For Immediate Release
Contact: Jane Turnis
(719) 389-6138
jturnis@ColoradoCollege.edu
SECOND
ANNUAL STATE OF THE ROCKIES CONFERENCE
TO
PROVIDE ‘REPORT
CARD’ ON
REGION
National Parks, Energy, Sprawl, Toxic Waste, and Civic Engagement Examined
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - March 24, 2005 - The second State of the Rockies Conference at Colorado College, April 5-7, will continue its tradition of examining issues and identifying problems in this unique region including energy, the health of our national parks, urban sprawl, toxic waste, creative occupations patterns, and civic engagement and capacity.
The highlight of the conference will be the unveiling of the 2005 Rockies Report Card, which will provide a comprehensive and accessible statement on trends and challenges in the eight Rocky Mountain states: Colorado, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. The report will grade or rank the top counties, and other entities in the region, in key areas:
· National
Parks Under Stress - Which national
parks are deteriorating from lack
of sufficient funds? This section
grades the health of national
parks in the Rockies from “A” to “F”.
· Rockies
Energy
Futures
-
Which
parts
of
the
Rockies
are
producing
versus
consuming
the
most
energy?
This
section
ranks
top
counties
and
states
in
a
variety
of
energy
areas.
· The
Toxic
Rockies
-
Which
communities
in
the
Rockies
are
the
most
polluted?
This
section
ranks
top
counties
in
toxic
air
and
land
releases,
and
water
discharges.
· Rockies
Sprawl
Index
-
Which
metropolitan
areas
are
struggling
with
low-density
sprawling
development?
This
section
ranks
all
metropolitan
areas
in
the
Rockies
for
sprawl.
· Native
American
Tribes
Regaining
Sovereignty
-
What
can
be
learned
from
the
successful
community
development
and
natural
resource
management
efforts
of
the
region’s
Native
American
tribes?
This
section
shares
several
success
stories
from
the
region’s
Native
American
communities.
· Creative
Occupations
Patterns
-
Where
do
creative
people
live?
What
do
they
do
for
a
living?
This
section
ranks
the
top
communities
in
the
Rockies
on
their
creative
social
capital
and
environment.
· Civic
Engagement
and
Capacity
-
Which
communities
have
the
most
active
civic
participation
in
the
Rockies?
This
year’s
State
of
the
Rockies
overall
GPA
grades
from “A” to “D” all
280
counties
in
the
eight-state
region
on
civic
engagement
and
capacity.
A “Rockies Baseline” section of the report will be introduced for the first time to track vital signs that depict a region in transition.
The Rockies Report Card and Conference will give community, government, and business leaders the tools and the forum necessary to use collaborative interregional approaches to solving difficult local problems.
The State of the Rockies Conference will feature panels, discussions, and keynote speakers, including New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who will discuss “A New West, A New Energy Policy,” on Wednesday, April 6, at 7:30 p.m. All events will be held on the Colorado College campus in Colorado Springs. The conference is free and open to the public. Registration is required. For more information, call (719) 227-8145 or visit www.ColoradoCollege.edu/StateoftheRockies <http://www.ColoradoCollege.edu/StateoftheRockies>.
Conference Schedule
Tuesday,
April 5, 2005
Gaylord
Hall inside Worner Campus Center,
902 N. Cascade Ave.
1:30
p.m. -- Unveiling of the 2005
State
of the Rockies Report Card, and
results of “Rockies’ Baseline:
Vital Signs For A Region in Transition”
2:15
p.m. -- Cathy Robbins, associate
vice president, El Pomar Foundation,
on “The
Challenge of Creating Community
in the Rockies,” plus
results of “Ranking
Each Rockies County on Civic Capacity
and Engagement,” by
Chase Whitney and Matthew Lee-Ashley,
results of “Evaluating
Rockies’ Employment
Creativity Measures,” by
F. Patrick Holmes, and discussants
Mary Lou Makepeace, director,
Gay & Lesbian
Fund for Colorado, and Joseph
Garcia, president, Pikes Peak
Community College
3:50
p.m. -- Prof. Phillip M. Kannan,
CC Distinguished Lecturer and
Legal Scholar-in-Residence, on “The
Toxic Rockies: Law as Cause and
Cure,” plus
the results of “Evaluating
Rockies’ Pollution,” by
Bryan Hurlbutt and Caitlin O’Brady
7:30
p.m. -- Gates Common Room in Palmer
Hall, second floor
Patricia
Limerick, professor of History & Environmental
Studies, faculty director, Center
of the American West at University
of Colorado, Boulder on “The
Rockies: Enduring Myths and Iconoclastic
Realities,” and
Terry L. Anderson, executive director,
Property and Environment Research
Center, Bozeman, Montana on “From
the Old West to the New West and
Back Again”
Wednesday,
April 6, 2005
Armstrong
Theater in Armstrong Hall, corner
of Cache La Poudre and Uintah
Streets
1:30
p.m. -- Results of “Energy
Use/Development Patterns in The
Rockies,” by
Chase Whitney, F. Patrick Holmes
and Bryan Hurlbutt, with respondents
Michelle Sullivan, Wyoming rancher
and president, Ucross Foundation,
and John Nielsen, energy program
director, Western Resource Advocates
3:30
p.m. -- Amory Lovins, CEO, Rocky
Mountain Institute, Snowmass,
Colorado, on “Winning
the Oil Endgame: What Role for
the Rockies?”
7:30
p.m. -- 2005 State of the Rockies
Conference Keynote by Bill Richardson,
Governor of New Mexico, “A
New West, A New Energy Policy,” followed
by respondent Matt Simmons, president,
Simmons & Co.,
Intl.
Thursday,
April 7, 2005
Gaylord
Hall inside Worner Campus Center,
902 N. Cascade Ave.
8:30
a.m. -- Informal Focus Group Session
- Launching a New West-based Web
discussion about key topics, problems
and issues pertinent to the Rockies,
moderated by Prof. Walter Hecox,
director, CC State of the Rockies
Project, and Jonathan Weber, founder & editor
in chief of New West - The Voice
of the Rocky Mountains, a new
online publication devoted to
the Mountain West
1:30
p.m. -- A. David Lester, executive
director, Council of Energy Resource
Tribes, and Jacqueline Johnson,
executive director, National Congress
of American Indians, on “Perspectives
on Native American Sovereignty,” a
presentation of Native American
Nation Success Stories from 2005
State of the Rockies Report Card
by Chase Whitney, followed by
Tony Skrelunas, director, Native
American Program, The Grand Canyon
Trust, and Ira New Breast, executive
director, Native American Fish
and Wildlife Society, as discussants.
3:30
p.m. -- Results of “Grading
Rockies’ National
Parks,” by
F. Patrick Holmes and Bryan Hurlbutt, “West
Yellowstone’s
Economy & the
Vagaries of Snowmobile Access,” by
Bryan Hurlbutt, “A
National Monument Becomes a Park:
Great Sand Dunes,” by
Christie Renner, and results of “Grading
Rockies’ Communities
on Urban Sprawl,” by
F. Patrick Holmes
Armstrong
Theater in Armstrong Hall
7
p.m. -- Terry Tempest Williams
on “Ground
Truthing: The Open Space of Democracy,” sponsored
by the Colorado College English
Department’s
MacLean Fund for English Studies
Symposium on “Literature
and Environmental Imagination.” Tickets
required.
About the State of the Rockies Project
The Colorado College State of the Rockies Project is designed to provide a thoughtful, objective voice in regional issues by offering credible research on problems facing the Rocky Mountain West, and by convening citizens and experts to discuss the future of our region. Each year the Project provides opportunities for collaborative student-faculty research partnerships, an annual State of the Rockies Report Card, and a companion State of the Rockies Conference. Taken together, these three arms of the Project offer the tools, forum, and accessibility needed for Colorado College to foster a strong sense of citizenship for both our graduates and the broader regional community.
About Colorado College
Colorado College is a nationally prominent, four-year liberal arts and sciences college that was founded in Colorado Springs in 1874. The college operates on the innovative Block Plan, in which its 2,000 students study one course at a time in intensive 3½-week blocks. For more information, visit www.ColoradoCollege.edu.