans to major in economics and is excited to work as part of the State of the Rockies project this summer

Nathalie San Fratello '25 is a senior from the city of Chicago As a Design Studies major and Feminist and Gender studies minor her interests combine studying art with a social purpose, fashion, and conscious consumption Her extracurriculars include being Fashion Club and B-Side president where she mainly organizes events for students to share their artwork In her free time, personal passions include upcycling fabrics and materials, walking, exploring, and yoga She is looking forward to working on the Dark Skies and Public Lands Research team, as she pursues field interviews relating to conservation in the West, sustainability, and natural textiles

Sydney Morris, ‘24 and Liam Kielty, ’25 appreciate the view from a Waldo Canyon field site. | Photo by Maren Greene ‘24

Are Rocky Mountain Western Starry Skies Worth Preserving?

By: Brigitte Arcoite ‘24, Jesús Lara Rivas, ‘25, Liam Mullen ‘26, Nathalie San Fratello ‘25, and Lily Frost, ‘26

Edited by Alison Mueller-Hickler, ‘26

Abstract:

Since 2011, the State of the Rockies Project has conducted the Conservation in the West Poll to gauge public opinion on conservation issues within the Rocky Mountain West region For the first time, the 2023 poll asked voters about their opinions on dark skies conservation Respondents overwhelmingly expressed support for dark skies conservation with 70% expressing that seeing the stars at night is significant to them. During the summer of 2023, the Public Lands Survey team set out to understand why this trend occurred. The team spoke with 388 visitors and residents at around 65 state parks, downtown areas, gas stations, and shops in the Rocky Mountain Region. The survey included four qualitative questions to build an understanding of both the personal significance of seeing the stars and concerns surrounding the current conservation/development and tourism dilemma. These questions were somewhat personalized to enable the team to allow more intimate conversations and reflections. While on the surface the team carried out research surrounding the issue of conserving the dark skies in the Rocky Mountain region, what people shared tended to go beyond what the questions asked Several people expressed difficulty answering the questions, because they were unfamiliar with the themes or had interpreted the questions differently Respondents often used the language of light pollution to express and share other issues within their community Finally, there were some individuals who expressed that dark skies conservation was not significant or important to them The Public Lands Survey team created the following question in response to these situations: Why is (or isn’t) seeing the stars important? When comparing these conversations, it is clear that the importance of conserving the night sky is complicated by several factors, but it is nonetheless worth discussing.

Introduction:

The overarching research question was to understand how public lands are enjoyed by different groups.

Nuances in the responses collected during the summer of 2022 research periods prompted the 2023 team to expand the scope of this research to dark skies conservation and light pollution issues The primary goal of the research was to inform policy-making, but additional goals were to understand how/why public land users’ attitudes and activities may influence dark skies conservation efforts. How dark skies designation affects tourism and the communities surrounding federal, state and indigenous lands was also of interest

To better understand people’s perspectives we inquired about the impact of being able to see the stars on their personal lives, their community, and the quality of their relationships to nature A significant part of our respondents indicated not being familiar with the subject and/or not being well informed about what dark skies conservation measures would look like Such limitations support the recommendation this research has for education based policy making. With that being said, several communities surveyed including Westcliffe, CO or Las Vegas, NM had legislation (Dark Skies Ordinances) that were enforced to varying degrees

Lastly, representation is an important part of this year’s surveying Given the

historical and cultural heritage of the Rocky Mountain region, it was important to represent BIPOC perspectives in the region. We attempted to highlight the voices of marginalized perspectives in environmental policy a space in which they have historically been excluded from by intentionally selecting locations where minority groups are representative of the population Study Area:

The Rocky Mountain region is the region of focus for the Conservation in the West Poll Taking advantage of our location in central Colorado, the team traveled to northern New Mexico and Arizona; Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and the southern Idaho Sawtooth Range; and all the way up

to West Yellowstone, Montana. In doing so, a broad data set of the attitudes and opinions regarding dark skies conservation in these Rocky Mountain states was achieved Visitors, travelers, and passersby were interviewed at approximately 65 locations ranging from gas stations and city parks to BLM lands and state parks Access to federal lands was limited as national parks, recreation areas, and monuments all require permits for surveying. Parks proximal to Native American populations were chosen in hopes of filling the gap in previous year’s data regarding diversity and inclusion in outdoor spaces and recreational activities

Methods:

The methodology used for this project was journalistic by nature. Through conversation, the team uncovered many opinions and issues within the conservation of dark skies. Speaking directly with interview subjects that were interacting with the night sky, public lands, and the tourism industry, we found that most people were willing to have a friendly conversation about their personal experiences We used some questions from last year ' s survey to cover demographics and formed new questions specific to the dark skies, conservation, and monetization.

The 387 survey respondents were asked for their names, ages, zip codes, methods of travel to public lands, and accommodations while in public land areas in addition to five open-ended questions The first open-ended question was various versions of “What are you doing here [in the area in which they were interviewed]?”. The next two questions were, again using slightly varied phrasings, “How important are stars to your visit here today?” (if in a town) or “How important are stars to your decision to live here?” (if locals) and “To what extent does seeing stars influence your life?” Finally, respondents were asked “To what extent do you support dark skies conservation?” and “To what extent do you support the monetization of dark skies for tourism purposes?”.

The final question, the “monetization of dark skies” refers to the use of dark skies, primarily through advertising, by towns, national parks, and other areas as a way to bring in tourists to support local economies or generate revenue for parks In the field, people responded well to both the personal and direct approaches to asking for an interview The team found that question phraseology changed and developed over the course of the summer, to accommodate efficiency and ease of understanding.

Talking with individuals in locations such as trails and gas stations, allowed us to get valuable responses that may not be accessible or organic through a more rigid surveying method We selected the places we visited, strategically, for a more thorough collection of data. In trip planning we began by researching what popular public land sites were in proximity to national parks, monuments and towns We also looked into dark sky reserves like Westcliffe, CO, and aimed to visit places with favorable access to the night sky

Another goal in finding our interview locations was to identify land histories and indigenous populations of the areas in order to ensure that more diverse populations would be at our chosen sites We interviewed at public parks, campsites, national monuments, shops in small towns, and even at museums The more successful locations varied in each state and were sometimes more unpredictable. For example, our success in West Yellowstone was directly related to the amount of tourist traffic passing through near the Yellowstone National Park Over time we figured out what locations would be popular by practice, although sometimes we would have to change our route and reschedule the day of interviews

Overall, combining journalistic interviewing with the route we planned, allowed us to form connections with interviewees and uncover more personal and raw opinions, ideas, and beliefs

Figure 1: Heatmap of Respondant Zip Codes

Results:

The average age of respondents in the survey was 49.6 years old, with a minimum age of 18 and a maximum age of 87 years, and 26 respondents chose not to share their ages The average distance traveled by participants was 531 miles (keeping in mind matching zip codes are counted as no distance traveled). For the question “To what extent does seeing stars influence your life?”, the responses were purely qualitative and thus were difficult to analyze with standard statistical methods The results for each of the remaining questions are shown below in pie charts

In addition to an analysis of these questions, the research team identified several qualitative themes of interest that were prevalent throughout their interviews. These included a “love it to death” dialogue, where triumphs like access to public lands are complicated by auxiliary concerns such as noise and light pollution A detailed analysis of the language in these conversations indicates that 14% expressed this concern for a dilemma as it relates to conservation and monetization.

Another theme to note was the large number of interviewees mentioning their concern for others not being able to see the dark skies In some form or another 16 58% of respondents expressed that they held this concern, and they expressed this as a wariness of the exclusivity of monetization or a need for access when it came to viewing the stars.

Discussion:

It is evident that the stars matter to people Based on our results a majority of respondents expressed that the stars were an important part of their visit While each individual had a unique story of their own, it was often expressed that the stars were seen as a form of connection: to others, to culture, to faith, or the mystery of life. With that being said, 28% of people did not share this sentiment. While the results indicating importance are significant enough to justify policy implications for dark skies conservation, this research asks us to further investigate

why a large number of respondents did not express that the stars were an important part of their visit

Analysis of the questions regarding support for dark skies conservation and monetization suggest that this area is

complicated by several factors Responses to these questions were varied, but included concerns about cost, too much government, a need for management, the desire for education, a need for access, and an awareness that monetization and public lands could change the stars.

Title | Photo by Name 'GY

Figure 2: Heatmap of Responses by Age Group

Figure 3: Pie chart of modes of travel used to reach public lands

Figure 4: Pie chart of living accommodations at location of survey

6:

levels of how important seeing the stars at night is to decision to visit a public lands area or live in a place (if a local)

These along with other themes identified during the analysis such as feelings about light pollution and concern about others not being able to see the stars would make for interesting questions in future iterations of the research.

Several limitations come to mind when thinking about the structure in which the data was gathered For one, while questions were standardized, the journalistic methods of interviewing, may have changed the way the questions were phrased when interacting with respondents. Additionally, while a significant amount of the respondents were locals, the majority were tourists or passers-through, which would limit the representativeness of the regions we were surveying With that being said, the goal was to gather opinions about public land use, so the large population of tourists is not unexpected or unwelcome in our analysis. Finally, the National Parks Service (NPS) requires approval beforehand and oversight over the questions being asked in the park, so we decided to opt out of surveying in NPS administered land, which created significant logistical challenges and a potential gap in the representativeness of

the results

Conclusion:

The recent introduction of dark skies conservation questions in the Conservation in the West Poll produced unexpected results If there’s one thing most people agree on, it’s that people want to see the stars While previous Public Lands Survey teams have surveyed public land visitors on a myriad of themes surrounding conservation, none have focused on the thoughts and feelings surrounding seeing the stars at night. The main goal of the 2023 Public Lands Survey team was to ground-truth the findings of the poll, while also digging deeper to uncover the emotions, concerns, insights, and local histories of seeing the stars A parallel goal was to make the results of our poll more representative of the American population by seeking out survey areas suited to this goal. Several common themes emerged, many of them were expected based on our previous research; however, there were several that revealed intriguing results

For one, around 50% of respondents indicated that they supported dark skies conservation with a remaining 25% being undecided. Likewise, about 60% of respondents indicated some level of support for dark skies monetization with about 30% remaining undecided. At least part of this portion of “undecided” respondents has to do with a lack of awareness about what the dark skies are, let alone conservation and monetization issues relating to them It is clear then,

through this limited understanding of the dark skies, there is a need for education that raises awareness about issues relating to the dark skies.

Another likely cause for these “undecided” numbers was the relatively high prevalence of subjects who indicated some level of concern for a “Catch-22” or “love it to death” relationship as it relates to conservation and monetization

Based on a qualitative analysis of responses to those questions regarding conservation and monetization, about 14% of subjects expressed this concern.

An unexpected result that emerged during this analysis was the high degree of subjects who indicated they supported monetization Reasons for this support varied from anticipated benefits to the economy, local population, tourists, and even conservation efforts. Perhaps future research with more refined questions about these specific themes would provide more meaningful and specific results

A similarly surprising result was the theme among respondents in which people were concerned just as much about others not being able to access or experience the stars. This outwardly focused concern for strangers conveys the universal importance of being able to see and connect to the stars as an extension of ourselves

Based on these results, policy implications are clear

Figure 5: Pie chart of reasons for being in the survey location/activities being done

Figure

Pie chart of

Figure 7: Pie chart showing levels of support/opposition for conservation of dark skies

Figure 8: Pie chart showing levels of support/opposition for monetization of dark skies

For one, it is not only emotionally impactful, but also politically and economically viable to pursue the protection of dark skies landscapes To a similar end, raising awareness about and educating on dark skies conservation, local star stories, and potential solutions, may not only ignite further interest in the issue, but work to solve part of the problem.

Literature Review:

In an attempt to answer the question of who is using public lands we reviewed sources accounting for differences in park visitation between racial/ethnic groups: marginality discrimination, or subculture (Krymkowski, Daniel, et al , 2014) The study’s results were in line with the common finding that white visitation to national parks is higher than that of black people. However, it found that Hispanic visitation was similar to whites ( 30% of Hispanics have visited a national park in the past year versus ~35% of whites) A more recent study that went into depth into lack of African American visitation to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park found the exclusion of African Americans from historical and present promotional documents despite proximity to large African American communities in the South (Sultana, Selima, et al., 2023). Combined with the current majority of white GSMNP workers and communities surrounding the park, may contribute to the feeling among African Americans that they “do not belong” Based on previous NPS findings that older generations were more likely to visit national parks, Dustin Lee Wilson’s research found the mean age of park visitors between 1988 and 2011 to be 39.5 (2015).

Many of our national and state parks are located on indigenous heritage sites, park and land use can erode these sites of cultural and spiritual importance (Stoffle, Richard , et al , 2020) This study aims to answer how we can center intersectional and marginalized identities in park interpretations and media. Some suggestions include ending trails far away from important sites, re-establish indigenous stewardship- including

Figure 9: Heatmap of importance of seeing stars to visit or decision to live in an area

presence of traditional ecological knowledge, prayer, and cleaning practices- by returning the lands to tribal governments. Reclaiming a Presence in Ancestral Lands reviews the exclusionary history of indigenous people from their lands and those promised to them (Wolfley, 2016).

Significant changes from the Clinton administration required US federal entities to treat tribes as governments and deal with them accordingly and a “pledge by President Clinton in 1994 to uphold the trust obligations of the federal government to Indian tribes”, as well as expanding the rights of tribes. Most significantly, statements from the National Parks system claim they would

be as unrestrictive as possible in allowing indigenous people to use federal lands for what they were historically used for, including ceremony or prayer. This, of course, does not eliminate all obstacles to rematriation of indigenous lands. Anderson and Moratto examine how “pristine and untouched lands” at the time of colonization until establishing the national parks were and have always been shaped by Native American use throughout history Traditional Ecological Knowledge of people native to the Sierra Nevada range can be used to maintain these lands more effectively. Removal of indigenous people from their lands has led to “disequilibrium” of many biomes in the area. Furthermore, recent fire suppression methods have led to decline

in biodiversity. The authors argue that management of these areas and others should be led with the knowledge of historical and pre-colonial land-shaping behaviors and the direct consultation of Native American and ecological specialists (1996)

Scafer and colleagues found that leave no trace practices are considered effective and easy to practice from a study of hikers in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (2022). Steady increases in park visitation have contributed to overuse of trails and other areas, the author is a proponent of employing carrying capacities in the parks (Timmons, 2019) addressing the question of park overuse and “love it to death” (S dl l 2023)

References

Anderson, M. K., & Moratto, M. J.Native american land-use practices and ecological impacts baby_boomer_NP

Krymkowski, D. H., Manning, R. E., & Valliere, W. A. (2014). Race, ethnicity, and visitation to national parks in the united states: Tests of the marginality, discrimination, and subculture hypotheses with national-level survey data. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 7-8, 35-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2014.09.008

Schafer, D. M., Bobilya, A. J., Schultz, J., Mr, O. E. B., & Lawhon.Schafer2022

Stoffle, R., Seowtewa, O., Kays, C., & Van Vlack, K. (2020). Sustainable heritage tourism: Native american preservation recommendations at arches, canyonlands, and hovenweep national parks. MDPI AG. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12239846

Sultana, S., Merced, J., Weber, J., Allen, R., & Carlton, G. (2023). Great smoky mountains national park and its missing black visitors: A preliminary analysis on the hidden architecture of landscape. Project MUSE. https://doi.org/10.1353/sgo.2023.0003

Timmons, A. L.Too much of a good thing: Overcrowding at america' s national parks

William, A. S., Cheryl, L. J., & Brooke, M. G. (2023). Are we loving our national parks to death? A call for research on crime and law enforcement in the U.S. national park system. Criminal Justice Review, 48(1), 85-105. https://doi.org/10.1177/07340168211015726

Wolfley, J.Reclaiming a presence in ancestral lands:: The return of native peoples to the national parkshttps://doi.org/10.2307/24889110

Colorado Springs Light District 3 East. Colorado Springs Baptist Church near Academy District 20 Transportation Department. | Photo by Alison Mueller-Hickler, ‘26

Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Photo by Alex Aronie ‘26.

“Artificial light from the town of Blanding glows in the distance. For locals concerned about protecting the area, questions loom whether pervasive light pollution from rural development and population growth will someday be a problem.”

- Cyndy Hines

Bears Ears National Monument, Utah | Photo by Megan O’Brien, ‘25

Witnessing the Impact of Light Pollution: a Weaving of Conversations, Stories and Key Words

By Nathalie San Fratello , ‘25

This summer the Dark Skies Public Lands Survey team spoke with 387 people on public lands of the southwest in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho, and Wyoming. Out of the 387 individuals, 79 of the respondents brought up light and 52 mentioned light pollution. The variety of responses about the need for darkness amidst a time of immense artificial lighting, showed me the complexities of climate issues relating to urban sprawl, tourism, and environmental destruction and how they persist in our everyday life The information presented was not direct or straightforward in any way. We spoke with tourists, locals, and indigenous communities that all expressed different connections to the night sky. There is not one understanding of belonging in regards to the stars In my work I will try to confront these divides, by demonstrating that all of us are related to the sky in different ways, and all of us need it for different reasons. Due to these differences, our beliefs on light pollution vary but it is shown that most of us agree that it is a growing issue that creates a

multitude of issues we can’t easily categorize and solve The most common shared opinion I found this summer was that most people love to, need to and enjoy being connected to the outdoors, as they feel more human looking at the sky.

With my first written attempt, I tried to organize our conversations where respondents mentioned light pollution into four categories of key themes and terms The categories I outlined were Minimize Light Pollution, Cities and Sprawl, Turn Your Lights Off, and Not An Issue. As I tried to sift through these conversations I found them to be very contradictory, interconnected, and impossible to simplify. The categories I defined are not the main focus in this written piece, but they are addressed more thoroughly in my artistic response, a woven installation, Illuminated: Stories of Light Pollution in the Southwest I decided that communicating the interpersonal information we found would be better explained through an artistic reflection. As an artist working

with fibers, I am interested in communicating through embodied woven works, utilizing material selection, and weaving as a social and artistic practice. With this piece I summarize the conversations visually and physically in a woven textile map to represent the communities of the Southwest presenting a tapestry of the social and humanistic stories of the areas we visited

People care about solutions:

Public lands visitors who have seen the stars at night care about the impact it has had on them. Legislation and regulation of businesses and caps on visitation numbers to public lands were some of the larger solutions that arose Within the Dark Skies Public Lands Team’s survey, it is apparent that the implementation of increased access and education regarding night sky knowledge is important as it was frequently brought up in connection to schools, conservatories, and community projects. Of the 52 people who mentioned light pollution directly, 23 of them said

Nathalie’s exhibit at the State of the Rockies Project’s 2024 Data Viz Night end-of-year event: Conversations on Light Pollution in the Southwest: Emphasized Stories and Key Words. Scan the QR code to find out more!

| Photo by Cyndy Hines

that minimizing its effects was important to them and they usually provided a personal opinion on how that would be possible All of these visitors, whether they are from urban or rural places, must pay for gas, lodging, access, and food, while they seek out a vacation from work, a re-set in the outdoors, or a recreational dream of theirs.

In order to experience the untouched land of the southwest, one must pay many fees. Parks, visitor centers, hotels, campsites, towns, all rely on high visitation numbers to operate as stars become a natural phenomenon we capitalize on as their visibility diminishes Some respondents plainly stated that they visited these areas to see the stars, and others had never even thought of being somewhere without stars. Outdoor tourism of the Southwest relies on self constructed narratives and advertisements that historicize and further colonize indigenous populations in surrounding areas, as well as local connections to dark skies Although visitors of public lands care about the night sky and want to provide solutions to light pollution, their presence can pose contradictory issues. The more visitors there are, the more access, the more infrastructure, the more business, the more expensive the stars become.

An overarching theme I looked at in this project is the Love it to Death concept In a standout interview with Cody Cammack, a Forest Service ranger at Chimney Rock National Monument, I learned about the downsides of making dark sky tourism more accessible, and how hard it is to create sustainable yet inclusive programs for education and access. Cammack, a Pagosa Springs local, works to make the Chimney Rock Monument and night sky area accessible not just for visitors but also locals of the indigenous communities in the Chimney Rock area

Durango, the surrounding town, is an area home to 26 current sovereign tribal nations and roots of 11 ancestral tribes. Chimney Rock as a geologic formation is known as a historical site to ancestral Puebloans who occupied the formation

for rituals relating to cultural beliefs relating to celestial, spiritual and ritual, but it still holds great importance to tribes in the area. People like Cammack of the Forest Service, do important work of Night Sky programming, partnering with the San Juan Stargazers, indigenous communities in the area and other nonprofit partners that run educational programs Chimney Rock was one of the only monuments we visited that honors the history of the night sky in the area intentionally by installing historically inclusive signage, partnering with indigenous artists to design the space, promoting indigenous artwork, and closing the monument for community gatherings Aside from its community partnerships, the monument was designed with low light architecture and limits the amount of visitors it has in a season.

In my conversation with Cammack she mentioned that, “the label "dark skies” helps bolster our wildness.” Dark skies is a term that has grown in popularity as our

urban areas become more filled with artificial light She also mentioned that “celestial phenomenon and history is noted in this place, so we are trying to get this experience as close to what it was for the people that were here,” and “we do want to make it accessible to as many people as possible but not allow them to love the place to death " Her work helps to provide an experience for visitors and indigenous communities who have a different connection to the sites' celestial significance There was an overarching perspective that stars are amazing, important, and magical.

“we do want to make it accessible to as many people as possible but not allow them to love the place to death."

-Cody Cammack

Nathalie’s project description

For most visitors, they couldn’t imagine a visit to public lands without the night sky. Many locals expressed that they love where they live because of the stars, and their families' histories in the area. When speaking with individuals of local indigenous populations, the sky seemed to be of unspeakable importance Creation stories, ancestral livelihoods and current cultural needs are alive because of the sky Mya Willie grew up seeing the Milky way on the Navajo Reservation in San Juan County Utah. Her family relies on moonlight as a source of light at night, but they also stay connected to the dark sky through sharing oral histories and creation stories I met her at her family's tourist destination called Dinosaur tracks, a site of stalls and hand painted signs off Highway 261 Here her family leads tours of the little craters left in bedrock,

supposedly dinosaur tracks.

When we started talking about dark sky conservation Mya told me that she had never witnessed light pollution. She remarked “I'm happy you said there is natural light at night from the sky and that it's important " We are connected even though we have had such different experiences with the sky After the conversation I felt like I had gained a better understanding of what it meant to have the stars be a more integral part of community, and home. To most people that mentioned light and light pollution, stars are part of who we are as people, they are location specific wherever we may be and we rely on the stars for ancestral, spiritual, cultural belonging at varying degrees At the forefront of this shared experience which is looking at the

sky, people have different experiences of belonging.

As the culmination of my summer research, I will be visualizing these conversations I had on light pollution. In my woven map, tactile information, shown using size, texture, and color will provide a synthesis of conversations Weaving is a deeply historic and interpersonal practice Everytime I have been in weaving spaces, talking, sharing and learning occurs while the pieces are made. I feel that my approach to this project was more about the emotional, unique and personal moments I experienced when in conversation with strangers during interviews

Nathalie San Fratello, ‘25 and Cyndy Hines share Nathalie’s success at Data Viz Nite 2024.| Photo by Sabine Zenter, ‘25.

Stream moss, Waldo Canyon |

Photo by Maren Greene ‘24

On the Outside, in the Outside

By Brigitte Arcoite, ‘24

We clasp sticky hands and stand for a moment, silent In the chaos of the day, we stand together, silent Our randomly chosen leader asks for someone to share a quote One of us talks We listen Reflect Then, the pulse is passed around the circle, a simple squeeze that everyone gives and everyone receives The beauty in this moment begins with the knowledge that we are all strangers The decisive “peace and chow” tells us that we may unclasp and eat This is Chow Circle, one of many traditions at the Wilderness School Its lesson is silent but heard: ‘You’re a community now ’

The Wilderness School wasn’t our first choice for summer vacation. After all, the grueling effort of repeatedly slogging up and down mountains with a crap ton of weight is a niche activity, outside of CC. But the alternative was less than attractive: juvenile detention, a summer stuck in a group home, or the risk of being taken away from your family. To be out there, accumulating those layers of dirt and sweat, was a privileged punishment. And suddenly, it wasn’t punishment at all but something you worshiped. Every last salt soaked second.

Each of us had our own reasons for being there But our reasons for coming back were almost always the same: being outside was the one place where we’d never felt we were on the outside

Founded in 1973, the Wilderness School is one of few programs whose structure is inclusive by nature And that’s not a coincidence

Outdoor recreation has been dominated by white faces since its early beginnings when environmental thinkers Henry David Thoreau and John Muir transformed the “popular” imagination of wilderness from one of ruggedness to romantics. Thoreau, for instance, is known for his period defining Walden, which popularized the value of a simple and introspective life in nature Meanwhile, Muir was the founder of the long-active Sierra Club and was responsible for supporting the establishment of numerous national parks. For all of their contribution to early American conservation, these men predictably failed in their discriminatory views towards others, particularly Indigenous, Black, and immigrant populations

Despite their own transcendentalist view on the unity in all things, they refused to see the unity in all humans. Despite their commitment to the conservation of wild beauty, they forced the native stewards of the land to leave their homes. And these contradictions undoubtedly carried into current discriminatory perceptions as to who belongs in outdoor spaces

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recmain/giffordpinchot/recreation

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/inyo/recarea/?recid=21875

Top: Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Washington. Photo by USDA Forest Service.

Bottom: John Muir Wilderness, California. Photo by USDA Forest Service.

The flood of national parks established in the early 19th century was fueled by more than just innocent motivations for environmental protection Influential names like Rockefeller donated excessive amounts of land establishing the Grand Teton, Acadia, and Shenandoah national parks And alongside all of these plans were the projections that the federal government and other judicious entrepreneurs would profit immensely from the “newfound” beauties. They weren’t wrong.

Nowadays, while far more cost-effective than traveling across the world, traveling to these “public lands” can still be immensely prohibitive if you do not have the privilege. While it might be easy for some to swing on a backpack and drive for the mountains, this in-and-of itself can be prohibitively expensive in terms of time and money. Take for example, Jackson Hole of Teton Valley This community has bypassed the sprawling metros of New York as the county with the largest income disparity within the U S, where the top 1% make 142 2 times more than the bottom 99%.

While uber-wealthy Americans flock to this region for its natural beauty and state level tax shelter, recent Latin American immigrants struggle to afford burgeoning housing costs, often living in trailers in distant outskirts of these communities This is all while many are working two or even three jobs to keep their heads above water These hardworking families who are in need of the relaxation of the outdoors as much as anyone else can hardly afford to live there, let alone find access to the abundance of recreational opportunities. But to live here is a must for most because of the abundance of job opportunities that result from such concentrated spending and wealth

Since white settlers began forcing native people off their land, environmentalism has been white washed. Without prompting, most white individuals (including myself) would not think about the historical and present-day traumas that are intertwined with being outdoors

A driving force in my decision to come to CC was built around the awareness of the robust outdoor community. For me being outdoors has always bred connection, community, and for the first time belonging Naively, I didn’t think anything other than that outcome as possible My backpacking leader training was my first experience “on the outside, in the outside.” While we were out there learning how to enrich this experience for others, especially first-timers, one leader was focusing his energy on doing the opposite for me For about a week I was given strange looks, told I couldn’t use the bathroom when I needed to, criticized for every action I did or didn’t take, and yet everyone loved him. I was alone.

And while I’d like to say it was all in my head, a conversation towards the end of the trip told me it very much wasn't The important piece is that this opened my eyes to the reality that existed outside of my sheltered experience with the Wilderness School, and even within it.

At its simplest, if someone doesn't feel safe outside how can they be expected to foster a relationship with the space they’re in?

This is yet another barrier to access that can’t be addressed with marketing and accessibility alone And this barrier is one that extends beyond a concern for physical safety. In my conversations one of the biggest themes addressed was a lacking sense of belonging. Whether it was through outdoorsy jargon, inadequate training, or an overly strong emphasis on the physical experiences in the outdoors, time and time again, interviewees shared how they were othered in this way or that There is something we can all do here to make these spaces more accessible.

THE PEOPLE

In my pursuit to understand the current scope of the problem, I asked three sets of questions depending on the participant's role as either a student or educator This provided me with a lot of answers to a lot of questions, which unfortunately, can’t be sufficiently covered here. With that being said, a lot of insight came from students and educators alike, who helped explain (given their experiences) the current challenges and opportunities in outdoor education spaces.

A wildland firefighter I met in Jackson Hole, WY shared how his unique path engaging with the outdoors began with community engagement work, where he joined a Student Conservation Association program in Grand Teton National Park. While the team oriented aspect of the Boy Scouts may have served others well, he realized early on that engaging in large groups outside simply wasn’t for him So he sees his time biking, climbing, and skiing as a space reserved for himself where he can reset, be alone, and have fun In reflecting on this story, it’s amazing that he was able to get out there and jump into these activities for the first time on his own. But with such a steep learning curve and high cost of entry to outdoor recreation, it’s also rare. One thing is clear, though, from this

conversation: you don’t need anyone but yourself to be outside.

Some of the biggest challenges cited were a lack of available funding, not properly educating staff on issues of equity and inclusion combined with the fact that conceptual DEI conversations can often have a marginalizing effect for students of color and the COVID-19 pandemic; but 2020 was also a year of opportunity While the pandemic brought the challenge of dwindling participation rates to most outdoor education programs, it also provided momentum for a pedagogical shift in outdoor education practices

pedagogical shift in outdoor education practices

When it comes to feedback about the CC community, one individual noted that the barrier to entry within Outdoor Education was unnecessarily high for reasons that didn’t even necessarily relate to identity For one, they felt that marketing for OE opportunities was not accessible Despite there being a listserv for OE events, unless you know about that listserv, there is no other way to learn about current opportunities going out. This, he said, had the effect of “[making] it cliquey.” And, while he shared that the Bridge Scholar OE training was a great opportunity, he felt that it didn’t prepare him well enough for the more technical experience needed to lead a group of peers Beyond this, he shared a general belief that the culture within outdoor spaces needs to shift from one of expertise and performance, to one of community and welcomeness.

In responding to a question about his engagement in outdoor recreation as a child he shared that he would casually bike and run around his neighborhood, “but if I were to tell a CC student my experience maybe people wouldn’t count it as outdoors ”

Challenges were just as present at the institutional scale, where leaders of over twelve outdoor education programs shared with me how they are integrating DEIJ frameworks into their work

Some of the biggest challenges cited were a lack of available funding, not properly educating staff on issues of equity and inclusion combined with the fact that conceptual DEI conversations can often have a marginalizing effect for students of color and the COVID-19 pandemic; but 2020 was also a year of opportunity. While the pandemic brought the challenge of dwindling participation rates to most outdoor education programs it

The most successful approaches were those modeling innovative strategies that got to the root of the problems in their community. My conversation with Amanda Fong, Community Engagement Coordinator of Three Rivers Park District in Minnesota, provides hope for the organizations leading the way towards justice in non-traditional spaces This park is considered a special park district with a count of 400 staff year round and 2000 seasonally Its breadth of resources and facilities, which includes a downhill ski area, five nature centers, and several golf-courses, is explained by location and funding from a high-income tax base. For the past eight years, however, Amanda has been working on building partnerships and relationships focused on removing barriers

Although several programs and initiatives have helped in achieving this goal one

Students on an Outdoor Ed trip, from the CC Outdoor Ed website.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming from above

provides comprehensive camping gear for a group of up to 50 people

Beyond just supplying the gear, the community engagement team engaged with community leaders on how to best facilitate an overnight camping experience promoting ownership of their own experiences This program started from humble beginnings, with only three groups trained to use the trailer But after a “slow build” now the trailer is in use, serving between 30-50 people every weekend between May and October. They begin the process for all their programs, but especially this one, with connecting to the community to understand what the needs and wants are

“If there are a lot of people expressing interest in swimming, why isn’t that something our program already provides access to? Well, a lot of the structured swimming lessons fill up very quickly and aren’t as attentive to cultural differences,” Amanda detailed.

Similarly, Amanda’s team has grown in their understanding of the importance of flexibility She noted how, in the early days of the office she would get an expression of interest from groups of community members for educational experiences, but by the time they’d get in touch, they were booked out. Now, in

order to accommodate for potential lastminute requests by affinity groups within the community, the education team has training and times blocked out on their calendar in order to increase accessibility.

“It's not a tool-kit but a lot of anticipating needs are asking what those needs are,” Amanda says Perhaps most important of all was having staff members who were representative and part of the communities themselves

At the end of the day, what seems to build this success is a lot of “relationship building,” flexibility, and “active listening.” Early on, Amanda notes, the team was going back and forth asking to see if their programs were meeting the needs of community members And in those early years, according to her, they weren’t Now, as Amanda shares, “we don't need to ask that question, because we know we ' re hitting our priority audience 100% of the time.”

So why is all of this important? As one former CC student shared, “It's kind of inexplicable how much meaning the outside brings to your life " And that’s exactly what others echo when responding to one of my questions about how being outside adds meaning to their life:

“It makes me feel more free because it means I can actually spend quality time with family ” - Teenager in Taos, NM

“It is my meaning. I gained so much from it and it's something that's integral to myself and every one of my close relationships in my life ” - Community Engagement Coordinator of outdoor organization in Colorado Springs

“[It] improves my mental health so much New lease on life ” - Former CC student

“I would describe it as like cleaning the pipes… Kind of just washes away the muck of the day.” - CC Staff member

“My analogy in life [comes] from mountain biking If you know you ' re looking at the rock and you can overcome it, it's like anything in life ” - Community Engagement Coordinator of outdoor organization in Colorado

After seeing countless responses to just one of my questions about what it means to be outdoors, it’s clear that the meaning varies immensely from person to person To be a leader can mean many things To be outdoors can mean many things So let’s all be a little more generous in our definitions

And yet the Wilderness School isn’t perfect. When I worked for them in the summer of 2021, enlightened by my

Sledding hill in Elm Creek Park Reserve, part of the Three Rivers Park District in Minnesota. | Photo from the Three Rivers Park District website.

experiences at CC I beg differently. I noticed how instructor staff was wh How there was no atten training when a m community were studen one of my studen experienced microaggres sexual advances in wh imagined was a sheltere any other space, outdoor exclusive and harm rep offers a unique opportun

If done well, outdoor ed you find yourself, build connect you It can nurtu do all of this and more allow it. This experience isolation. Exclusivity i starts and ends with raci

THE PROPOSAL

The goal at the beginni was not to contribute t g g y of literature. Instead, it was to have conversations and find points of connection. The opportunity to participate in these engaging conversations on the future of outdoor education was enlightening, and more than anything else worked to shift my own limited understanding of the issue Significant and dedicated progress towards enhancing community, accessibility, and inclusivity is already being made at OE as they transform the structure of their leader training and development. In any case, it’s clear that this will be an ongoing challenge, with a need for continued conversations aimed at exploring and understanding a variety of interests and experiences And a college campus is the perfect place for those conversations to be started.

As one of my biggest inspirations at the Wilderness School taught me, being in community can change the world. But that community has to start with yourself Peace and chow

REFERENCES

Elm Creek Park Reserve | Three Rivers Park District. www.threeriversparks.org/location/elmcreek-park-reserve.

“Henry David Thoreau, a Man Who Took Simplicity to Heart - American Essence.” American Essence, 14 Jan. 2023, www.americanessence.com/henry-david-thoreau-a-man-who-tooksimplicity-to-heart_10408.html.

Location | Jackson, WY. www.jacksonwy.gov/214/Location.

Our Story, Our Mission - Colorado College. www.coloradocollege.edu/offices/outdooreducation/about-us/index.html.

Wikipedia contributors. “John Muir.” Wikipedia, 24 July 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muir.

Venable Lakes trip from CC OE website | Photo by Walker Thompson ‘26

Herman’s Gulch, Arapahoe National Forest | Photo by Macy McCauley ‘25.

Examining Awe: A Pathway for Collective Emotion

By Lily Frost, ‘26

Introduction

The experience of aesthetic awe in nature is highly sought after within the structure of modern society. The transcendental emotion of awe provides a pathway for breaking our ego-ties to individualism and can make us feel a complicated and wonderful sort of smallness In our rapidly changing world, it is crucial that we celebrate and embrace beauty. Vast beauty can make us feel insignificant, and through this experience we can be liberated from our individualism. Sharing awe with others can create opportunities for deeper connection and breaking away from the shallow values of consumption and mindbody dualism To create my case for mindfully paying attention to others and the state of our world, I discussed with various academics, strangers, and artists

how the emotional response to aesthetic nature manifests, and how this impacts their relationship to the lands and communities they inhabit.

Research

Vastness, wild nature, and indescribable beauty are often cited as elicitors of transcendent emotions Awe is a type of beauty that surpasses our vocabulary and societal frames of reference (Piff et al., 2015). It can be a collective emotion (Seo et al., 2022), capable of motivating individuals to seek something larger than the self The experience of awe awakens self-transcendence, and in turn inspires one to pursue the authentic self (Jiang & Sedikides, 2022) Such powerful emotion can bring one out of the self and may reaffirm individual belief in a higher power, for some that may be inclination

towards religiosity or spirituality (Bethelmy & Corraliza, 2019). Furthermore, it is “the emotion that arises when one encounters something so strikingly vast that it provokes a need to update one’s mental schemas” (Rudd, et al , 2012) Many people’s lives are confined to the landscapes of modern society Veering outside of the ordinary and experiencing awe can reveal universal truths that are obscured in our concrete jungles.

Transcendent emotion and empathy are entangled with our human existence; almost a fact of life Philosophers from Proust to Kant have explored beauty as a gift, as liberation from subjectivity, conformity, and the obligation of moral goodness. Just as easily beauty can remind us of the responsibility we have to one another and to our world. Suger and Hegel regard art as the bridge between the spiritual and physical. They see it as the way we synthesize the beauty of the

Mormon Row, Teton National Park, Wyoming. | Photo by Lily Frost, ‘26

material world into our infinite immaterial consciousness.

Discussion

Experiencing beauty in the natural world can lead to a connection with the earth that mirrors empathy and human relationships We are deeply interconnected with the story of our planet. The origin of the stars is written through our lives. However, individualism and capitalism create conditions that isolate us from the beauty and experience of life Environmental degradation extends damage to all of our senses: our vision is impacted by the night skies filled with artificial light instead of stars Our sense of taste is impacted by foods packed with preservatives and dyes, sugars, salt, and fats. Our sense of touch, smell, and hearing are impacted by the lack of biodiversity in our neighborhoods in ways we are only just beginning to understand (Kuo, 2001)

“We are made of star stuff” was a phrase I heard again and again interviewing public lands visitors for the 2023 Public Lands Survey. When asked about the importance of seeing the stars, the sentiment expressed most was an appreciation for the stars, but not being sure why. Themes of universal connection, smallness, spirituality, and reverence for the natural world surfaced One woman I met at Chimney Rock was soul searching through the Rocky Mountains, chasing solar and lunar alignments and the summer solstice at Chaco Canyon, Chimney Rock, Craters of the Moon and other archaeoastronomy sites. She had been driving across the country for five months searching for dark skies and celestial alignments, seeking to remedy the natural disconnect in her office job Society can be profoundly isolating, so much so that people may feel motivated to travel to extreme lengths to get a taste of the physiological benefits of beauty and spiritual connection to nature. Wild and natural settings are not only crucial to the carbon cycle and to curtail biodiversity loss, but equitable access to these spaces is a form of liberation from modern systems of dependence The myth of

untouched landscapes is a romantic ideal that erases the work humans have been doing to shape our landscapes for all of human history We no longer need to form meaningful relationships with the land if we are tethered to a lifeline rather than connected to systems of support We travel through our landscapes, owning them, rather than belonging to the communities they (the lands) create. Through a series of interviews, I explore the value in building resilience and resistance through the communal experience of awe

Interviews

I reached out to Colorado College alum Josh Felton, who is seeking a masters in plant biology from Cornell. At the time of the interview I was especially interested in the spiritual aspect of awe in the outdoors. He reflected on the vast park systems of his hometown, Minneapolis, and the importance of accessible green spaces At CC he participated in a spiritual retreat through the chaplains office and experienced community as nature and spirituality intertwined At this Baca campus retreat, it was through his heightened senses in which he found grounding. The absence of distraction common to the college campus provided space for deeper reflection. He spoke to plant awareness disparity (PAD) in the community, which he tries to remedy through his instagram; @botanyballer PAD is known in the botanical and scientific communication fields as substantial knowledge gaps around plant awareness, such as not recognizing the importance of plants to humans, and tendency not to notice plants in the environment altogether (Parsley, et al., 2020). However, our attention to the details of the natural world can inspire change Learning about the biological side of experiencing the outdoors changed Felton’s experience outside He’s not out there to climb a fourteener, but rather to mindfully attend to the finer details of plant life. Spiritual practices like mindfulness have helped him bring awe into his daily life. Felton says that in 15 years he “want[s] to teach radically, ya know?” Maybe even in the San Luis valley

Maybe even in the San Luis valley as an aspiring botanical educator. He sees “nature as a space to liberate ourselves, and others ” Perhaps spirituality in the outdoors is inspiring a revolutionary way of educating When we look deeply into the world of a fern we’re able to inspire smallness in ourselves

When visiting Santa Fe, New Mexico I was focused on how we might be able to inspire transcendent experiences, conversation, communal engagement and spiritual connection in the public George Somarriba, a Santa Fe based painter, has been studying the stars since childhood I share his belief that this is our one home, and we “belong to a greater ecosystem,” one that goes beyond our atmosphere and is incomprehensible in importance. We are “co-creators with nature,” because we are nature. Throughout his creative journey he has reimagined still life; turning apples and oranges into planets, inspired by our universal ecosystem In Santa Fe, the vibrant art community is one that fosters co-creation and a sense of belonging Within a close knit creative community, artists can help each other out. Many people I spoke with remarked on the inspiration that the land brings, reminding us of the ultimate inspiration that life has put together. Creating art is a way to pay homage to one’s inspiration. Artists have the unique role of synthesizing raw emotion into creative outputs Words may not do justice to the experience of awe and beauty, but art can give back to one’s creative inspiration Creators bring emotions like awe into the public consciousness. In Albuquerque, New Mexico I found a similar sentiment in Kathleen Gallegos, working in a tea shop. She introduced me to the idea of forest bathing, a mindful practice that can be dynamic or static, but is centered in devoting your attention to noticing Away from Albuquerque, simply bathing in the sound of the forest “I feel spiritually peaceful and content,” she said. “You can really talk to yourself and hear yourself speaking.” The forest is “not going to interrupt you.” The term emerged from Japan in the 1980s, putting words to an attentiveness to the natural world people

have been embodying for centuries The therapeutic exercise amounts to finding peace and quiet in a natural setting, finding stillness or slowing the breath, and noticing what is around you. Are you all alone? What subtle sounds, smells, and tricks of light can we only be aware of when we’re not looking for anything at all? I stopped her son in the plaza, he was enmeshed in the world of Pokemon, go! He told me about his experience in the navy, standing at the bow of a ship looking out over a glassy sea reflecting innumerable stars from above and below A place where there is nothing to be seen but stillness in the darkness. In a way, this moment at the bow of the ship struck me as an embodied form of mindfulness. He wished everyone could experience that moment of peace and wonder The absence of light and noise pollution reminds us of the sound and light that already exists The stars still shine, it's only that we cannot see them The birds

and the leaves have their own sound, it's only that we cannot hear them When we begin to pay attention to the intricacies of our world, humans become a smaller piece of the whole. With a greater percentage of the world’s citizens projected to live in cities, these experiences often require mindfully seeking out and preserving the stillness, darkness, and silence

I met a man selling wild foraged mushrooms and herbs in Taos, New Mexico As an unhoused person, he relies on public lands for shelter. He had a long white beard and sun spotted hands. I sat down with him as it started to rain and heard a woman cry out “Yes, rain! Thank you, Jesus!” as we began to talk about the "there for each other” community attitude, Taos being discovered, and how the plaza bushes should be abuzz with butterflies and bees Free grazing cattle enraged him He knew the mountains

well As an herbalist and selective picker he is against commercial foraging, particularly Osha harvesting, ripping out the roots of the flower before it can complete a reproductive cycle. Now, he claims, you’d be lucky to find a dozen of the plants he was selling. He’s the kind of guy who would hang around environmental advocate and author Edward Abbey: “the only people I know are locals,” he told me While money is moving into the area due to ski tourism and development, he still believes it's never too late to create a community As an environmentalist and self proclaimed “nature boy,” he blames the fact that most people don’t know that everything around us is alive. He declares that the “population isn’t paying attention while nature runs away and dies” at the hands of American pure consumerism I left with a bag of tea, knowing it had come from these hills and those hands He left me with this “when you make it, simmer,

San Antonio Hot Springs, New Mexico. | Photo by Lily Frost, ‘26

refill, boil.” This conversation for me was a callback to how we use our lands. I wondered how his foraging differed from his commercial competitors This, again, brought up the question of how to bring genuine awareness into community spaces which lack time for slowness and deep attention Selective foraging is a process that speaks to a philosophy of don't take it all. Access to awe-inspiring landscapes is diminishing due to resource extraction and privatization. Beauty is something to share, not-over consume or hoard, but cherish in community Emotion is better experienced with company

I had a conversation with Tomi-Ann Roberts at Colorado College, a professor of psychology whose research interests include “Social psychology of emotion, gender, and the body; enjoyment, awe and wonder.” She explained that awe and wonder are difficult to study in the clinical setting, though recently we are seeing more studies about their benefits For example, the ability of awe to incite humility, feeling small and a part of something larger than the self. In New York City, she experiences awe looking up to the skyscrapers, but a different kind of awe from what we feel in deep nature. Human creations can incite astonishment, and make you think- how did we do it? Viewing an awe-inspiring piece of human creation can make us empathize with the work and creator

We have an impoverished vocabulary to describe awe; it's “hard to put words to our experience of aesthetic wonder,” Dr. Roberts explains. For creatives, art becomes the mode of expression rather than words, and in a way offers something back to the source of inspiration During a psychology block in Italy next year, she will ask her students to study a single sculpture, even to form a relationship with it, and make a work of art to offer back. This, she thinks, will provide the opportunity to demonstrate appreciation rather than to say it. True connection is the deepest form of appreciation- for life, emotion, and beauty.

In Tutt Science, she says looking up towards Tava, she feels she has no real responsibility to ‘outside ’ Not in the way she might have responsibility towards students or the potted plants in her office that rely on her coming to work. I asked her how studying and teaching aesthetics in psychology has changed her experience of these emotions Her response: “Every possible way, it's everything ” For one, she is furious at technological titans; attention is our only precious resource She states that it is an injustice that we’ve had our “attentional control divested from ourselves.” In a digital world mediated by dopamine response, the transition from technology back to real life is incredibly hard, as she’s observed in her two-year-old niece looking up from an iPad She expressed not only worry about attentional injustice, but losing sight of what's going on in the world around us “We just need to move people to look,” she says. We must attend to the natural world or else we may lose it. Paying attention and caring is the only way we can invest our attentional resources to create any meaningful change.

Dr Roberts explained that we have environmental degradation, light pollution, and global warming hindering our experience of aesthetic nature. All the while, “handheld technologies are degrading our sense of willful control.” “We need time and to feel like we’re opting in,” in order to fully pay any attention When we attend carefully and mindfully we begin to feel a sense of a relationship between us and the subject of our attention, then we may feel a moral obligation to do right by it She claims that we feel alone more than ever as a nation, and the constant stimulation provided by technology provides a false remedy. What’s more, she said “we’re being robbed of the rich and wonderful sensation of deep attention with a friend ” Loneliness in adolescence is a global phenomenon, a problem which is exacerbated by the ability to entertain oneself on a phone instead of seeking connection. Awe is often described as a communal emotion because of the way it makes you feel a sense of connection that goes beyond the ordinary. We are built to collaborate in aesthetic enjoyment, a joint

Man selling “Mountain Magic Wildcrafted Tea,” herbs harvested in the mountains. Photo by Lily Frost, ‘26.

When we look at the stars and feel smallness “we cannot fathom our attention being sent all the way up there ” It's both too small and too massive to fully comprehend There is a huge, tiny world at every present moment. A world of wonder, just a ponder away.

The difference between massive and miniscule amounts to one’s perspective. The Merriam Webster definition of a thing: “an object or entity not precisely designated or capable of being designated” is perhaps a good place to start Dr Roberts referenced an episode of Radiolab titled “the Middle of Everything Ever” where a listener asked herself if she was small, in relation to the most medium thing ever. The current smallest thing that has a fairly certain volume is a quark (10^-18m). The largest thing in the universe is a red giant called UY Scuti (10x10^-12 m) The middle of everything ever, perhaps our most fundamental unit of life, is 10x10^-3 m This is the size of a “water bear” or tardigrade, just smaller than the biggest eukaryotic cells. From the water bear’s perspective, we are utterly gigantic. Dr. Roberts said I “ought to feel huge looking at a microscope,” the truth is I’ve never felt huge examining the microscopic world It is an enormous sort

of smallness, analogous to looking through a telescope at Betelgeuse, the red supergiant. It's staggering and beautiful that an emotion like awe can pull us from our bodies and show us how small we are Being somewhere in the middle is, in a way, a relief While we may be extremely large in comparison to the middle, yet insignificantly small in the grand scheme of things, there is a certain liberation in knowing we’re not alone in being small, in fact we’re not that small at all.

Conclusion

Awe is a cognitive perspective shift that exemplifies how we often view ourselves at the center of the universe An emotional response that is powerful enough to pull us away from our own self-centeredness and show us the vast external world we’re a part of, bringing us together in solidarity of our smallness in the universe. This is the case for practicing awe in community, whatever form it may take. Communal awareness is essential to win the battle against attentiional injustice Maybe we are not as small as big emotions make us feel, but experiences of awe can give us humility, empathy, and reframe our schemas The experience of beauty is one that should be celebrated and embraced in communion. The only way we can solve humanity’s greatest issues is by being present, witnessing them unfold and giving in to the vastness of emotion. Awe makes us feel insignificant, yet liberated

from individualism, granting us the ability to reclaim our attentional freedom.

Works cited

Bethelmy, L. C., & Corraliza, J. A. (2019). Transcendence and sublime experience in nature: Awe and inspiring energy. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00509

Jiang, T., & Sedikides, C. (2022). Awe motivates authentic-self pursuit via self-transcendence: Implications for prosociality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 123(3), 576-596. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000381;

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Thing. In MerriamWebster.com dictionary. Retrieved February 8, 2024, from https://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/thing

Piff, P. K., Feinberg, M., Dietze, Pia, Stancato, D. M., & Keltner, D. (2015). Awe, the small self, and prosocial behavior.108(6), 883-899. https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2015-21454002.pdf?

auth_token=9f474be1bdcb2490fe8c5ebe9ae5235ffa9 fa1b3&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fpsycnet.apa.org %2FdoiLanding%3Fdoi%3D10.1037%252Fpspi0000 018

Seo, M., Yang, S., & Laurent, S. M. (2022). No one is an island: Awe encourages global citizenship identification. Emotion, https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001160;

Smith, L., López Sánchez, G. F., Pizzol, D., Yon, D. K., Oh, H., Kostev, K., Gawronska, J., Rahmati, M., Butler, L., Barnett, Y., Ball, G., Shin, J. I., & Koyanagi, A. (2024). Global time trends of perceived loneliness among adolescents from 28 countries in africa, asia, and the americas. Journal of Affective Disorders, 346, 192-199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2023.11.032

Silhouette of Nathalie San Fratello on the rocks under the waxing strawberry moon. | Photo by Lily Frost, ‘26.

Projects

Waldo Canyon 2024 Field Work on a foggy day | Photo by Tyler Mielke, ‘26

The Re-Establishment of a Ponderosa Pine Forest: a Multiple-Scale

year Retrospect of the Waldo Canyon Fire, Colorado

Chris Burich,’24, Liam Keilty, ‘25, Sydney Morris, ’24, Theo Ollier, ’26, and Charlotte Pulido ’24

Abstract:

In recent decades, the number of forest fires occurring in the western United States has significantly increased in response to fire suppression and climate change As anthropogenic warming continues, wildfires are expected to increase in severity and size The Rocky Mountain West is particularly vulnerable to these changes in climate conditions Long periods of drought and rising temperatures across most elevations have been correlated with an increase in wildfire occurrence. Global warming in the West is predicted to create a shift from an infrequent, high severity fire regime to a novel fire regime in which high severity fires burn more often and affect larger areas . Historically, the fire regime of the Rocky Mountains is characterized as infrequent, low-to-moderate severity, and patchy. Scientists believe the shifting climate conditions may not support P. ponderosa dominated forests as fires increase in area burned, frequency and intensity. These high severity fires can be detrimental to forest types that have not historically experienced extreme fires, leading to a low likelihood of forest regeneration and the development of new post-fire ecological trajectories P ponderosa is poorly adapted to regenerate in large patches of high severity fire because of the of lack serotinous cones, the inability to maintain long-lived soil seedbanks, and shade-intolerance in the presence of flora that outcompete ponderosa pine in these conditions Much of Colorado’s Front Range, including the Waldo Canyon, have historically been dominated by ponderosa pine forests This summer, we conducted a demographic study of ponderosa pine populations in the Waldo Canyon burn scar over 20 years after the fire occurred. In this study, we attempt to predict the Waldo Canyon landscape post 2020 fires by analyzing the presence or absence of P. ponderosa on north versus south facing slopes.

Introduction:

In recent decades, the number of forest fires occurring in the western United States has significantly increased as an outcome of modern human alteration of historic fire regimes and climate change (Chapman et al , 2020) As anthropogenic warming continues, wildfire trends are expected to increase in severity and size (Chapman et al ., 2020) . More specifically, global warming is anticipated to cause a shift from infrequent, high severity fire regimes to fire regimes in which scientists predict fire rotations to be less than 10 years apart by 2070-2099 (Westerling et al , 2011) A transition to shrubland or non-forest ecosystems is the expected successional outcome of the change in fire frequency in these systems if trees cannot regenerate under more frequent and severe fire conditions (Haffey et al ., 2018).

One area specifically vulnerable to these

changes is the Rocky Mountain West, where long periods of drought and rising temperatures across most elevations have been correlated with an increase in wildfire occurrence (Carter et al , 2019) The Rocky Mountain West is particularly vulnerable to these changes because long periods of drought and rising temperatures across most elevations have been correlated with an increase in fire occurrence. In this region of the United States, pine forests have evolved with low severity fire regimes (Haffey et al , 2018) Low severity fires thin out surface fuels, eliminating competitors like Douglas fir and Rocky Mountain juniper (Carter et al , 2019) ponderosa pine forests have experienced unprecedented high severity fires (Rother & Veblen, 2017). In addition, with the introduction of fire suppression during the 20th century, ponderosa pine forests have grown increasingly dense, creating large stores of surface fuels that pave the

way for these high severity crown fires.

ponderosa pine is poorly adapted to regenerate in large patches of high severity fire due to its lack of serotinous cones, inability to maintain long-lived soil seedbanks, and shade-intolerance in the presence of flora that can outcompete ponderosa pine in these conditions (Owen et al. 2020).

Much of Colorado’s Front Range, specifically Waldo Canyon, has historically been dominated by ponderosa pine forests (Brown et al 2015) Our study area is in the Pike National Forest where most of the Waldo Canyon fire occurred The Waldo Canyon Fire burned over 18,000 acres and has significantly altered the ecological landscape of this region (Johnson et al. 2014). This landscape has traditionally been dominated by a range of piñon-juniper woodlands, ponderosa pine, and Douglas fir forests (Young &

Rust, 2012). The project we proposed aims to answer these questions: What is the predicted landscape post 2012 fires? Will ponderosa pine become “extinct” in some of the most severely burned forests? What species are returning?What does their presence or absence mean from a socioecological perspective? Is restoration recommended or should natural processes be allowed to unfold?

Study Area:

The Waldo Canyon fire occurred in Colorado’s Front Range in 2012 (Young & Rust, 2012; Figure 1) The burn has been categorized as 19% high severity, 40% moderate severity, and 41% low severity (Young & Rust, 2012; Figure 2) Our study area is in the Pike National Forest where much of the burn occurred. This region is dominated by piñon-juniper woodlands, ponderosa pine, and Douglas fir. Sites were located between 8,500 ft – 9,500 ft in elevation, 38°-39° longitude, and 104°-105° latitude

Methods:

Site Selection:

Using ArcGIS Pro, we randomly generated points on north and south facing slopes in the Waldo Canyon’s Day 1 burn scar (Figures 4 and 5).

To access these potential sites, we drove Rampart Range Road through Pike- San Isabel National Forests , Woodland Park , Colorado to scout randomly assigned sample sites During th e site selection process, we considered accessibility, terrain, length of slope, width of slope, and aspect of slope Our aim was to lay a transect 500 meters in length from high to low elevations . After visiting numerous sites on both north and south facing slopes , we found laying a 500m transect would not be feasible in most of the selected sites because the slope distance of most sites measured less than 500m To adjust, we shortened our transect length to 300m Selected sites were those in which we could lay four 200m transects perpendicular to our 300m center line to create a grid of six 100m x 100m plots (Greig-Smith, 1983). If terrain inhibited our ability to lay a transect, we

shifted our transect to proximal slopes that were more navigable We then measured out 200m across the top and bottom of the slope to verify that the site matched our width requirement In addition, we identified the bearing of the downslope. We added and subtracted ninety degrees to find the bearings of the East and West edges of our plots. With the center of the 300m transect laid, we

measured out 100m east and west of the center transect, identified our bearings, and marked the points, creating our six 100 m x 100m plots Overall, we laid seven transects on both north and south facing slopes, totaling 42 plots (Figure 6)

Figure 2. Predicted Burn Severity map of Waldo Canyon, Woodland Park, Colorado. Map adapted from Herros, A. (2018).

Figure 1. Map of Waldo Burn Area Perimeter, City of Colorado Springs, Final After Action Report, (2013). Map created in ArcGIS Pro v3.1 by Matt Cooney (2024).

Figure 3. Waldo Canyon Burn Area Day 1, City of Colorado Springs, Final After Action Report, April 2013. Map created in ArcGIS Pro v3.1 by Matt Cooney (2024).

Figure 4. North and south identified slopes in burn day one area. Map created in ArcGIS Pro v3.1 by Matt Cooney (2024).

1 visited first, then point 2, and so on) until five sites in each aspect (north and south) met our site criteria: accessibility, aspect, and within the burn area and national forest boundary. Map created in ArcGIS Pro v3.1 by Matt Cooney (2024).

Data Collection:

Percent cover

Within each quadrant of each study site, we divided the quadrant into four 50m x 50m squares and estimated the amount of ground cover to the nearest percent. After estimating percent cover in each 50 m x 50 m plot, we averaged these numbers to determine the percent cover for the entire quadrant.

Ponderosa pine sapling presence

At our selected sites, we counted the number of ponderosa pine saplings present in each 100m x 100m quadrant along our transect. This gave us an

estimate of the amount of regeneration that has occurred in each study site since the Waldo Canyon fire.

Ponderosa pine sampling:

Four living mature ponderosa pine trees were sampled in each 100m x 100m quadrant along the 300m transect in each site. We selected our trees by first locating the center of each quad and locating the four closest living ponderosa pines to our center point. Using stem size and height of each tree as proxies for age, we recorded diameter at breast height (DBH) of individuals taller than 1 52m (5 feet) using a DBH tape and measured tree height using an inclinometer We cored trees if they were mature (above 1 52m tall) The selected living mature trees were cored to determine approximate age of trees in each site to determine the stand age of each site. Slope and aspect were recorded for each living tree to determine if aspect and slope at the individual scale accounted for the presence or absence of ponderosa pine individuals at the quadscale We compared the aspect and slope at the quad-scale to aspect and slope determined by GIS techniques for each site.

iNaturalist Data:

Link: State of the Rockies - Waldo Canyon · iNaturalist

We are also interested in documenting post-fire flora and fauna recovery in the Waldo Canyon area We used iNaturalist to identify various species iNaturalist is an online social network used to share biodiversity information and identify species using artificial intelligence and public responses. For our research, we created a project through iNaturalist that only allowed our team to add information on plant, insect, and bird species in our study area During our time in the field, from June 2023 – August 2023, 120 observations were made on iNaturalist by our team We identified a total of 78 species, mainly flora. Some of our most common species included ponderosa pine, whole leaf paintbrush, common yarrow, sticky geranium, fringed sagebrush, great plains yucca, mountain mahogany, and gamble oak

Figure 6. Study site locations of study plots on north and south-facing slopes within the Waldo Canyon burn day one area.

Aerial Imagery & ArcGIS Pro:

After collecting the data, we used ArcGIS Pro to produce land cover and slope maps. Aerial imagery with a spatial resolution of 1 meter was acquired for 2011 (pre-fire) and 2023 (post-fire) to accurately digitize different land covers (Figures 7 and 8) Before analysis began, 300m by 200m grid polygons were geo-referenced onto our eight site locations to represent our transects on the ground. Within each of our 8 site locations, we identified and digitized areas of ground into five classifications: trees; shrubs; grass; rocks/bare ground; dense dead standing of trees We carried out two methods to calculate land cover percentage at both the site level and quadrant level with the digitization of the five classifications. In addition, we used the slope geoprocessing tool to calculate and depict the percent slope for all the transects to highlight the variability of slope between our north and south facing sites (Figures 9 and 10) One method allowed us to calculate the average slope percentage of each quadrant, and another assisted in visually representing across all our sites this variability in slope characteristic of the Waldo Canyon landscape.

Statistical Analyses:

We wanted to know whether Pinus ponderosa regeneration is occurring in the 12-year-old day one burn area and if so, what influences the likelihood of seeing seedlings and saplings across a range of physical site conditions in Waldo Canyon We are also interested in whether burn severity of each quad is a predictor of seedling and sapling presence. Additionally, we explored whether there is a linear relationship among the number of saplings found per quad and the physical site characteristics we measured We ran a logistic regression analysis to identify a potential relationship between the likelihood of seeing seedlings and saplings across and physical site conditions in Waldo Canyon. GLM logistic regressions were used to determine whether there is a linear relationship between the number of saplings in each quad and the physical site characteristics we measured

Figure 8. Land cover of north and south sites with greatest and least change from pre-fire to 2023.

Figure 7. Digitized spacio-temporal changes in vegetation and land cover of pre- and post-fire conditions.

The odds of seeing seedlings increases 1.325 with a one unit (%) increase in mean slope per quad (CI =95%). Quads ranged from a mean slope of 6.25% to 27.96%. The odds of seedlings and saplings being present increase 2 82 times with a one unit increase in mean elevation (meters) per quad (CI =95%) The mean elevation per quad ranged from 2215 meters to 2872 meters. We also conducted a logistic regression to analyze whether burn severity of each quad is a predictor of seedling and

Table 1. Percent of land cover changes in sample sites following fire (2011 to 2023).

Figure 9. Slope percentage and locations of sites of varying degrees of burn severity.

A severely burned site in day one of the fire. | Photo by Cyndy Hines

Figure 10. Frequency and occurrence of seedlings and saplings in relation to GIS classified north- and south-facing slopes.

Table 2. Results of logistic linear regression model using all site characteristics.

severity of each quad is a predictor of seedling and sapling presence Burn severity was not significant (Table 2).

Our analysis suggests there is some linear relationship between the number of saplings and percent cover of grass (p-

-value 0 002), shrubs (p-value 0 004), and trees (p-value 0.007). As the percent cover of grass increases by 1%, we see a 4.06% decrease in the number of saplings per quad (CI =95%). As the percent cover of shrubs increases by 1%, we see a decrease of 3 41% in the number of saplings per quad (CI =95%) As the percent cover of trees increases by 1%, we see an increase of 3 85% in the number of saplings per quad (CI =95%) No other explanatory variables were significant (Table 3).

Preliminary results of our collected day are limited by the average of seedlings and saplings in 48 quadrants in seven sites in burn day one of the 2012 Waldo Canyon fire We aim to expand our dataset in Phase II (burn day two) and Phase II (burn day three) of this long-term study

Table 3. Comparison of average percentage differences in land cover classifications in sites on northern aspects and southern aspects. We calculated the total average of percent difference in each vegetation class before (2011) and after (2023) the 2012 Waldo Canyon fire in north-facing sites compared to sites in south-facing sites in the burn day one area. South-facing sites support 2.265 times less shrubs or 226.5% more shrubs are established on north-facing sites following fire than on southsloping sites. The average percent cover of grass on southern exposures is 2 times less than sites with northern exposure; 200% more grass has established on north-facing slopes than on south-facing slopes.

Figure 10. Calculated percent slope percent for each site.

Preliminary Results:

For our preliminary findin regression analysis of the that mean elevation (p-valu mean slope (p-value 0 039) presence of seedlings and odds of seeing seedlings in with a one unit (%) increase per quad, contrary to what w hypothesized (Table 4). Q from a mean slope of 6.25 (Figure 10). This suggest tolerance of ponderosa pin ability to grow in difficult odds of seedlings and sa present increases 2 82 time unit increase in mean eleva per quad The mean elevat ranged from 2359 meters to This data aligns with th gradient in which ponde typically found (Figure 11).

A GLM log linear regressi the data suggests some linea after the log transformat variable (number of saplin This analysis suggests there relationship between the saplings and percent cover value 0.002), shrubs (p-valu trees (p-value 0.007; Table 4

Findings:

We wanted to know w ponderosa regeneration is oc 12-year-old day one burn a what influences the likelih seedlings and saplings acro physical site conditions in W We were also interested in severity of each quad is a seedling and sapling Additionally, we explored w is a linear relationsup amon of saplings found per q physical site conditions we m

A logistic regression analys suggests that mean eleva 0.033) and mean slope (p influence the presence of saplings.

saplings and percent cover of grass (p-

sense that we would find more ponderosa

pine seedlings at higher elevations In addition, there was no significant relationship between the likelihood of seeing a seedling and burn severity Due to our small sample size, it is possible that a larger dataset could reveal trends between burn severity and ponderosa pine seedling likelihood.

As the percent cover of grass increases by 1%, we saw a 4 06% decrease in the number of saplings per quad Similarly, as the percent cover of shrubs increases by 1%, we calculated a decrease of 3 41% in the number of saplings per quad.

These findings suggest that grasses and shrubs, often primary successors after a fire, outcompete ponderosa pine seedlings The mechanisms of competition may potentially include blocking sunlight and taking water away from seedlings On the other hand, as the percent cover of trees increased by 1%, the number of saplings per quad increased 3.85%. Typically, live trees were found in low severity burn sites. In low-moderate burn severity sites, primary successors like grasses and shrubs were unable to take over (Figure 12) Saplings were more likely to be observed in sites where there is less competition with grasses and shrubs Furthermore, ponderosa pine saplings are more likely to regenerate

when there is a live tree nearby due to their short-lived seed bank In areas where trees survived the burn and are still able to reproduce, ponderosa pine seeds are potentially more abundant.

Conclusion:

The 2012 Waldo Canyon fire devastated acres of ponderosa pine dominated forests and incinerated homes and buildings as it swept upslope Our study aims to determine if dominant historic ponderosa pine forests are regenerating post-fire under dramatically different climate conditions. We aim to identify if and where in the landscape the species is and will likely survive. This information will help guide federal and state agencies in designing restoration and land management practices as well as deepen our understanding of the resultant impacts of a changing climate

On-going Research:

We embarked on a phase two of the project this summer in effort to build our field dataset and map the landscape-scale changes observed using GIS techniques. This preliminary work, several has generated additional questions

What can we say about the complexity (heterogeneity) of the sites in 2011 and in 2023?

Is the landscape patchwork more complex following fire?

At what scale do we observe the greatest and least amount of heterogeneity?

How does landscape heterogeneity influence habitat diversity, species richness, and the movement of wildlife?

What soil conditions (e.g., mycorrhizae; chemical properties) exist in sites where saplings are observed more frequently compared to sites where only ponderosa pine dead trees stand?

Figure 12. Frequency and occurrence of seedlings and saplings in relation to GIS generated percent grass cover.

Independent Study: The Effects of Burn Severity on Soil Chemistry and Pinus ponderosaRegeneration in Waldo Canyon, Colorado

By Sydney Morris

High severity fires can be detrimental to forest types that have not historically experienced these conditions, leading to a low likelihood of forest regeneration and the development of novel post-fire ecological trajectories Pinus ponderosa forest is a dominant forest type in the western United States and poorly adapted to regenerate following high severity fires. While factors such as elevation and climate are known to affect P. ponderosa regeneration post-fire, less is known regarding how fire-altered soils may impact forest regrowth, specifically in relation to the soil’s chemical properties

A concurrent study of how soil nitrogen, carbon, and aluminum oxides across high and low burn severity sites may be correlated with P. ponderosa regeneration. ArcGIS was used to randomly select 12 sites from both north and south aspects Each site was divided into six plots and categorized unburned, high, or low severity burn areas (Figure 13) Soil samples were collected, and organic debris was removed Then, samples were dried at 70°C for 24 hours to remove any remaining moisture and pulverized for two minutes. A Tracer Handheld XRF Spectrometer to measure levels of aluminum oxide and a NC2100 elemental analyzer was used to quantify levels of nitrogen and carbon Data were log transformed and analyzed in RStudio using One-way ANOVAs Findings indicate that the limiting factor for P ponderosa sapling regeneration may be unrelated to soil chemistry. These results help better understand future directions for conservation of P. ponderosa, specifically focusing on the potential limiting factors for regeneration including soil moisture and temperature

Results:

ponderosa pine sapling abundance differed significantly between the control (unburned) and high severity burn plots (F2, 65 = 5.742, p = 0.006). In addition, there was no significant difference in soil

nitrogen, carbon, and aluminum oxide levels among the 3 burn treatments.

The preliminary statistical analysis of this research reveals a lack of statistical significance when comparing soil chemistry across the Waldo Canyon burn scar Considering this fire occurred 11 years ago, it is plausible that the impacts of fire on soil were temporary, even in high severity burns where exceedingly high temperatures can have permanent impacts on soil. Despite these findings, my data show a significant difference in sapling abundance This could indicate that, in contrast to previous studies done in Canada and the Pacific Northwest, the limiting factor for ponderosa pine sapling regeneration is unrelated to soil chemistry. Studies done in the southwestern United States suggest potential limiting factors for sapling.

ponderosa pine regeneration post-fire include soil moisture and temperature.

Thalictrum spp. in day 1 burn area, Waldo Canyon, Woodland Park, Colorado. June 2023. Photo By Cyndy Hines

Figure 1. Predicted Burn Severity Map of Waldo Canyon, Colorado Springs adapted from Herros, A. 2018.

Sydney Morris ‘24, Chris Burich ‘24, Liam Keiilty ‘25, and Theo Ollier ‘26 relax during a work trip in Waldo Canyon. | Photo by Maren Greene ‘24

Acknowledgements: Special thanks to Dr. Roxaneh Khorsand, the Organismal Biology and Ecology Department at Colorado College, and Cyndy Hines.

Broadly, my research focuses on the interaction between plant reproductive ecology and the abiotic environment. Specifically, I investigate plant phenology, plant-pollinator networks, floral rewards, and breeding systems in the context of a changing climate My current research focuses on tundra pollination ecology and plant reproduction While plant phenological and growth responses to warming are widely documented in the Arctic, less is known about warming effects on plant-pollinator interactions and floral rewards, as well as the implications of these changes on plant and pollinator diversity.

Dr. Roxaneh Khorsand

Figure 2. Results of burn severity on soil chemistry and Pinus ponderosa regeneration in Waldo Canyon, Colorado.

Literature Cited:

Brown, P. M., Battaglia, M. A., Fornwalt, P. J., Gannon, B., Huckaby, L. S., Julian, C., & Cheng, A. S. (2015). Historical (1860) forest structure in ponderosa pine forests of the northern Front Range, Colorado. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 45(11), 1462-1473.

Carter, V. A., Power, M. J., Lundeen, Z. J., Morris, J. L., Petersen, K. L., Brunelle, A., Anderson, R. S., Shinker, J. J., Turney, L., Koll, R., & Bartlein, P. J. (2018). A 1,500-year synthesis of wildfire activity stratified by elevation from the U.S. Rocky Mountains. Quaternary International, 488, 107–119.

Chapman, T. B., Schoennagel, T., Veblen, T. T., and K. C. Rodman. (2020). Still standing: Recent patterns of post-fire conifer refugia in ponderosa pine-dominated forests of the Colorado Front Range. PLOS ONE, 15(1): 1–30.

Greig-Smith, P. Quantitative Plant Ecology, Vol. 9 (third edition), Great Britain, Blackwell Scientific Publications, (1983).

Haffey, C., Sisk, T. D., Allen, C. D., Thode, A. E., & Margolis, E. Q. (2018). Limits to ponderosa pine regeneration following large high-severity forest fires in the United States Southwest. Fire Ecology, 14(1), 143-163.

Herros, A. (2018) Learning from Devastation: A Predictive Burn Severity Model for the Colorado Springs Wildland Urban Interface.

Johnson, R. H., Schumacher, R. S., Ruppert, J. H., Lindsey, D. T., Ruthford, J. E., & Kriederman, L. (2014). The role of convective outflow in the Waldo Canyon fire. Monthly Weather Review, 142(9), 3061-3080.

Owen, S. M., Sieg, C. H., Fulé, P. Z., Gehring, C. A., Baggett, L. S., Iniguez, J. M., & Battaglia, M. A. (2020). Persistent effects of fire severity on ponderosa pine regeneration niches and seedling growth. Forest Ecology and Management, 477, 118502.

Rother, M. T., & Veblen, T. T. (2017). Climate drives episodic conifer establishment after fire in dry ponderosa pine forests of the Colorado Front Range, USA. Forests, 8(5), 159.

Valido, M (2018) Past and Future of Wildfire in the Colorado Springs Wildland-Urban Interface. Colorado College.

Vankat, J. L., The Natural Vegetation of North America, New York, John Wiley & Sons, (1979). Westerling, A. L., Turner, M. G., Smithwick, E. A., Romme, W. H., & Ryan, M. G. (2011).

Continued warming could transform Greater Yellowstone fire regimes by mid-21st century. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(32), 13165-13170. Young & Rust. 2012. USDA Forest Service, Region 5, Redding, CA, USA.

Acknowledgements: Special thanks to Matt Cooney, Cyndy Hines, and Liam Mullen, (’26), and Shamdeed Kabir (’25) for their contributions with data analysis and graphics.

Site 14S in Waldo Canyon. Photo by Maren Greene ‘24.

Waldo Team 2023 Artist in Residence Project:

“Height and Size do not Reveal Age”

By Maren Greene

Maren completed a series of drawings of Mature ponderosaPines sampled this summer by the Waldo Canyon field research team. These drawings depict 3 pairs of trees. Each pair is the same age, but varies in relative size to one another. The comparisons made by these drawings reveal that conditions specific to the location of the growth of a tree impact the tree's size

Scientific Drawings By Maren Greene

Site 14S: low-grade slope, low severity burn, lots of Gamble Oak regrowth

Tree 23 Scientific Drawing

I was taking a technical drawing class when I started working as an Artist in Residence for the Waldo Canyon project In this class, we learned about scientific illustration: the techniques for this drawing style, and its importance as a means of disseminating information. Scientific illustration became a broad jumping-off point for my project. After learning how to create multi-perspective architectural drawings, I felt inspired to transfer this method of displaying information to my work with State of the Rockies The multi-perspective drawings allow a viewer to comprehend the size and shape of a tree (or other object) from several angles.

I realized this would be a compelling way to represent data comparing the range in size of trees of the same age, and that it would help illustrate how the qualities of a tree’s environment affect its growth.

These illustrations also allowed me to highlight details of a ponderosa pine tree that make them recognizable: their bark, needles, and cone. Scientific Illustration is a vital part of conservation efforts, and I was thrilled to have this opportunity to develop my skills at the crossroads of artmaking and science

-Maren Greene

On 20° E slope

Height: 9.29m

DBH (Diameter at Breast Height): 1.03m

Age: 150 years

Tree 14 Scientific Drawing (Left)

On 35° SE slope

Height: 5.67m

DBH (Diameter at Breast Height): 0.606m

Age: 156 years

Above:

On 13° SE slope

Height: 8.28m

DBH (Diameter at Breast Height): 0.648m

Age: 127 years

Site 14S in Waldo Canyon, Photo by Maren Greene

Maren Greene, Studio Art, ‘24, works across a variety of media, focusing primarily on painting and photography She has lived her whole life in Colorado and is passionate about preserving the natural spaces that helped raise her She knows that the time she spends outdoors-- skiing and biking through mountains, walking around gardens, and lounging under trees-- is sacred: grounding her in life’s chaos and inspiring her creative practices As such, she is deeply motivated by discovering art’s place in conservation efforts and using her work to give back to the land that inspired it

Right: On 26° N slope

Height: 4.829m

DBH (Diameter at Breast Height): 0.61m

Waldo Team 2023 Artist in Residence Project:

“Pinus ponderosa Webs”

By Ollie Beland

Last summer, I tagged along with the Waldo Canyon Ecological Research Team – taking hundreds of pictures and brainstorming what would ultimately culminate in this exhibit. Throughout this process my goal has been to present the data and importance of the Waldo Canyon study tangibly and accessibly. These “webs” serve as the means to this end.

The background images of each web are of the sites from which the research team collected data – distinct enough to capture the numerous environments we surveyed, yet cohesive to express their shared impact from the Waldo Canyon Fire. The webs on each image are a more direct representation of the collected data. Each web represents the distance and direction to the nearest four living ponderosa pine trees from the center of each quadrant Data was collected at designated sites, each of which were divided into six square quadrants

The color of the threads corresponds to the age/class of each tree. Often, there are fewer than six webs present on an image –indicating the absence of living trees ten years after the fire. Science, particularly regarding climate change, needs to be accessible to everyone – and art is arguably one of the most powerful ways for it to be so -Ollie Beland

Ollie ‘25 is a Biochemistry major and is hoping to minor in art studio He grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas - but has always been drawn towards the Rocky Mountain region Ollie enjoys integrating art into as many aspects of his life as possible - particularly through photography It was in Colorado where he first discovered photography, and now almost 10 years later he is ecstatic to use photography this summer as part of the Waldo Canyon Research Project.

Sapling

Dead and Dying

Embroidery Work by Ollie Beland

Mature

final adjustments before rolling the

Summer 2023 Film Rootbound

By Alice O’Neal-Freeman

In the summer of 2023 Colorado College students Audrey Colgin ‘23, Sada Schumann ‘26, Matan Fields ‘26, Melanie Shea '22, Daniel De Koning ‘23, and Charlie Marks ‘26 created the short film Rootbound with the assistance of Aaron Patterson ‘12, and Cyndy Hines.

Since then it has been nominated for Best Student Film at both the Seattle and Winter Park Film Festivals

The State of the Rockies launched the Adventurous Spirit Film program in 2023. The goal is to create a space for students

to flex their storytelling skills in response to the question of how life will change due to climate change, and how we address these changes. 12 minutes long, Rootbound delves into a post-apocalyptic world with a water crisis. The “dry-land people” have run out of water and can no longer grow crops on their land. The elites have all the water they need and lush, thriving gardens, but are unwilling to share with the “dry-land people ”

Sada Schumann, a director and writer of the film, is also the post-production producer. She submitted the film to

various film festivals, mainly those with a western audience She explains that the film is rooted in western landscapes, and the team based the film’s themes on the results from the State of the Rockies poll. They analyzed the results to discern what people in the Rocky Mountain region are worried about. They then turned to translating these concerns narratively; water scarcity clearly coming out on top Schumann intentionally focused on festivals that would reach the people the film is crafted about

The Winter Park Film Festival (WPFF)

2024 Adventurous Film Team members Charlie Marks, ‘26, Jess Duran, ’25, and Matan Fields, ‘26 make

film | Photo by Ellie LaCasse '26

looks to “spotlight filmmakers and their experiences, fostering a platform for creative expression.” Rootbound will be screened at the WPFF I reached out to SFF Festival Director Michael Ray, who said “what we look for are excellent production values with no major errors in the editing, framing, camera work etc , and then of course compelling stories, innovatively and well told.” Three team members, Colgin-Hubbard, Schumann, and Hines attended the Seattle Film Festival (SFF) awards ceremony in Edmonds, Washington They did not win, but their nomination is a recognition of reaching these standards Matan Fields, who worked on writing, scoring, and lighting Rootbound says he got quite close with the people on the team, and is proud of them all. He is happy they can all share this celebration. Charlie Marks, who was co-director of photography and edited much of the film, enjoyed “getting the validation that something [they] worked so hard on and put so much time into turned out pretty cool ”

Fields and Marks noted the collaborative nature of Rootbound. “Adding everyone’s creative brains together made it special,” Marks asserted. Fields continued in this vein, using the climactic fight scene as an example of the team’s collaboration: “this fight scene was Charlie’s brain child, he kind of had that idea And then it was filtered through all these other peoples’ writing styles, then Daniel and Charlie's filming style, Audrey’s directing style, my lighting style ” Bringing everyone’s perspectives and ideas together despite the formal roles they undertook resulted in a unique, beautiful, and impactful film. Their hard work has already paid off, while there are still festivals remaining that have not sent out their nominations In being recognized for their film, Rootbound’s filmmakers have increased the reach of the State of the Rockies’ message around the conservation of essential resources in the West. to watch Rootbound

Cyndy Hines, Sada Schumann, ’27, and Audrey Colgin, ‘24 at the Seattle International Film Festival Awards gala, Seattle, Washington, July 2024.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE COSMOS IN AMERICAN WESTERN ART

Ansel Adams, Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, 1941, Courtesy of the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust: Denver Art Museum

E. Irving Couse, Taos Pueblo - Moonlight, 1914, Courtesy of the New Mexico Museum of Art

Don Stinson, High Beams and Starlight, 2004, Courtesy of the Denver Art Museum

Paula Wilson, Catching the Night, 2021, Courtesy of the Tamarind Institute

Big Starry Skies: Does out of Sight Mean out of Mind?

By Sarah Bedell, ‘24

This light pollution project uses art to bring awareness to the importance of the night skies to humans artistically, culturally, and historically With the goal of tracing the importance of the stars to humans through time, we hope to remind the public of the long-standing significance of the cosmos to our species. Art is the medium; the evidence through which we worked to accomplish this goal. This project involved research and curation work of night sky artwork depicting or created in the Rocky Mountain West We developed a virtual gallery/exhibit in relation to State of the Rockies' Dark Skies work.

We approached the topic of light pollution from an art history perspective to create a virtual museum exhibit. The Manual of Museum Exhibitions states that the purpose of a museum exhibition is to "transform some aspect of the visitor's interests, attitudes, or values affectively, due to the visitors’ discovery of some level of meaning in the objects or content on display.” In effort to inform and transform visitors’ awareness, interests, attitudes, or values surrounding light pollution, we showcase in this exhibit, artwork from the Rocky Mountain West that features the night sky This exhibit is meant to be an example of how the night sky opens our emotions and awe and how it continues to inspire artists in different ways The artwork featured comes from museums across Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. This virtual exhibit will exist on a website tied to Colorado College for educational purposes. The exhibit is planned to be launched in the summer of 2024 and is planned to be live for about five years

This exhibit is meant to be an example of how the night sky opens our emotions and awe and how it continues to inspire artists in different ways.

Sarah Bedell ‘24 (she/her) majored in Museum Studies and minored in Performance Design. Sarah is an artist and explored how she can lend her creative eye to museum and theatre design in college She is grateful for this opportunity to work with State of the Rockies to practice her curatorial skills and advocate for the importance of art

to Sarah’s virtual exhibit in slideshow form Link

The Economics of the Night Sky

By Alice O’Neal-Freeman, ‘27

gazing up at a sky full of stars. It is Colorado College’s second block break of Fall 2023 Colorado's Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve was designated an International Dark Sky Park in 2019, and they can see the Milky Way They are surrounded by sand dunes which extend about 30 miles along the western slope of the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range. Tourists cross oceans and state lines to reach the dunes, which are the tallest in North America. Professors Guanyi Yang, Mark Eiswerth, and their team of students had spent the day surveying visitors at the Park They talked to dozens of people about the significance of the night sky in their experience of the Great Dunes.

The research project integrated the ecological and economic aspects of light pollution as well as integrating CC and the University of Northern Colorado Dr Yang is an assistant professor of Economics and Business at CC who partnered with Dr Eiswerth, a professor of Economics at UNC Three CC students and two UNC students joined them. I contacted Dr. Eiswerth and Liam Mullen, one of the CC student researchers, to learn more about their research and experience.

Titled Tourism Response to Dark Sky Conservation at the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Dr. Yang and Dr Eiswerth’s research project delves into the economic value of conserving starry skies When asked why he chose to research this topic, Dr Eiswerth explained that he has “been very concerned about the negative impacts of night light pollution for quite some time now,” and that “it simply seems somewhat sad that we, as well as our children and grandchildren, are not able to see stars at night in the same way that preceding generations may have been able to ”

Light pollution’s effects have been well studied environmentally, but less so economically. Artificial night lighting can disrupt species’ foraging, communication, and reproduction behaviors, all essential to survival (Longcore and Rich). Dung beetles navigate by the stars (Cuda Kroen), and harbor seals direct their long swims by the night sky (Sokol) In addition, much research has been conducted on the economic costs of wasted artificial light

But what about the economic value thousands of visible stars bring by means of tourism? How many people would

continue to visit natural spaces if the clear starry skies were diluted? Are pristine night skies economically beneficial to conserve?

This final question is the one Dr Yang and Dr Eiswerth posed for their project With this in mind, they crafted a survey to track demographics, how much people valued a trip to the Park, and possible change in their visitation behavior if the night sky at the Great Sand Dunes had the same amount of visibility as where they lived Their goal was to measure current visitation behavior and predict future visitation behavior if night sky visibility changed Their survey hammered out, they headed to one of five Dark Sky designated national parks in Colorado to survey the public. The heavily trafficked Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve proved a perfect location for their research.

Liam Mullen, a rising senior majoring in economics at CC, told me about the day to day process of conducting surveys in the Park He said that the experience was “pretty fun,” and “it was a nice time of year to be there.” Liam also enjoyed the experience of their collaboration with Fred Bunch, the Chief of Resources Management at Great Sand Dunes.

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Milky Way over dunes

Photo by National Park Service | Patrick Meyers.

to NPS Great Sand Dunes after dark site, with video Link

They surveyed for three days, doing two sessions daily and breaking for lunch in between. According to Mullen, many people were receptive to their request for participation in a survey, and agreed In total they surveyed 367 people (Eiswerth et al ) Dr Eiswerth commented that “inperson survey work is always very challenging. It is not easy, and it requires a special recipe of attention to detail, dedication to working long hours, and strong interpersonal skills in terms of interacting with the public. Our team of students did marvelously in this regard and, due to their skills and enthusiasm, we met with success despite the difficulties that are always encountered in such field work ”

Upon return to CC, they used the data they collected to answer the research question of the value of dark sky conservation. They analyzed the data, including the survey data in addition to the geolocation data of the survey participants First, the student researchers input the raw data into Excel

Dr. Yang collaborated with the students on the data analysis, and Mullen retrieved the geolocation of the survey participants from VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) data based on visitors’ home zip codes. VIIRS provides earth imagery from a shared satellite between NASA and NOAA Mullen pulled VIIRS Day/Night Band (DNB) data in order to quantify the light pollution in other areas of the country They then compared the night sky visibility at Great Sand Dunes to that of their survey respondents’ home regions, as well as that of nearby Alamosa and Breckenridge.

Drs Yang and Eiswerth are still polishing the final report, and they hope to get it published in an academic journal Therefore, the findings are somewhat “under wraps,” as Mullen puts it However, broadly speaking, their findings indicate that the majority of those surveyed have college degrees and come from suburban areas. A little more than half of them had seen the night sky at Great Dunes Importantly, almost half of

all respondents asserted that they would spend less time at the Park if it had the same night sky as their home.

The professors analyzed the data for the economic impact of increases in night light pollution To do so, they calculated estimates of the annual decrease in local spending at the Park if there are increases in night light pollution. Their preliminary results suggest that there would be losses of hundreds of thousands of dollars if there was more light pollution (Eiswerth et al )

So why is this research significant? Well, Dr Eiswerth states that it has been a “chance for [the] team to make a contribution on a topic on which very little research has been conducted to date.” The economic value of dark skies is novel information with potential impact on environmental policies.

This study unveils possible economic losses if light pollution increases at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Indeed, one wonders if this pattern would hold at Dark Sky sites throughout the country. Perhaps this study will catalyze more research on the topic.

Ecologically, the loss of clear night skies has had devastating effects, yet continued development and with it glaring night lights grind on Artificial night lighting is fatal to a third of the insects that congregate around it every night (Daley) At the bottom of the food chain, the loss of these insects has a domino effect throughout ecosystems. Nevertheless, 9,500 new apartment units are being built in Colorado Springs alone, many in rural areas. Lights are usually on around the clock at these sites However, with extensive financial losses uncovered by Drs Yang and Eiswerth in the equation, the case for conserving our night skies may just be strengthened

Guanyi Yang is a computational macroeconomist whose research focuses on inequality and labor market frictions. His work explores the impact of these frictions on welfare loss during recessions and the factors that contribute to income and wealth inequalities over time. Growing up in a mining town in China has given him a unique perspective on the anthropogenic impact of resource extraction on local communities, which informs his research on economic development and community well-being in the Rockies region. Through his work, Guanyi seeks to deepen our understanding of the relationship between economic policies, development practices, and the social and environmental landscape of the Rockies region.

Mark Eiswerth is an Economics professor at the University of Northern Colorado. He worked with Guanyi Yang in 2022 and 2023 to conduct dark sky conservation research at Great Dunes and has been a visiting professor several times over the last few years in the Economics Department at CC. His research focuses include Environmental and Natural Resource Economics.

References

Cuda Kroen, Gretchen. “Dung Beetles Navigate by the Milky Way.” AAAS Articles DO Group, 24 Jan. 2013, https://doi.org/10.1126/article.26499. Accessed 22 July 2024.

Daley, J. The Devastating Role of Light Pollution in the 'Insect Apocalypse' Smithsonian Magazine. 25 November 2019, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/light-pollution-contributes-insect-apocalypse-180973642/ Eiswerth, Mark, et al. Tourism Response to Dark Sky Conservation at the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.

Experience the Night - Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve (U.S. National Park Service). www.nps.gov/grsa/planyourvisit/experiencethenight.htm.

Longcore, T. and Rich, C., “Ecological light pollution.” Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2004, 2: 191-198. https://doi.org/10.1890/15409295(2004)002[0191:ELP]2.0.CO;2

Meyers, Patrick. “Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Milky Way over Dunes.” Dark Sky, 5 May 2019, darksky.org/news/great-sand-dunesdesignated-as-international-dark-sky-park.

Sokol, Joshua. “What Animals See in the Stars, and What They Stand to Lose.” The New York Times, 29 July 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/07/29/science/animals-starlight-navigation-dacke.html. Accessed 22 July 2024.

From left to right: Guanyi Yang, Liam Mullen (CC), Benjamin Slater (CC), Avery Morgan (UNC), Duaa Nakshbandi (UNC), Jacob McDougall (UNC), and Mark Eiswerth surveying at the Great Dunes. Photo taken by unknown Great Dunes visitor

2024 Research Projects

2023 Waldo Canyon team members Theo Ollier, ‘26, and Liam Kielty ’26 hike during a day of field work | Photo by Maren Greene '24.

Investigating the Influence of Light Pervasiveness on the distribution of population demographics in three Rocky Mountain Western cities

By Alice O’Neal-Freeman, ‘27

The Rocky Mountain West is one of the fastest growing regions in the country. As people continue to move near the mountains for access to outdoor recreational activities, economic opportunity, and surrounding views of rugged mountainous landscape, we are challenged with the problems of population growth and an increasing built environment.

Stunning, star-filled night skies are also a draw to the region. Increased artificial lighting is a threat to this pristine night sky visibility As the development in the Rocky Mountain region increases, does light pollution rise with it? And within these mountainous cities are there demographic differences based on levels of light?

State of the Rockies sutdent researcher, Alison Mueller-Hickler, 26', is focused on

She is studying the relationship of artificial light pollution and growth and development in three Rocky Mountain West cities. Phoenix: the fastest growing and fifth largest city in the West, Albuquerque: a city that grew rapidly but is now on the decline, and Colorado Springs, one of the fastest growing cities on the Front Range of Colorado

She is investigating who the biggest contributors of light pollution are in addition to their location, and whether race and crime in the most/least artificially lit areas is the same Alison’s project is related to Megan’s in that they are both trying to identify major contributors to light pollution in the Rocky Mountain West Alison in already heavily populated areas, and Megan in areas where population growth and development is increasing in towns proximal to popular outdoor recreation locations (Moab, Monticello) who are also seeing increases in tourism

Alison Mueller-Hickler, ‘26

Alison is interested in the relationship between the amount of artificial light emitted and development She set out to study some of the fastest growing cities in the Rocky Mountain West: Phoenix, Albuquerque, and Colorado Springs She traveled to and through these cities to dozens of sites she mapped over them, taking pictures during the day and returning for light measurements and more pictures at night. Sometimes she finished a day’s work at 12:30 am.

Alison’s project is the bigger picture of light pollution in the Rocky Mountain West, with historical vs current photo comparisons from the more rapidly developing cities Alison is also using historical aerial images from the USGS to track development. She is then visualizing her collected data and VIIRS data on the three cities using GIS. She is working to determine if there is a correlation between demographics and light pollution She pulled age, sex, location, and other demographic information from the census data, and is comparing this data on demographics to crime rates in these cities, as well as comparing it to the light measurements she took. She will do an analysis of the linear regression modeling this data. She has interviewed many people over Zoom, including the founder of Dark Sky international She was invited to show her work at a Dark Skies seminar in October Alison is looking to publish a paper on her research

Alison taking pictures of a site on a research trip to Albuquerque. Photo by Cyndy Hines

The Public Lands Survey Team Individual Projects

Megan O’Brien, ‘25

Megan is interested in predicting possible future light pollution if development continues. She is focused on the towns Blanding, Monticello, and Moab near Bears Ears She is also the Dark Skies team Artist in Residence: in addition to collecting light pollution data, she has been interviewing people she encounters around Bears Ears about the meaning of the stars to them, and taking their photo. She looks to combine data and art with her project.

Megan is creating a grid of data points in the biggest developments/towns near Bears Ears, and taking photos and light measurements at those points She scheduled meetings at local libraries searching for historic photos in the towns of Blanding, Monticello, and Moab. She is then comparing the current photos she takes and the historic ones she finds in order to get an idea of the changes in development around Bears Ears.

Megan pored through VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) data to find the brightest artificially lit sites

Megan O’Brien in Moab, July 2024, during a reconnaissance trip. Photo by Cyndy Hines.

near Bears Ears as seen via satellite She is investigating the biggest threats to Bears Ears’ dark skies

Flares at Elk Petroleum South, Montezuma Creek , Utah, Photo by Megan O’Brien, ‘25

visiting semi-close to the monument.

His survey focused on peoples’ connection to the stars He asked if respondents observe the night sky frequently, if they have seen a change in the night sky visibility, and if light pollution has impacted their activities, among other questions. Additionally, he asked for demographic information as he looks to analyze differences in how varying age groups think about the night sky. It came to his attention that a lot of people did not realize night sky visibility has changed in many areas and there could be more change in the future

Mustafa is also working on a Dark Skies website as a place to compile all the research State of the Rockies conducts on light pollution.

Natasha Thomas, ‘24

The Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition wants to understand how their community outreach is doing in terms of the new co-management plan; how many people knew about it around Bears Ears Natasha undertook this project, and surveyed people near the monument She asked them if they have a tribal affiliation, if they know about the changes in size of the Monument, and if they participated in the meetings held for public input on managing the area.

Natasha traveled to Bluff and Blanding right next to the Monument, as well as more towards the Four Corners She surveyed on the Southern Ute, Mountain Ute, and Navajo reservations Natasha interviewed people in and outside grocery stores, at gas stations, in trading posts, and outside on the street. She has talked to many Native people, but also Mormons and other residents of the Southeast Utah region

The theme of the complexity in identities and interests in the area became apparent

to her through her interviews. Oil companies looking to profit off the land, native people looking to protect it, yet other native people looking for a job (with the oil companies if needed), Mormons looking to make use of the land they believe is there for their use, ATV enthusiasts looking for exhilartating rides on the rocky land Natasha has heard it all this summer She wrote a long-form journalism story about all these different perspectives coming together in one place, the fight for the varied resources Bears Ears offers.

Mustafa Sameen, ‘26

Mustafa initially wanted to study the impact of light pollution on people around the Bears Ears National Monument. He is interested in the cultural practices of indigenous people centered around the stars. After his first trip in the field his research shifted, and he spent the summer surveying Native people on reservations as well as tourists

Natasha and Mustafa wading in the Animas River, near Durango, CO on a research trip. Photo by Alice O’Neal-Freeman, ‘27.

Natasha, Mustafa, and Alice driving Southwest in Colorado on a research trip.

Photo by Natasha Thomas, ‘24.

Landmark Venture to Co-Manage Bears Ears National Monument Digs Up History of Southeastern Utah

“border towns”

By Natalie Thomas

Once dismissed as “wasteland” by the US government, Bears Ears became home to those marginalized by mainstream culture: namely, the Latter-day Saints and Native Americans Southeast of Bears Ears, three towns Monticello, Blanding, and Bluff border the Abajo Mountains. In these border towns of Bears Ears National Monument, centers our story: one of people fighting to protect what they hold dear.

Half a century after Mormon settlement, the forgotten land received new attention

from the US government, when uranium deposits were discovered Subsequently, its many other resources of “market” value were recognized: livestock grazing, mining, and recreation, to name a few Bears Ears also holds immense " nonmarket value" for the Native Utah Tribes, for its traditional, cultural, and spiritual uses. In the past 10 years, the rich value of this land holds has led to a battle of resources tribal nations, corporations, and environmentalist orgs have fought over what should be done with Bears Ears

Until now, US government agencies have been at the helm of federal land management under these agencies, land usage is evaluated by one big equation: X, Y, and Z resources get divided according to their value But one problem arises with such methods: how does one assign relative importance to spirituality, livelihood, and longevity of the humanland connection?

Such division of land and its resources is not a practice shared by every culture Western, Euro-centric thinking tends to

Did you know?

“Non-market value” is the term used in the land management documents created by the US Department of Interior to represent that which holds value beyond the US dollar.

treat land as an object of ownership, a concept imposed by colonizers on Native Americans Because this ideological view of land ownership and rights is still dominant, Native Americans are forced to live under this societal construct, out of alignment with their own.

In 2024, we have reached the first-ever attempt at co-management: sharing the responsibilities of land between the US Government and Tribal Nations, carried out through the Resource Management Plan This is a divergence from the typical equational approach Traditional Indigenous Knowledge is cited over a hundred times as reason for certain management decisions.

Historically speaking, this move is radical for the US The United States has made space for Traditional Indigenous voices land management; quite the contrary tribes have been violently forced to vacate land, assimilate, and be silent.

MONUMENT IN THE MAKING

In the 1980s, U.S. policies began shifting from enforcing assimilation of Native Americans to promoting their autonomy This change reflected a growing recognition of self-determination as an inalienable right for all, akin to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

This mindset spurred former President Obama to support the plan brought to him by a Native American Nonprofit: the Utah Diné Bikéyah The organization’s name means “the people’s sacred lands” in Navajo; they seek to turn the Bears Ears Region, which was the place of cultural and spiritual connection for tribes around it, into a protected monument.

Kenneth Maryboy, a Navajo Council Delegate and San Juan County Commissioner, was instrumental in this movement In a 2010 letter to R-UT Senator Bennett, he reasoned: “One or more tribes occupied each county in the state for thousands of years, prior to pioneer immigration to the region. Because of this, the tribes of Utah each have strong cultural and spiritual ties, treaty rights, and interests in places throughout Utah that lie outside of reservation boundaries ”

The Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, representing the five major tribes connected to the area the Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, and the Pueblo of Zuni joined forces with Utah Diné Bikéyah Despite their efforts, the San Juan County Commissioners in February 2015 opposed the monument proposal, advocating instead for the designation of parts of

Bears Ears as “Energy Zones” for agricultural, mining, and energy development.

The roadblocks these Tribal Nations faced to protect Bears Ears mirror many other challenges that hinder native healing, ever since they were pushed off land that the US deemed too valuable time and again, for US policy, economy trumps “non market value”. Despite this, the coalition's persistence paid off in 2016 when Obama approved the designation of Bears Ears as a national monument, supported by a broad coalition of Native Americans, their allies, and outdoor gear companies Thus, it was extreme whiplash, and heartbreak, when only months after Obama’s BENM institution, Trump’s administration called for an investigation of the monument's adherence to the Antiquities Act.

The Antiquities Act is a law written in 1906, and it was originally intended to protect cultural sites like Bears Ears Unfortunately, it had one sticky clause: the monument must occupy the “smallest area compatible” with protection.

The land would undoubtedly be more profitable if tapped for its oil and mineral resources; even if that resulted in extreme changes to the landscape, and all the health risks for neighboring towns that come about from industrial mining Under Trump, Bears Ears did not “pass” the smallest-area-compatible investigation The monument was reduced in size by 85%, with many important cultural sites not protected. Ten years of work, taken down with the scratch of the Executive pen.

LOCAL DISCONTENT

It’s no surprise that the monument’s fluctuating status has impacted the economy and daily lives in the small towns surrounding it.

Rallies were held in hopes that Biden would re-establish the monument, which he did in 2021. The controversy over Bears

Ears its establishment, deestablishment, and eventual reestablishment, supported by major groups like Patagonia has brought significant outside influence to these typically quiet towns

Now that the land was being regulated as a monument (on and off and on again), locals of Blanding and Monticello were fired-up to stop certain changes. The restriction of ATV access to the locally beloved Arch Canyon, for example, is one of the most contested changes our team heard when interviewing locals

Blanding has a history of passionately protecting ATV routes it’s a core battle fought by San Juan County Governor Phil Lyman, who was arrested in 2014 for leading an ATV ride through closed canyons. This was in protest of federal overreach an underlying fear for many living in these Bears Ears border towns

If you ask your average Blanding Local how they feel about the monument, you

are bound to get one of two responses: Either extreme opposition to government/outsider interference, or hesitancy to speak on the matter You would be hard-pressed though, to find someone who had no opinion at all -willing to share it or not

If you go to the Blanding Library, you’ll likely be greeted by some friendly, bubbly women at the front desk. I was looking to research the area ' s cultural and economic past, and they were accommodating to help me find historical reports on the town When I shared my intentions to investigate the town’s attitude towards the monument, Ginny Brooks shared this: “Everybody who’s local is against it, and everybody who’s not local is like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it!’” The two gals working with her chimed in in agreement.

Ginny is white, like about half of the population in Blanding; but she felt that those with Native ancestry, who comprised the town’s other major ethnic group, tended to feel the same “The

[native] people that I do know would go up on the mountain, chop down wood, collect native herbs and things… and now with the protection they are putting on the [monument], they aren’t able to do that anymore”

Other white residents shared similar views. Mike Larson is a young man who grew up in Blanding, left for a few years in his adulthood, and returned to work as a social worker and farmer.

“First of all, I feel that the expansion of Bears Ears was a huge overstepping for the Federal Government Second of all, it had a huge negative effect on the local economy A lot of people in this area are ranchers and farmers, and they count on that land to graze their cattle. It also blocked off access for the Native Americans in this area to go and gather their sacred herbs, plants, all sorts of stuff. It put a complete block on that.”

Sixteen other non-Native individuals from Blanding, Bluff, and Monticello echoed Larson’s view of federal overreach, with

Bears Ears National Monument.

Photo by Megan O’Brien, ‘25.

the belief that Native Americans share this sentiment. To understand the Native perspective, I spoke directly with those living in these border towns

Robert Cly is a Navajo who grew up around the trails of Bears Ears, and in his adulthood, he worked in those same canyons as a cattle rancher. He says, “they just need to leave it the way it is so people can enjoy, and have their families go up and use Bears Ears.”

Cly’s viewpoint is common among Native individuals in these towns While they support protecting Bears Ears, they are frustrated by external directives On the matter of co-management with the InterTribal Coalition, he simply voiced: “yeah… there’s some stuff that I didn’t like [about the Inter-Tribal Coalition].”

Navajo and Ute Native and Blanding local Miles Harrison used to know every trail in Bears Ears; when he was young, he would go exploring the different offshoots through those endless canyonlands Through the years, he’s had buddies come back from adventuring, and report that some of their old trails got closed off He wants the trails to be used, loved, and taken care of; not shut off to the people.

He, like Cly, expressed concern at the inter-tribal coalition’s venture to comanage the monument “I think [the inter-tribal coalition’s] minds are twisted, in ways they don’t know ” Harrison believes the government will ultimately disregard the coalition’s input once they are on board. Cly says many in his social circles share this skepticism about the monument’s management.

Cly and Harrison were some of the few Native people living in the border towns who agreed to be interviewed; but it was more common that Native individuals were hesitant to speak on the matter We found folks who would share some opinions, but not want their name recorded or to be interviewed in an official capacity.

These individuals tended to share opinions that didn’t align with that of the average Blanding local’s. Often, Native Americans living in the border towns had conflicting feelings of wanting protection for the sacred space, but seeing issues with restrictions the monument would bring about A statistical fact of our team's investigation was that non-native people living in the San Juan County border towns were much more likely to share

Data from N.Thomas, ‘24, summer 2024 southeastern Utah. Graphics by Mustafa Sameen, ‘26.

their opinions than those with native heritage this is not a fact to be ignored

THE FACTS:

I have itemized the concerns we heard from locals about the monument: (1), reduction of OHV access to certain beloved canyons, such as Arch Canyon. (2), loss of access to timber collection. (3) inability for natives to engage in culturalspecific practices, such as collecting herbs and visiting sacred locations. (4) loss of ability to graze animals on the land Every single alternative in the CoManagement plan allows livestock grazing; Alternative E, which is that most supported and favored by the Inter-Tribal coalition, would leave 87% of the land available for grazing.

Under Alternative E, forest and wood products would be available for harvest on a seasonal or year-to-year basis, based on close monitoring of the health of the wildlife and its needs Similarly, vegetation gathering would be allowed with wildlife health monitoring and potential rest periods for vegetative growth or to allow for ceremonial uses.

Finally, 58.8 percent of land will have managed OHV access for comparison, this is more access than 2 other alternative plans, the same access level as another plan, and 9% less access than the alternative that gives the most OHV allowance

Alternative E additionally plans for invasive species management, healthy soil maintenance, protective measures for artifacts that have been the target of looting, and implementation of the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program to clean up waste associated with abandoned mine lands We find that many local fears seem to be based on misinformation rather than the reality of the co-managed monument. Timber access, cattle grazing, and herb collection remain possible. Although some OHV trails may be restricted, 800,000 acres will still be available for off-highway vehicle exploration

At this point in research, there is one facet I was still very uncertain of: the frequent repetition I heard, in these San Juan County border towns, of distrust towards the Inter-Tribal Coalition If this collaboration aims to enhance Native American autonomy, their representatives should be a trustworthy reflection of their needs.

(DIS)TRUST: Historically speaking.

Why do such fears fester and spread through a place like San Juan County?

Spend any time in Blanding or Monticello, and I imagine you’d form the same impression that I did that many of the locals seeked to lead a quiet and happy life

I never felt that they aimed to be oppositional about the monument; rather, they had genuine fears fear that this was all happening to them, not with them or for them. And it was out of their control.

San Juan County is home to two significant groups: the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) and Native Americans About 38 percent of the county’s population are Mormons, whose ancestors faced severe persecution in the 1830s and 40s. Driven from Illinois, Missouri, and Ohio, Mormons endured violent attacks and forced relocations before settling in what is now Utah. This persecution includes the Hawn’s Mill Massacre, where 17 Mormons were killed

In 1880, Mormons undertook the arduous "Hole in the Rock" expedition, descending 1,200 feet down sandstone cliffs to settle in San Juan County. The Hole in the Rock Foundation now works to preserve this pioneering history.

Native Americans, who make up 46 percent of the county’s population, also

have a deep connection to the land. Ancestral Puebloans originally inhabited the land, and Southern Utes arrived around 1300 It has also become home to many Diné (commonly known as Navajo): the Long Walk of the Navajo is an unforgettable atrocity committed against the Diné from 1864-1868, one in which US soldiers “burn Navajo hogans to the ground, kill livestock, and destroy irrigated fields”. The Diné were then forced to march from various places in Arizona and New Mexico to Fort Sumner NM, and quarter there without enough food and water

Hundreds of Navajo died during the grueling, sometimes 300 mile journey, and more deaths followed.

It was upon arrival to Fort Sumner when warrior hero K’aayelli led a band of Navajos to Bears Ears, escaping to the mountains of Southeastern Utah

The ancestors of San Juan County have endured significant hardships and injustices; stories have been passed down of the cruelty brought upon them. Unfortunately, there is ample reason for San Juan County citizens to be fearful of outsiders managing their beloved trails, open spaces, and spiritual sites. The 1860’s, marked by Mormon persecution and the Navajo Long Walk, was not so long ago These traumas are a powerful deterrent of the trust such a collaboration aims to operate within

COMMUNITY HEALS:

How do we heal such deeply cut wounds?

A lot was illuminated for me inside the monument itself. When our research team was welcomed into the Bears Ears Gathering held deep into the monument, we witnessed kinsmanship and togetherness that permeated to everyone present Hundreds of Native people had

gathered the first night of this weekend event. Circled under a big tent, Native Americans from various tribes spoke into a microphone about their connection to this land Gourd songs and dancing were centered in the circle The energy was starkly different from those towns of Blanding and Monticello, and even Bluff

The focus of this gathering was not on meeting economic needs. It was a spiritual engagement. This became clear when three young women tearfully spoke in their native language about grandparents who had passed away Their stories were part of why they felt compelled to connect with their larger family at this gathering

A gentleman in a Vietnam Veteran vest, adorned with a Purple Heart, spoke of friends lost in the war, who would have been at the ceremony had they not perished. Tears flowed. The drummers and dancers set a tone that aligned everyone present to the same wavelength: the space was sacred, for all to connect on this special ground of their ancestors

Only miles away were the two buttes that came to be known as the Bears “ears”, where Navajo Warrior K’aayelli once took refuge.

Utah Diné Bikéyah member Meredith Benally spoke on what the ceremony means to her “This place being sacred and this place being safe is incorporated into the relationship with my ancestors [ ] Not just language, not just ceremony, not just the food source and the dependency that we have on the national resources here, but also knowing where I stand in all of that timeline.”

To her, the spiritual connection is so important to maintain because it's about everyday well-being

She described the cyclical and connected way things work, and how humans have to be intentionally in touch with that.

“Nature itself has its responsibilities without having to reming each other, like the trees to the deer or the deer to the water or, you know, to the universe ”

“Nature

itself has its responsibilities without having to remind each other, like the trees to the deer or the deer to the water or, you know, to the universe. Like, hey, don't forget, you've got to bring us rain. It's just a naturally occurring relationship. Whereas with us as humans, we have to be reminded. That's why the seasons change.”

BEYOND THE DOLLAR VALUE

Benally and her partner also spoke on the Utah Diné Bikéyah’s work with the InterTribal coalition, and addressed the mistrust I’d been hearing about.

The closer the people are to border towns, they become biased, because that's who they listen to; and really, they are blinded by the everyday voices that they listen to ” her partner said “That's the assimilation of living in townships, they kind of mirror what everybody is saying.”

Meredith added: “Utah Dine Bikeyah stays grassroots; they stay local to the people. It's unilateral Whereas the coalition is able to maneuver upward and across So, if people are saying ‘What about the coalition? How come they don’t talk to us?’ Well, we can always talk with them ” Her partner continued: “The coalition is good because it's got representation from different tribes; the bad part that we’re talking about is probably our own fault, because the representation that we pick is sometimes not the correct representation that we want ”

Their perspective gave the Inter-Tribal Coalition more credibility; it likely isn’t perfect, in the same way that US elected government officials aren’t always the ideal candidates. But its existence is necessary they are fighting for something that each of these tribe’s people want. The hundreds gathered that night was evidence

In the beginning of this story, I wanted to learn more about that which cannot be answered by hard science; by one big equation In many ways, science can explain the sacred environment that was created at the gathering: Music, for example, is wavelengths of phonons that everyone who listens is receiving when we are all affected by this same energetic input, we share a physical experience that connects us. The air we were breathing, the sunrays poking through the tall pines, connected us all to this space and time There is also research indicating how dance connects people: similarly, to move one’s body to a common beat creates similar neural patterns in people's brains it is a connector of people.

We can talk science all we want; but the theories will not bring us this sense of community that permeated the gathering to achieve that, we must engage with one another

Equations that suit economic decisionmaking will not account for the invaluable: our heritage and right to selfexpression.

Through historical rejection of, and violence against, communities in San Juan county, we’ve created an environment of fear Whether it be fear of outsiders, fear of the US government misappropriating the land, or concern that the inter-tribal coalitions interests do not align with tribal citizens locals think that any change will affect them negatively, which can lead them to reject the monument or co-management.

However, steps like sharing management between the tribes and US, and further attempts to create authentic connection to these citizens, can begin to heal generational trauma

Operating in this Tribal-US comanagement, equations must be drawn up. But the solution to the fear is not further division; it is inclusion of locals in the management of their land, done through meaningful on-the-ground

As of this summer, the co-management plan appears to be a turn in the right direction towards native selfdetermination However, more work needs to be done to connect with border towns, so that the transition into this new way of sharing land management is wellreceived.

When we cannot talk to each other, we do not connect with each other. When we do not connect with each other, how can we find solutions that meet both of our needs? Despite the old US relegation of

the west as a “wasteland,” Bears Ears is obviously rich in many things: wood for building and burning, land for grazing, spirituality that echoes through ruins of hundreds of canyons, and space for connection Fear tells us that Bears Ears is 1 35 million acres that, if not possessed by us, will be used by others to lower our own positioning.

If we operate from only a capitalistic, euro-centric approach, perhaps that is the way it would go. But through a lens of hope, Bears Ears is a massive physical embodiment of history, ancestors, resources that give us life, and space that

we can connect with ourselves, nature, and others. To decide what should be “done” with the land, perhaps we may find a similar wavelength, rather than staying on our own separate ones. An equation of perfect division does not exist; which is why all who hold Bears Ears dear must be included in sharing this land

Natasha Thomas is a CC 24' graduate in Biochemistry. Her project this summer was a qualitative exploration of public opinion regarding use of land, specifically that protected as Bears Ears National Monument. She interviewed individuals living in various communities in and around Bears Ears about the monument's initial establishment under Obama, de-establishment under Trump, and now reestablishment and co-managemen

with the Tribal Coalition. The project became a historical exploration into what causes fear in communities, and the importance of connection in healing generational trauma. The field work and story-building processes have been such a rewarding experience for her.

“ I’m grateful I got to work with the State of the Rockies team!” -- Natasha Thomas

Natasha Thomas, ‘24

Photo by Hset Hset Naing, ‘24

Visitors at Data Viz Nite, April, 2024. Photo by Sabine Zentner ‘27.

2023 Waldo Team member Sydney Morris, ‘24 walks through blanket bluebells. | Photo by Maren Greene ‘24.

Meet the 2024 Waldo Team

Matt Cooney

Matt has been working at CC and with State of the Rockies for nearly 7 years Providing expertise in the GIS and remote sensing fields, he assists Rockies' students, staff, and faculty with research, analysis, data, cartography, and technology. Matt enjoys working with State of the Rockies as he holds shared beliefs with their mission and goals and is passionate about aligning technology, teaching, and student development around issues in the Rocky Mountain Region.

Ben M Curry

Ben '25 is an Environmental Studies major. His passion for the outdoors started in Southern New Mexico, on his mountain bike. At Colorado College Ben is a member of the Club Cycling team, manager of the Ritt Kellog Climbing Gym, leader for the North Boys program, motion graphics designer for CC athletics and loves making pottery. His interest in wildfires started during his time at the United World College, USA when after a rapid evacuation, the Hermit's peak fire wiped out large swaths of the Pecos wilderness and nearly burnt down the school for the third time

Shamdeed Kabir

I am Shamdeed Kabir '25 from Dhaka, Bangladesh, pursuing a major in Computer Science and a minor in Statistics. I am broadly interested in data science and modeling, and I envision myself working in the fields of computational biology/bioinformatics in the future. Apart from my academic interests, I am an avid antique coin collector and car enthusiast, who loves to travel to different countries and enjoys backpacking, fishing, and kayaking.

Rafiul Alam Khan

Rafiul, ‘26, is a Mathematical Economics major and Physics minor. He is excited to be part of the State of the Rockies Waldo Canyon team. Specifically, he looks forward to working with lots of data points and analyzing specific data parts from the project. A fun fact about Rafiul is that he grew up traveling all around Bangladesh.

Tyler Mielke

Tyler, ‘26, is an Organismal Biology & Ecology major from Hastings-on-Hudson, New York Tyler is passionate about conservation and, as a member of the Waldo Canyon team, is deeply interested in learning more about the preservation of forest ecosystems in the Rocky Mountain West At Colorado College, she is a member of the Cutthroat Rugby team and a mechanic at the Bike and Ski Co-op. In her free time, Tyler enjoys skiing, mountain biking, hiking, and anything that involves spending time outdoors.

Rachel Phillips

Hailing from Greeneville Tennessee, Rachel became passionate about nature while exploring the forests of Southern Appalachia, especially the likes of invertebrates and amphibians. From this passion, Rachel is pursuing a degree in Organismal Biology and Ecology, as well as a Southwest Studies minor In their spare time, you can find Rachel taking care of their plants, cooking their favorite foods, or learning about fun entomology facts With State of the Rockies, Rachel is excited to contribute to an understanding of the ecological recovery of the Waldo Canyon Fire for generations to come

2024 Waldo Team Updates and Findings

By Libby Cutler ‘26

The Waldo Canyon Team consists of five Colorado College students, led by Cyndy Hines The work done by the Waldo team focuses on the study of the area affected by the Waldo Canyon fires in July of 2012 Waldo Canyon is located two miles west of the Manitou Springs bypass, in close proximity to Colorado College. The goals of this project involve research and data collection of the ecological comeback of different species since the fire. A large focus of the project is studying the resilience of the ponderosa pine species

Using programs such as GIS, and different mapping techniques and technologies, the Waldo team is keeping track of vegetation growth to compare the pre-fire and postfire state of Waldo Canyon The ponderosa pine species is significant to this project

Not only is it an iconic Colorado tree species, but it is currently predicted that continuous intense fires, due to the warming and drying climate in Colorado, could lead this species to extinction. The monitoring done by the Waldo team will provide first-hand insight on understand

the resilience of the species, specifically post-fire This year, new team members have continued to work to grow the project This includes studying the presence of animal species and soil health to determine further how the fire has impacted the whole of the Waldo ecosystem. The Waldo Canyon project is just getting started, and State of the Rockies hopes to continue to monitor the regrowth of the different species in Waldo Canyon

Rachel Phillips, ‘26 and Mary Cate Kiser, ‘27 collect pollinators and measure soil moisture. Photos by Tyler Mielke ‘26

the

randomly

sample

The team contemplates how to best access

next

located

site. Left to right: Ben Curry, ‘25, Tyler Mielke, ’26, Rachel Phillips, ‘25, and Mary Cate Kiser, ‘27 | Photo by Cyndy Hines.

Summer in Waldo: While Studying Ecological Regeneration, I

Found Evidence of my Own

By Mary Cate Kiser, ‘27

“Working in Waldo, it’s pretty bleak” Silence followed as I waited for Cyndy Hines’ next words, eager to know what I was in for if I chose to accept the job. I can handle a few months, I thought to myself. Over the summer I came to understand that although the landscape is indeed bleak, every moment spent working in Waldo teemed with life In studying ponderosa pine regrowth, I found evidence of regeneration within my own ecology: an awakening of the connection between human and land that too often lies dormant within us.

Imagine a desert in the middle of a forest. Imagine walking through a graveyard or old war zone, something abandoned and jarringly silent Birdsong is scarce and there are hardly any tree branches for the wind to sift through The bones of animals and trees lay together in dirt– legs, ribs, skulls, trunks and branches, all bleached white and brittle. On these daily walks through eerie emptiness, I found myself wondering what this place must have looked like before the flames swept through and took so much life with them.

We traveled through this land every day, and each site resembled a uniquely absurd obstacle course We trudged through swampy valleys, balanced on logs

“ suspended precariously over groves of thorn bushes, and fought our way through hordes of young aspen trees with branches the perfect height for gouging out eyeballs.

In our hands we carried measuring tapes bigger than our heads, rolls of flagging tape, and compasses Each day, someone was lucky enough to find themselves carrying a temperature probe, essentially a bayonet, as they stumbled and slid down slopes These hikes were a balancing act that promised a variety of new scrapes and bruises each day. “I was at the grocery store,” Cyndy told us one day, laughing, “when this lady saw my legs and asked me if I was okay”.

Our summer task was seemingly simple First, we would select and flag ten 200by-300 meter grids of land in the burn areas by following a bearing and tying neon flagging tape onto trees to mark the line. Next, we would sample every quadrant of each of our ten sites to monitor ponderosa pine regeneration following fire. To do this, we used a variety of measurements including slope, tree diameter, tree height, soil moisture, soil temperature, ground coverage, burn severity, and number of saplings

The group meshed together seamlessly, but we weren’t immune to occasional mistakes Minor miscommunications could render an entire day’s work useless and more than once, we had to flag, unflag, and re-flag entire sites We miscounted saplings and had dead walkietalkies. We dealt with broken tapes, faulty moisture meters, and once, spent hours untangling a knotted transect tape.

Each problem, however, came with a creative and group-crafted solution Our communication became thorough and

Pikes Peak from Waldo Canyon | Photo by Mary Cate Kiser, ‘27

The Waldo team climbs over downed Aspens. Photo by Cyndy Hines

precise as we checked and doublechecked bearings and measurements. On flags, we included extensive information, including a diagram of where it lay on the transect We developed a method for a solo person to lay a transect line in case we were short on people, and an effective system for sapling counts emerged Everyone collaborated to create a streamlined system for data collection and eventually, we fell into the satisfying rhythm of counting, coring, measuring, and writing.

A job that requires you to spend at least 8 hours every day with the same four or five people is a recipe for turning strangers into some sort of family

For efficiency’s sake, we would spend some nights camping near our sites. Though any of us could have retreated into our tents after an exhausting day of field work, we didn’t We stayed up long after sunset simply because we enjoyed each other’s company As the summer drew on and afternoon storms became routine, we spent hours hunkering under a tarp while the sky cracked and roared. On these days, fear and laughter wove us together.

In Waldo, simple things brought enormous excitement. Occasionally, someone would find a rack of antlers or pile of animal bones, and the group would erupt with childlike glee as a full-on scavenger hunt broke out to find more Whether it be a vibrant wildflower, a moose bounding up a distant slope, or a freakishly gorgeous flash of lightning, I let myself give in to a sense of shameless wonder that I often resist in other spaces.

With time and quiet observation, I learned to read the land It happened largely without my knowing, but I began to speak a new language I called plants and pollinators by name I could tell the difference between a ponderosa pine and a Douglas fir as effortlessly and subconsciously as one might tell left from right. And I knew where to find them: just inches downslope from charred trees and stumps, a fascinating and beautifully symbolic place for a young tree to find refuge I could glance at the sky and know whether rain would hit us or pass I could tell North from South without a compass I even found myself apologizing to wildflowers I’d stepped on. You might call this a wild descent into madness. I’ll call it the development of empathy and

awareness

This job gave me much more than work

First and foremost, It gave me a sense of agency to combat the despair that once dominated my outlook on environmental topics. I learned to lead, follow, and

A flag record of bearing, distance, and a site diagram. Photo by Mary Cate Kiser, ‘27.

Cyndy Hines, Tyler Mielke,‘ 26, and Ben Curry, ‘25 untangle a transect tape. Photo by Mary Cate Kiser, ‘27.

communicate with the utmost compassion and clarity. I began to listen for sounds we rarely hear and to look for things we don’t often see I found a sense of empathy, softness, and wonder, and I nurtured crucial relat-ionships with both the land and the people around me Most remarkably, I found a sense of fulfillment that I didn’t expect to find until much, much later in life: the knowledge that I’m working toward something far greater than myself

Rachel Phillips, ‘25, Ben Curry, ’25 and Tyler Mielke, ‘26 wait out a thunderstorm.

Photo by Mary Cate Kiser, ‘27.

Ben Curry, ‘25 finds a moose antler in site S4. Photo by Tyler Mielke, ‘26.

Tyler Mielke,’ 26 walks through burn area before a storm. Photo by Mary Cate Kiser, ‘27.

In Fire’s Shadow

A ponderosa pine sapling grows beneath a tree killed in the fire. Photo by Mary Cate Kiser, ‘27.

Sydney Morris ‘24 and Liam Keiilty ‘25 measure a tree in site 14S. | Photo by Maren Greene ‘24

A Point of Diminishing Returns: The Flaws in Modeling a Production Function of of Economic Productivity Over Water Availability

By Nicole Craighead, ‘26

When a Colorado Springs Utilities Department representative spoke to my class Block 4, she sounded entirely optimistic. Across state standards, Colorado’s water conservation programming was robust, and within the Colorado Springs municipality, it was a top performer nationwide This ran contrary to the headlines seen across the state and nationwide discussing the dwindling Colorado River and the last of water resources being sucked up. Her reasoning seemed counterintuitive to the increasing politicization of the region: the legality issues arising from six states attempting to divide the body of water across drought-prone regions With rising contentions and falling water levels, Colorado Springs Utilities’ optimism is a

rarity and a glimmer of hope amidst a globe of climate anxiety. Nevertheless, are we naive to believe in them?

Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) outlines its conservation strategies in the Integrated Water Resource Plan (IWRP), published most recently in 2017 The IWRP is a comprehensive plan that outlines the city's approach to managing its water resources and balancing economic growth with environmental sustainability. To illustrate the IWRP paradigm, CSU references a core economic principle: the production function. Economists use the production function to gauge the relation between production inputs and the outputs they create

The IWRP utilized the function in describing the region’s economic opportunity and productivity as a function of the sum of factors of production and the water supply. The factors of production in any given economy are the land, capital, labor, and entrepreneurship that drive its productivity Each of such factors has proved immensely successful in the region, prompting the city to be an epicenter of economic opportunity. However, in doing so, they’ve neglected the constraining variable of water and left room for dangerous ramifications in the years ahead As such, the current model that solves the function for economic opportunity under various factors leads to a capitalistic framing of city development

Colorado Springs Population: 1994-2014

2024 Budget and Community Profile | City of Colorado Springs (December, 2023), coloradosprings.gov/sites/default/files/2023pbudget-00-04-glanceprofile_0.pdf

that neglects the most fundamental question: where will the city get enough water? The first factor of production driving economic growth is the robust labor force driven by recent population growth

Just over two decades ago, Colorado Springs’ population was 540,000, but above 769,000 in the most recent reporting year.

Alongside the population growth, per capita personal income has risen with it In 1990, the personal income of the average Colorado Springs citizen was just under $18,500, a figure that rose to over $60,000 in the next thirty years the strong personal income points to another factor of production: the city's capital.

According to the city's annual economic development report, the 2023 General Fund sales and use tax revenue grew 13% from the prior year, bringing the largest source of revenue for the city’s general fund, totaling $252,740,000 Over the past ten years, this trend has been sustained by continuous increases in city tax collection. Indeed, El Paso County has over 329,000 residents employed, earning an average of $34.76 an hour. The County’s GDP as of 2023 was $42 billion, 40% of which is accredited to the military bases, cybersecurity industry, and aerospace innovation that Colorado Springs hosts

According to the city’s 2022 annual report, the basis for higher capital gains stemmed from two city development areas, the first being the Economic Development Agreements (EDAs). In 2022, two new EDAs were approved, with 454 new jobs created and 600 retained jobs, driven by $95 1 million in private investment and reaping $10 8 million in projected net new city revenue Greater investment in the city also led to capital growth, which informed another factor of production: land availability. Through private investment totaling $146 million, the city’s Economic Development Divisions supported the Rapid Response Project Program, expediting the process

Annual Water Production and Population Served: 1990-2020 2022 Water Efficiency Plan | Colorado Springs Utilities (2022) https://www.csu.org/Documents/2022WaterEfficiencyPlan.pdf

for business developers to attain land use and building permits The program was the catalyst to 13 new projects that year with 425 new jobs and 1,938 retained jobs that utilized over 1.5M square feet of the city.

Beyond new businesses, residential land density has also shown prolific growth. In 2022, 20,000 new apartment units were built According to the city's Department of Planning and Network Services, in 2020, Colorado Springs saw a 27% increase in residential property use, as 508.6 acres were dedicated to new units, a spike in land use from the prior five years. Cumulatively, the city saw a 12% increase in new residential density in 2022. CSU aims to align economic growth with the sustainable use of natural resources like water, and their efforts have yielded impressive results in reducing water consumption Despite significant population growth, overall water usage has decreased since its peak in 2011, with monthly usage dropping by approximately 1.8 billion gallons. The CSU Economic Development Team expressed optimism about continued water conservation, highlighting reductions in per capita water use and improvements in

infrastructure These changes have transformed outdoor water use for irrigation from two-thirds of total usage 20 years ago to just one-third, with the remaining water now efficiently reused in a closed-loop system.

1“Resident Population in Colorado Springs, CO” (March 14, 2024), Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Economic Data

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CLRPOP

2“Per Capita Personal Income in Colorado Springs.” CO Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Economic Data, November 16, 2023

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/COLO808PCPI 3KOAA News 5 “Growth and Opportunity: The Colorado Springs Economy.” Yahoo News, September 7, 2023 https://www.yahoo.com/news/growthopportunity-colorado-springs-economy214049577.html

4“Final 2022 Annual Report|City of Colorado Springs.” Colorado Springs Government, December 20, 2023.

https://coloradosprings.gov/document/final2022an nualreport-forweb.pdf

5“Final 2022 Annual Report | City of Colorado Springs.”

https://coloradosprings.gov/document/final2022an nualreport-forweb.pdf.

6“Citywide Net Density of New Residential Development” City of Colorado Springs

https://coloradosprings.gov/plancos/page/citywidenet-density-new-residential-development.

Colorado Springs Annual Water Demand Forecast 2000-2068, 2022 Water Efficiency Plan | Colorado Springs Utilities, https://www.csu.org/Documents/2022WaterEfficiencyPlan.pdf

Scott Winters, the water demand models and benchmarks project manager, analyzes water consumption metrics and their implications. His fourteen-year career with CSU has garnered expertise in developing water resource economic models and planning buildouts to 2070 and 2080 With his expertise comes an ability to provide a uniform explanation of the modeling process and how it has informed one of the most efficient municipal water utilities in the nation. CSU’s classifications are delineated by three bases: low, medium, and high densities, the latter classification being defined as 25 people per unit per acre. Their method of tracking usage per acre differs from the state of Colorado and other municipalities that rely on metrics of use per person alongside population growth estimates

Still, CSU seeks to validate their metrics with the state each recording period to maintain their model’s integrity. This difference in technique has allowed CSU to revolutionize the process of municipal water resource allocation, forecasting not based on individual needs but on the development trends of high-density areas in urban environments

The benchmarks of water demand are just

the beginning of Winters’ work; these metrics are factored into various models to trace speculative futures the city may face While Winters enjoys contending with the multiple factors playing into resident water use, it is by far the most complex Economists can maximize one variable in models, but they can rarely maximize two without tradeoffs. While Colorado Springs has enjoyed a multi decade run of economic strength, economic indicators show a dip in recent years To leverage the momentum cultivated in previous years, the city faces considerable pressure to maintain its profile as a lucrative business opportunity for big tech companies and chip manufacturers. Winters factors these developments into the “healthy economy scenario” where such companies move into the city, providing high-paying job opportunities and boosting the region's GDP per capita While discussions about chip manufacturing for renewable energy alternatives like solar panels and electric vehicles often highlight their environmental benefits, the intensive energy and water consumption involved in their production is rarely addressed. In July of 2024, the World Economic Forum published data exposing chip manufacturers to use up to 10 million gallons of water a day, the same amount

as 33,000 US households Winters also mentioned the implications that aren’t reflected in the model; historical data shows that real estate built after 1990 consumes vastly more water, something an onset of higher income residents may drive. While the increasing business demands are being prioritized, the pressures of Colorado Springs being the largest city in the state without a central waterway remain

CSU draws its planning primarily from a baseline assumption, an extrapolation from the past 25 years of development growth trends. This forward-thinking approach, when seeking to solidify a sustainable plan for water consumption, instills optimism about the city's future. This assumption is then factored into their portfolio-based approach to adequately service the growing demands and maintain a healthy water supply from various sources By plugging in water demand, supply, and storage levels, the portfolio runs models to optimize the parameters in search of providing further guidelines for future water use. According to CSU’s metrics in 2017, current systems meet the demand by utilizing 95,000 acre-feet (ac-ft) each year, while the Buildout Demand projects a need for 136,000 ac-ft/yr, growing 41,000 ac-ft/yr each year, nearly half a year of the city’s current water use Through these metrics, the IWRP maps for a 50-year trajectory as a strategic supply plan to ensure longterm environmental and financial sustainability. CSU designed its strategy around the top risks to the city’s water supply, including infrastructure failures, climate variability, federal or state nexus, and demand increases To combat the associated risks, they developed a Balanced Portfolio with six mitigation

7 James, Kirsten. “Semiconductor manufacturing and big tech’s water challenge” World Economic Forum, July 19, 2024, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2024/07/thewater-challenge-for-semiconductormanufacturing-and-big-tech-what-needs-to-bedone/ 7

strategies through policies, programs, and projects ranging from agricultural transfers to reuse and storage mechanisms While these measures have brought short-term success in years past, the water supply gap will be more at risk in years to come with the acceleration of climate change and increasing prevalence of drought conditions. Furthermore, Winters and the CSU team can only integrate one environmental risk at a time in modeling such speculative futures, complicating their ability to forecast a future of various climatological threats Additionally, according to forecasts of water efficiency buildouts, by the early 2040s, Colorado Springs will hit a point when water savings are fully realized Winters describes this as the point of diminishing returns, when the Utilities has maximized all of the efficiency solutions possible. From that point onward, CSU will contend with the

question of how to find more places to conserve water without hindering the city's livability. As shown in the annual water demand forecast, the 2040s are around the point at which water demand will steeply increase to accommodate dwindling resources and growing populations These models prove that while Colorado Springs has outperformed other regions' water conservation methods, it still faces the dilemma of being a city in a world of increasingly scarce water resources.

As referenced in the IWRP’s production function, CSU models their production function to maximize economic growth However, while economies can grow extensively, water supply remains a fixed variable.

Regions like Salt Lake City that pay an annual $2.2 billion in economic damages

from their overexploitation of their water resources serve as a warning sign of the harm water scarcity reaps on urban communities. It’s in the best interest of economists and environmentalist alike for the city’s governance to be informed by the constrained water supply rather than the growing demand for its services Therefore, we should rearrange the city’s production function to solve for water availability rather than economic development before circumstances force us to do so.

8 Nguyen, Janet. “If the Great Salt Lake Dries up, What Would That Mean for the U.S. Economy?” Marketplace (blog), September 23, 2023. https://www.marketplace.org/2023/09/22/if-thegreat-salt-lake-dries-up-what-would-that-meanfor-the-u-s-economy/.

Components of Recommended Water Supply Balanced Portfolio Integrated Water Resource Plan | Colorado Springs Utilities (February, 2017), https://www.csu.org/Documents/IWRP.pdf

My paper was inspired by research I conducted earlier this year following a class visit from a Colorado Springs Utilities representative who discussed the city's water supply efficiencies. Collaborating with water economist Mark Eiswerth and CSU's water economic modeler Scott Winters, I examined the models used to forecast our city's water supply and demand, identifying inefficiencies and potential shortcomings.

“The team was at Lake Nighthorse filming some b-roll of the lake when a storm started to creep in. The misty rain started to overtake us, which actually made for perfect lighting. Ellie took up a traditional camera-stance, and, with the sun shining on the incoming rain behind her, I had to capture the moment on film. Documentary work can be grueling at times, but it is also beautiful!”

- Photo and quote by Jessica Duran ‘25

Summer 2024 Film Team

By Annabel Meyer

This summer, a group of four students are creating a short film centered on climate change in the Rocky Mountain West Their film will dive into the nuances of local farming and environmental challenges, set in the Rockies. Initially focused on the Glen Canyon Dam region, they found farming stories in the area more engaging and shifted their narrative accordingly.

The team's planning process included deep research and collaboration with environmental experts, such as nature conservancy members, farm managers from the Mountain Ute Tribe, and environmental lawyers like Shannon Melane. They’re using an approach inspired by "This American Life," opting to tell a more personal and compelling story about water use and resource management

The film team took a flight on EcoFlight, a conservation initiative that allows people to see the land from above. Top: from left to right, Bruce Gordon (pilot), Charlie Marks ‘26, Jessica Duran ’25, Ellie LaCasse ‘26, Matan Fields ‘26. Bottom: Dolores River Canyon from above. Photos from EcoFlight

As they scout locations and gather stories, they’re also pondering the broader implications of overconsumption and drought, with a keen eye on the unique ways local tribes manage water. This

Meet the Team

project represents a chance to merge their filmmaking skills with their passion for the environment, hoping to inspire reflection and conversation about our relationship with natural resources.

Jessica Duran, ‘25

Jessica, a Film and Media Studies major with a Journalism minor from Ogden, Utah, is passionate about the power of storytelling to connect people and build communities Growing up amidst the stunning landscapes of the Rocky Mountains, she’s eager to give back to the places she calls home When she's not diving into her studies, Jessica loves to take part in CC’s Standup Comedy Club, Sunbutter, or relax with a good movie or podcast while soaking up some warm sunshine. She's excited for the opportunity to make a meaningful impact through her documentary work.

Ellie LaCasse, ‘26

Ellie LaCasse is a junior Film and Media studies major with a Journalism minor from Watertown, Connecticut. Ellie works to blend visual art and honest storytelling to convey compelling narratives on screen. At State of the Rockies, Ellie seeks to use film as a platform to emphasize the relationship between human actions and climate change while highlighting adaptation and solutions for the future of water

Matan Fields, ‘26

Matan is a Film and Media Studies major from Northampton, Massachusetts. He is interested in both film and photography as modes of learning and storytelling. Matan is passionate about creative documentary, hoping to tell empathetic stories that bring awareness to poignant issues and explore humanity. In his free time, you might find Matan on various long expeditions to and from ultimate frisbee tournaments across the country, playing guitar, and spending time in nature with friends. At State of the Rockies, Matan aims to center the human elements and consequences of climate change through film.

Charlie Marks, ‘26

Charlie is a Film and Media Studies Major and Environmental Studies Minor from Atlanta, Georgia. Charlie loves making and watching movies and advocating for the environment. At State of the Rockies, Charlie brings a passion and creativity for film with an adventurous spirit to make films that inspire people to take on new perspectives on their relationship with the outdoors. Charlie's dream is to combine the persuasiveness of movie magic with a call to action to protect our planet In his free time, Charlie can be found listening to house music, rock climbing, and making fresh squeezed orange juice

The film team took a flight on EcoFlight, a conservation initiative that allows people to see the land from

above. Top: from left to right, Bruce Gordon (pilot), Charlie Marks ‘26, Jessica Duran ’25, Ellie LaCasse ‘26, Matan Fields ‘26. Bottom: Dolores River Canyon from above. Photos from EcoFlight

The 2024 Dark Skies Project: Listening to What’s Being Said about Dark Skies Conservation in and around Bears Ears

By Alice O’Neal-Freeman, ‘27

The Public Lands Survey team embarks on its third year of research this summer, directed by Cyndy Hines. This is the second year where the team is digging deeper into Dark Skies conservation in the Rocky Mountain West, a topic of great importance as population growth and development in the Rocky Mountain West rapidly increase Population increase in The Rocky Mountain West is one of the sharpest in the country. The unimpeded night sky has been essential to many peoples in this region throughout history evidenced by rock art of complex celestial events and indigenous creation stories, ceremonies, and other practices and beliefs This summer, the team hopes to learn more about its importance to people today

Student researchers are surveying and researching near Bears Ears area in collaboration with the Bears Ears Intertribal Coalition. Bears Ears National Monument currently encompasses 1,351,849 acres of Southeastern Utah It is named after a pair of buttes that rise high out of the earth, resembling the ears of a bear There are five tribes that have ancestral connections to the region, making up the Inter-Tribal Coalition The Navajo Nation, Hopi, Ute Mountain Ute, Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, and the Pueblo of Zuni. The protected area includes pictograms, petroglyphs, dinosaur bones and tracks, firewood, recreational roads for ATVs and four-wheelers, and land that has been used for cattle grazing

In 2009 the FBI and BLM conducted one of the US’s largest raids of stolen archaeological and cultural artifacts in Blanding, UT, a town near Bears Ears. Bears Ears was initially made a

monument in order to prevent such looting, but a monument designation also prevents gas companies from taking advantage of the oil in the area.

Former President Obama designated the area a national monument of over a million acres in 2016 In 2017, Trump reduced its size by 85% n 2021, president Biden restored the monument to its original size.

increase in nearby Moab, Monticello, Blanding and Bluff. More people and more development usually means more artificial lights-- something many residents see as a threat to their way of life and their ability to see the stars as night

The

unimpeded night sky has been essential to many peoples in this region throughout history evidenced by rock art of complex celestial events and indigenous creation stories, ceremonies, and other practices and beliefs.

In 2022 the BLM, the Forest service, and the Inter-tribal coalition began comanagement of Bears Ears National Monument. One Dark Skies researcher, Natasha, has surveyed for awareness of the new co-management plan.

Growth and development in surrounding towns is a growing concern for some as populations and recreation activities

Many indigenous people who have historically inhabited this land have deep cultural connections to the stars One researcher, Mustafa Sameen, ‘26, has surveyed to understand this better. Some want to protect the Milky Way view by obtaining the designation of Dark Sky Park for the monument. Megan O’Brien, ‘25, has taken artificial light measurements at night and tracking development in order to predict the impact nearby towns could have on Bears Ears night sky visibility in the future

But would a Dark Sky Park designation attract more tourism and development itself? Could this damage the land because there is not much infrastructure in place? Some say designating it a national monument in the first place attracted more tourists than they have the facilities to accommodate Many living in Southeast Utah have conflicting views of where to go from here Some wish it was not even made a monument in the first place. Some feel the region is now a bigger political stage, and the residents’ preferences for land use are not being prioritized.

Alison, Megan, Mustafa, and Natasha are each doing their own project this summer They are all connected to the pervasiveness of light pollution They have prepared by completing a workshop on interviewing and doing research for multiple blocks before heading out into the field.

Meet the Team

Alison Mueller-Hickler ‘26 is a sophomore from Katy, Texas. She is a member of the CrossCountry and Track teams, a RA, and is on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for Colorado College. She is majoring in Environmental Science with a minor in History. Alison became involved with State of the Rockies after attending a tabling event in Block 3 in her freshman year The lack of research involving light pollution sparked her interest in answering questions regarding how artificial night-time lighting affects humans and animals She hopes that her summer research can have policy implications and will contribute to the research field

Megan O’Brien’s ‘25 project role within the Dark Skies team for State of the Rockies will be two faceted Broadly speaking, she will be looking at different data sources to identify a correlation between park designation, subsequent development, and light pollution Utilizing GIS data, aerial imagery, historical photos, light data, sound data, and interviews I hope to create a well-rounded story behind light pollution near Bears Ears The second part of her project will be more art focused to create a narrative around her research in the Bears Ears area This part is evolving, and she expects it will continue to evolve!!

Mustafa Sameen ‘25 is a double major in Mathematics and Computer Science at Colorado College Passionate about environmental conservation and the intersection of technology with cultural practices, Mustafa is currently engaged in research focused on the whether the members of the 5-tribes Bears Ears coalition are concerned light pollution will alter their connection to the cosmos through traditional ways Mustafa aims to explore how increasing light pollution affects the traditional cultural practices of the Indigenous tribes associated with the area Through this research, he seeks to develop technical solutions that support the preservation of both natural and cultural heritage

Natasha Thomas’ ‘24 project is a qualitative exploration of public opinion regarding use of land, specifically that protected as Bears Ears National Monument She will use interviews of individuals living in various communities in and around Bears Ears, to collect opinions from residents of areas designated as environmentally unjust Through also collecting demographic information (such as ethnicity, age, and lifestyle), she hopes to “map” public opinion as it exists on the land on top of various other factors, to understand more about the complexity of individuals who share the space known as Bears Ears National Monument ”

NORTHERN LIGHTS OVER THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN WEST

By Alice O’Neal-Freeman, ‘27

In May of 2024 swirling aurora borealis (northern lights) appeared in the Rocky Mountain western night skies. Usually a display seen in Norway, Canada, Finland, and other countries beneath the auroral oval, residents of the Rocky Mountain West were treated to a shimmering lights show Many drove out to areas with less light pollution in search of the aurora borealis appearance, an event that scientists say happens once or twice in a generation. Northern lights, the effects of large explosions of plasma and magnetic field, called geomagnetic storms, from the sun’s outermost atmosphere (the corona) produce a continual stream of charged protons and electrons in the corona that, in a plasma state, are sent into the magnetic sphere and along Earth’s magnetic field toward the poles. The glowing lights, typically seen in polar regions, are visible in more southern latitudes during the time when the sun is most active; a cycle that recurs about every 11 years

To explore this phenomenon, The State of the Rockies is researching the topic and collecting photos people took in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah to create a photo exhibit that captures the rarity of and helps to explain the appearance of the aurora over the Rockies, which scientists say was due to a geomagnetic storm.

The aurora borealis from a plane in May 2024 in Northeast Colorado.

Photo by Erin Cheong.

The aurora borealis over trees in May 2024 in Elizabeth, Colorado.

| Photo by Aiden Varnak.

Vintage Poster Contest

By Annabel Meyer

Since 2021, the State of the Rockies project has invited students to submit a vintage-style poster of a national park, monument, or forest in the 8-state Rocky Mountain region that includes a contemporary conservation message, or "motto." The State of the Rockies Conservation in the West Poll inspired artists to pinpoint an issue in the findings of the poll to use as the focus of their poster. “The structure of this contest allows students a lot of space for personal expression It was truly amazing to see the level of creativity, effort and passion put into the submissions we received,” says Kaitlin Steinfort ‘22, one of the contest’s judges Featuring locations such as Rocky Mountain National Park and Pikes Peak, these posters push viewers not only to appreciate the outdoors but also to advocate for them

ALBERTA FALLS | FIRST PLACE

By Sam Daley '25

With forest fires, rising temperatures and dropping water levels facing Westerns, 92% of respondents believe that drought is a serious issue. In Colorado, 86% of respondents believe that loss of natural habitat is a serious problem The lowering of the Colorado River is often the spotlight of these concerns, however, other rivers deserve attention as well Alberta Falls is a Rocky Mountain National Park phenomenon, is fed from Glacier Creek and is home to the native Colorado cutthroat trout. Aptly named, Glacier Creek is fed from the shrinking snow fields in the mountains, leading to a slow loss of habitat for the native endangered cutthroat trout I chose Alberta Falls as its popularity for hikers can be used as a platform to recognize the importance of preserving our glaciers and mountain streams As the mountains grow drier, the tributaries of major rivers shrink vital habitats as well, like Alberta Falls.

“This was my second year entering the vintage poster contest. The first year, I discovered the contest and was enthralled as I love the classic vintage poster screen print style with the bold colors contrasted with nature. That year, I tried to learn how to draw digitally and failed miserably but learned a lot about simplicity with bold colors This past year, I took what I learned from the first year and sketched digitally, which was new for me, then created as a reduction multi-color, using a linoleum block After 7 color runs, I digitally edited the print to create the final I chose to do a print about Alberta Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park because I love both hiking around and finding beautiful waterfalls. I have a special connection to the water, as it brings tranquility on a hike As a fisherman, I strongly believe in conservation of natural habitats and respect for our native fish ” -- Sam Daley, ‘25

FLOW FORWARD | SECOND PLACE HEADWATERS | THIRD PLACE

By Holden Perry '25

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, with its striking landscapes and the mighty Gunnison River, serves as a testament to the delicate balance of nature My decision to choose this location is based on its role as a microcosm of the broader dynamic between the interconnected ecosystems and residents of the Southwest's region The results of the 2023 Conservation in the West Poll indicated that water supplies in the west are in a serious crisis, with rivers such as the Colorado and Gunnison viewed more at risk than ever before. The motto "Flow Forward: Conserve, Cultivate, and Cherish Water Supplies" encapsulates the urgency to address the environmental challenges highlighted by the poll results, while also promoting a positive call to action metaphorically tied back to the park

By Ben Curry '25

The stunning Glacier National Park in Montana is the homelands to the Blackfeet, Salish, Pend d'Oreille, and Kootenai tribes However, Glacier National Park is melting at two times the global average rate, due to anthropogenic warming (NPS 2020) Throughout the 2023 Conservation in the West Poll, participants in all states demonstrated that drought and water availability is a point of stress, with 56% of voters in Montana agreeing that drought is a serious problem. Glacier National Park is the headwaters for three major North American watersheds: Hudson Bay, Atlantic, and Pacific. Quality and quantity of the headwaters has immense impacts on downstream ecosystems and users. Anthropogenic warming has increased glacial melt rate, sparked wildfires and reduced average precipitation in the park, significantly altering natural flows Climate mitigation efforts and increasing the efficiency of water use is key to protecting our nation's headwaters

Honorable Mentions

By Grace Gassel '27

Arches National Park is a desert biome The native plants of the park depend on cryptobiotic soil to provide nutrients and moisture to survive in the harsh climate Explorers of the park often encounter “crypto” alongside trails When crypto is stepped on by a wandering hiker, the area is exposed to erosion, organisms dependent on photosynthesis are buried, and plants cannot access the resources stored within crypto they need to survive. Staying on trail is essential to plant and habitat conservation, the health of Arches National Park, and all other desert biomes in the Rockies So “tread on trail” to “keep crypto soil safe!”

The aesthetics of public lands intertwines deeply with our nation’s settler-colonial legacy Colonial encounters with nature are best expressed by Kant’s aesthetic sublime, which he calls “a capacity for judging ourselves as independent of nature and a superiority over nature." Panoramic viewpoints in national parks echo this perspective, offering privileged access to landscapes devoid of human influence. This narrative erases the violent history of indigenous dispossession essential for creating seemingly untouched landscapes. This ahistorical perception distances the park-goer from the socio-economic processes that cultivate the landscape materially and aesthetically across history The retro posters are emblematic of this relationship, having been cultivated during the Great Depression to simulate a sense of collective unity

By Sam Nystrom Costales '25

TREAD ON TRAIL

SHAPE OUR SHARED LANDS

Meet the Judges

Ellyn Walker

Ellyn Walker is an interdisciplinary arts scholar and curator. Her work explores questions of representation and placemaking in the arts as they pertain to distinct positional, cultural, and institutional contexts Ellyn has studied at the University of Toronto, McGill, and OCAD University, and completed a PhD in Cultural Studies from Queen's University where her research focused on decolonial curatorial methodologies used in contemporary exhibition-making and museum practice in Canada and beyond. She is currently working on a co-edited anthology titled Curatorial Contestations: Critical Exhibition-Making Practices in Canada with Michelle Jacques that explores diverse curatorial pedagogies and projects from across the lands now known as Canada Ellyn was the Acting Director/Curator of The Blackwood University art gallery from 2021–2022, where she was also cross-appointed as Assistant Professor in the Visual Studies program at the University of Toronto Mississauga She is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Art at Colorado College

Jillian Sico

Kaitlyn Steinfort

‘22

Jillian Sico is a papermaker, bookbinder, and letterpress printmaker who makes artists’ books under the imprint Frogsong Press. She received an MFA in Book Arts from The University of Alabama in 2020, where she focused on letterpress printing, papermaking, and fine bookbinding She also received an MA in Environmental Anthropology from The University of Georgia in 2013 and a BA from St John’s College in Annapolis, MD in 2005. Her process is informed and expanded through collaboration and research on culture and ecology. Her work has been exhibited nationally and is held in numerous special and private collections Jillian currently manages The Press at Colorado College

Kaitlyn Steinfort is a Colorado College alum and former poster printer at The Press at Colorado College. In the summer of 2019, she took a Book Arts and Letterpress course at The Press at CC and worked alongside Aaron Cohick and other students in the press through her senior year During her final year on campus, Kaitlin combined her passion for environmental protection and education and her love for creating art in the press to help design and create the posters used to advertise the first State of the Rockies poster contest in 2021/2022. Now as an alum, Kaitlin works in the habitat management field and continues to work on her own art in a variety of media, hoping to continue finding and creating ways to use art as a tool for environmental advocacy, protection, and education

Interested in submitting a poster?

Calling all Colorado College Artists! Every year, the State of the Rockies invites students to create original national park posters inspired by the environmental issues that matter to them. Visit our Vintage Poster Contest Webpage for more information on 2025 contest dates, and to see the rest of the 2024 contest submissions.

Colorado College Vintage press printmakers share their ideas on what a winning poster should include Learn what to include in your next poster design Visit the State of the Rockies Website or view the video here

Video by Eric Ingram, '23

2024 CONSERVATION IN THE WEST STUDENT PHOTO CONTEST

Each year, the State of the Rockies Project invites students to submit images from anywhere in the Rocky Mountain West to its annual photo contest These photos aim to remind us of the conservation efforts necessary to preserve and protect nature in the Rocky Mountain West.

Students are required to submit photos that addressed areas of concern for wildlife and habitat, outdoor recreation and diversity and inclusion in the outdoors, shifting climate patterns and processes, public lands, wildfires, water, and other conservation issues highlighted

in the 2023 Conservation in the West Poll

A jury of staff expert photographers determined finalists, while the people's choice by popular vote was determined via vote-by-text

Look for photo contest submission

Double Arch | Arches National Park, Utah | Photo by Macy McCauley ‘25

deadline and details on The State of the Rockies website in Block 5 for the 2025 ontest details ! Winners win monetary prizes!

1st place $500

2nd Place $250

3rd Place $100

Popular Vote winner $100

Judges

Heather Oelklaus

Heather Oelklaus is the Print Work Shop Supervisor for the Colorado College Art Department. She has based her life around art for the last 30 years. After attending the Kansas City Art Institute, Heather moved to Colorado Springs where she has been creating artworks that incorporate her passion for photography, printmaking, sculpture, painting, fiber, and collage. Her work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums and is held in private collections around the United States. Heather explores the boundaries of photography and experiments with alternative processes and technologies. When she is not creating photographs, she can be found plein air painting, weaving on her loom, and researching new techniques for her art making.

Josh Raab

Josh Raab is the Director of Instagram at National Geographic. Previously, Josh worked at TIME as a Photo and Multimedia Editor. He has also been an adjunct professor at the International Center of Photography. Josh started out as a photographer covering the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings and Hurricane Sandy, then transitioned into editing by founding Jay Peg’s Photo Pub., an online and print publication for emerging photographers.

Delicate Arch | FIRST PLACE

Photo by Macy McCauley '25

The sheer beauty of the Delicate Arch in Arches National Park makes it easy to see why so many care about the preservation of public lands through national parks, monuments, and reserves. But whose land was it in the first place? To me, the delicate nature of the arches in the park represent the balance between preserving land and recognizing those who were there first The land is beautiful, but at what cost?

This photo was taken during a CC class visit to Arches, where the Outdoor Education & Leadership course got special access to the park at sunset

As lucky as we were to get such access, it does again make me question the relationship between privilege and outdoor spaces.

"A quintessential western moment captured well The eye is drawn to the beautifully illuminated arch dividing the composition nicely as the sun sets in the background giving the sky a nice gradient of color."

--Josh

Raab (Judge)

Leave No Trace | SECOND PLACE

Photo by Logan Brunk ‘27

For this image my intention is to awareness how we step into the wi kid my parents and teachers preach values of "leave no trace:" imp standards to live by in the outdo this image the figure is walking a dramatic rock formation that millions of years to form. This imag should we as outdoor enthusiasts to explore and leave footprints on delicate and extraordinary formations? Where is the line b exploring nature and preserving it?

“The photograph ”Leave No Trace” in to reflect on our relationship w landscape. It reminds us of the values by family and teachers, urging us to and pass along those princip environmental stewardship and re The horizon line hints at a deeper narr line graph with its sharp incline sym the trajectory of our collective p reminder of the choices that shape ou in this world.”

-- Heather Oelklaus (Judge)

Mountain Lion | THIRD PLACE

I photographed this mountain lion with a camera trap as part of my research on the impacts of human activity on carnivores in Colorado. Human land use can negatively affect wildlife by changing their behavior or by contributing to habitat fragmentation. I found that mountains lions were less likely to use sites with high road density than those with less road disturbance, underscoring how important conservation of wildlife corridors and the creation of highway underpasses are for wildlife in the Southwest. The State of The Rockies survey found that 78% of Westerners believe that emphasis should be placed on conserving wildlife migration routes than on economically productive land uses, so many Westerners recognize and are in support of conservation action for species like mountain lions

Mountain lions are notoriously difficult to spot Chances are, if you see one it has already seen you first. That is why the use of a camera trap is often the best way to document them. Seeing this illusive cat up close is a technical feat and critical for research purposes.

--Josh Raab (Judge)

Photo by Isabel Devito ‘27

Fallen Forest | FIRST RUNNER-UP

Photo by Maren Greene '24

While the regrowth of grass and flowers after a wildfire may seem promising, the dominance of certain species can threaten biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. Here, amidst a fallen tree’s remnants, the unchecked proliferation of shurbs could disrupt the delicate balance of the forest, highlighting the complex challenges of post-fire recovery As climate change drives up wildfire burn severity, the likelihood of diverse ecosystem regrowth diminishes

Other Wordly

Landscape | SECOND RUNNER-UP

An ethereal haze settles over an otherworldly landscape while the Colorado River continues its five million-year journey, cutting its way deeper and deeper into the Earth As with many other waterways, due to climate change and seemingly insatiable human demand, the Colorado recedes every year Future generations may not have the privilege of experiencing this awe-inspiring view if this continues unabated. Canyonlands would lose one of its incredible scenes.

Photo by Alex Aronie '26

Catalina State Park | PEOPLE'S CHOICE

Westerners recognized the importance of public lands for recreational opportunities, mental health benefits, and providing habitat for wildlife. This photo was taken in Catalina State Park just outside the major metropolitan area of Tucson, and is visited by over 250,000 people a year, highlighting the value of public land to Western communities

Photo by Isabel DeVito ‘24

Environment and Climate Journalism: True Stories of People and the Natural World

By Annabel Meyer

In a hands-on course focused on climate journalism, Professor Bruce Finley found himself mentoring a single student, Konrad Gunderson, ‘26. This unusual setup turned into an extraordinary educational experience, allowing for indepth exploration of environmental journalism

Gunderson enjoyed being the sole student in the course "Since I was the only one, I ended up being able to speak more indepth, probably more than we would have as a group, " he said A highlight of the course was a one-week trip to Baca Campus, during which Gunderson and Finley examined various environmental issues in the San Luis Valley This immersive experience included studying drought through multiple perspectives, including governmental water management and the everyday realities of local ranchers.

Although this experience was once in a lifetime, it was also challenging at times. "In large groups, you might think you know more about the issue than you actually do. But since we were switching around so much, there was pressure to ask questions on the go, without having much time to research beforehand," he said Professor Finley, a visiting professor, brought years of knowledge and expertise from his work at the Denver Post He emphasized the demanding nature of journalism, describing it as intellectually, mentally, and physically challenging "For me, it's involved traveling to more than 40 countries, a goodly number of war zones But I'm interested in being able to share it, especially with younger, critical thinkers," he said.

Having just one student allowed Finley to drop Gunderson into live news situations, encouraging him to develop his own style. "Konrad brought a lot to the course. He was motivated and capable, which is always inspiring for a professor. It makes you want to share everything you can, " Finley noted

The course was part of Colorado College's State of the Rockies project, which Finley praised for its unique institutional architecture that supports innovative methods in environmental journalism "The beautiful thing about State of the Rockies is that it deploys all these methods in the exploration of environmental issues in the Rocky Mountain West," Finley said. Though Finley and the State of the Rockies project had envisioned a full class of students for

this course, Gunderson was able to learn this content in unprecedented way, and has substantial work to show as a result

https://sites coloradocollege edu/environ mentclimate2023/

Konrad Gunderson rests after summiting a mountain of sand at the Great Sand Dunes National Park. | Photo by Bruce Finley.

Gunderson conducting an interview of a cattleman on the eastern flanks of Colorado’s Sangre de Cristo mountains. | Photo by Bruce Finley

4)

wheat field and 5) A Southern Ute Mountain Ute Woman. Photos by Jessica Duran ’25. 6) Ladybugs on blades of grass and 7) Tyler Mielke ‘26 and Rachel Phillips ’26 smile for a photo. Photos by Rachel Phillips ‘26. 8) Sunrise in Rocky Mountain National Park. Photo by Macy

’25. 9) Alison Mueller-Hickler, ‘26 photographs a site. Photo by Cyndy Hines. 10) State of the Rockies team. Missing Jessica Duran 2024, Natasha Thomas ‘24, Macy McCauley, 25. Photo by

From top left: 1) Ollie Beland ‘25 installs his exhibit for Data Viz night. Photo by Cyndy Hines. 2) A sprinkler waters crops in the San Luis Valley.

Photo by Jessica Duran '25. 3) Ben Curry ‘25 lays a transect in Waldo Canyon. Photo by Cyndy Hines.

A

McCauley

Cyndy Hines.