The 2011 State of the Rockies Report Card is focused on the Eastern Plains, Infrastructure and Recreation. These separate but interrelated topics are all important aspects to the Rockies region.
The 2005 State of the Rockies Report Card continues the Rockies Project tradition of identifying, assessing, and communicating key issues and problems in this unique region of spectacular natural beauty and cultural wealth, abundant resources and fragile environment. The Report Card includes thoughtful and often provocative analysis and discussion of some key issues that confront the Rockies: energy, the condition of the national parks, urban sprawl, toxic waste, creative occupations, and civic engagement. Edited by Walter E. Hecox (CC professor of economics), F. Patrick Holmes III (CC class of 2003), Bryan Hurlbutt (CC class of 2004).
For the 2007 Report Card new challenges include forest health and the importance of fire mitigation and disease in this region, energy development impacts on Rockies' communities and infrastructure, water use in the Rockies and the growing need for agriculture to urban water transfers, and trends in new communities, including "new urbanism". Edited by Walter E. Hecox (CC professor of economics), Matthew K. Reuer, and Christopher B. Jackson (CC class of 2006).
Slide C80
Speaking to a long-standing tradition of the Rockies Report Cards "grading" the region on a variety of attributes, this year includes a brief look at three areas: crime and incarceration in the Rockies, historic preservation in the Rockies, and an evaluation of regional representation by elected officials. The Report Card also tackles issues of wildlife in the Rockies, dedicating three sections to the topic: "Wildlife: Range and Condition," "Wildlife Management," and "Impacts of Energy Development on Wildlife." Tangentially, the Report Card addresses water issues and population changes with the sections: "Wild and Scenic Rivers" and "Repopulating the Rockies." Edited by Walter E. Hecox (CC professor of economics), Elizabeth L. Kolbe (CC class of 2008), and Matthew K. Reuer.
The 2014 State of the Rockies Report Card is entitled "Large Landscape Conservation in the Rockies : Exploring New Conservation Paradigms for the Twenty-First Century." Building upon two years of focus on a very large conservation area in the Rockies, The Colorado River Basin, during 2013-14 the project team returned to an analysis of the eight-state region's land and environment. The project team delved into the techniques of "creative conservation" and "large landscape conservation" to provide comprehensive insight into innovative conservation actions and tools in the region. Using tabular and spatial techniques, the project team has begun to build a detailed inventory of conservation efforts and initiatives underway in the Rockies.
Slide D53
The 2004 State of the Rockies Report Card launched an effort to provide a comprehensive and accessible annual statement on what is happening in the eight Rocky Mountain states. The contents include essays on the “state” of the region by experts; a “Rockies at a Glance” section to put the region in perspective; an overview essay on the economics and demographics of the eight-state Rockies region; 15 indicator sections that rank counties based on cultural, demographic, economic, and environmental characteristics, including thumbnail sketches of innovative communities; and an essay that highlights the distinct differences for three sub-regions within the Rockies: the Continental Divide Spine, the Eastern Plains Agricultural Heritage Zone, and the West and Southern Mountain Amenity Zone. Edited by Walter E. Hecox (CC professor of economics) and F. Patrick Holmes III (CC class of 2003).
The 2006 State of the Rockies Report Card continues the Rockies Project tradition of reporting key issues in this unique region of spectacular natural beauty, cultural wealth, abundant resources, and fragile environment. The Report Card includes analysis and discussion of some key issues that confront the Rockies: biodiversity, ranch economics, climate change, land conservation, and child development. Edited by Walter E. Hecox (CC professor of economics), Bryan Hurlbutt (CC class of 2004), and Caitlin O'Brady (CC class of 2005).
The 2008 Report Card, Fifth Anniversary Edition, attends to environmental amenities, and also pushes into social dimensions that seem increasingly to capture the spotlight in the eight states included in this report: the role of immigrants, the challenge of affordable housing, the need to restore degraded landscapes, the continuing controversies over wildland protection, and the prospect of creating a long-term regional renewable energy boom. Edited by David Havlick; Project Supervisor, Walter E. Hecox (CC professor of economics); Editor, Layout, Christopher B. Jackson (CC class of 2006); Contibutor, Matthew K. Reuer.
The 2013 State of the Rockies Report Card is entitled "Water Friendly Futures for the Colorado River Basin." The 2012-13 Rockies Project focus, for a second year, is the Colorado River Basin. The Colorado River Basin, covering a major portion of the eight-state Rockies region and extending into Mexico, has been the unified focus for all parts to the State of the Rockies Project during summer 2011 and the 2011-12 academic year and again for summer 2012 and 2012-13.
The 2012 State of the Rockies Report Card entitled "The Colorado River Basin: Agenda for Use, Restoration, and Sustainability for the Next Generation," includes a summary of the Rockies Project Source to Sea trip, an investigation into the Colorado River's many diversions and uses, and an assessment of the "Law of the River," among many other topics.
Each section of the 2010 Report Card is dedicated to agriculture in the Rockies. It provides the statistical overview of the region's industry, but also delves deep into agricultural history, land and water use, demographics, production, finance, organization, and a "foodprint" of Rockies' agriculture.
Timothy Egan's talk is based on his new book, The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America, a New York Times Bestseller and winner of 2009 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award. Mr. Egan is also author of The Worst Hard Time, winner of the national book award for nonfiction and an op-ed columnist for the New York Times, writing his weekly "Opinionator" section. Recorded October 18, 2010.
