Evan Rao 
State of the Rockies Project
MISSION
Colorado College's State of the Rockies Project encourages students to explore critical environmental and social challenges 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.
CONTEST WINNERS
Judges ANNOUNCE
Conservation in the West Vintage Poster Contest
W I N N E R S !!
Student Opportunities
Going Public with the Conservation in the West Poll: Public Lands Survey of Visitors
Directed by The State of the Rockies, this spring and summer 2022 we will collaborate with CC’s Outdoor Ed department, Journalism Institute, and Student Life to hire and send three students to survey visitors to three or four most popular national parks, forests, monuments in Rocky Mountain West.
The student researchers will tour the identified parks and while doing so, interview other visitors to the parks, campgrounds, visitor centers, etc. Who is using our public lands? Why? And how well do the poll results reflect the attitudes of the park visitors? Students will use the State of the Rockies annual Conservation in the West poll results to formulate survey questions. Students non-profit outdoor recreation groups and professional pollsters to create questions on the topic for the annually Hewlett-funded Conservation in the West poll.
Dark Skies/CC After Dark project
In collaboration with Office of Sustainability, CC’s Physics and Anthropology departments, students will research Dark Skies initiatives and policies of the region. The project also will examine eco-environmental impacts of too much light during the dark hours. A survey of community members’ attitudes toward the Dark Skies initiative around campus, Colorado Springs, and other Dark Skies communities will help determine if this is a conservation concern and if so, whether questions such as these should be included in the 2023 State of the Rockies Conservation in the West Poll and whether this might be a consideration for policy-making.
ROCKIES SPOTLIGHT
How a free poster turned into a Rockies Fellowship
Izzie Hicks, '21 shared how she accomplished her goal of becoming a State of the Rockies Fellow in her recent article published in Colorado College's independent student newspaper, The Catalyst. 'Behind the scenes of the State of the Rockies Project' 
CC art student's work inspired by smoke and flames
Calaya christens Rockies
Lab with dedicated
work 'Dawn at Midday'
26 October, 2021
Calaya Hudnut, '22 worked last spring as a student curator for the State of the Rockies Orange Skies project. A California resident, Calaya has experience living in a fire-prone ecosystem, but it was working on the project that helped her gain an understanding of the important role of fire in shaping western landscapes. After working on Orange Skies, Calaya appreciates the natural beauty and understands the function of fire in western US semi-arid ecosystems. She also gained insight into how the influence of hotter and drier climate conditions drive bigger and more frequent western fires.
"While creating the Orange Skies exhibit, I was in awe of how wildfire holds a multitude of dichotomies; the images of fire evoke beauty, destruction, loss, anger, rebirth, hope. What angered me the most was how these recent mega fires are yet another, impossible to ignore symptom of climate change and settler colonialism...."
- Calaya Hudnut
This summer, some of Calaya's art was shown in a downtown gallery, The Space, that features aspiring local artists. Among her intriguiging pieces were several prints inspired by her recent work on the Orange Skies project.
"I worked on the Orange Skies photo exhibit for the State of the Rockies Project and afterwards found that the themes of fire, the elements, and the natural cycles of destruction and creation influenced my artwork."
Time to Go Away
Ink on Paper
Calaya Hudnut, 22
Studio Art Major
State of the Rockies presents
Colorado College State of the Rockies Project launches Orange Skies, a student-curated exhibit of amassed wildfire photos taken across the west. The aim: to capture social and ecological effects of the recent record-breaking 2020 fire season.
CONTACT THE MUSEUM
215 S. Tejon St.
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
Phone: 719-385-5990
Fax: 719-385-5645
Email: cosmuseum@springsgov.com
Hours: Tues. - Sat. 10 am. - 5 pm.
FREE ADMISSION
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
Phone: 719-385-5990
Fax: 719-385-5645
Email: cosmuseum@springsgov.com
Hours: Tues. - Sat. 10 am. - 5 pm.
FREE ADMISSION
Take the Virtual Tour
Watch the Video
On exhibit NOW through August 2022
See Orange Skies in person at the Colorado Springs Pioneer Museum.
2021 Student Photo Contest
SEE WHO WON!
Rockies 2021 Project
Understanding Policy Debates on the Future of Hydraulic Fracturing and Abandoned Wells in the Rocky Mountain West
Kat Miller-Stevens
State of the Rockies
Faculy Director
Countries around the world including the U.S.are facing a paradox of how to provide affordable reliable sources of energy, while minimizing negative impacts on the local and global environments. There is increasing evidence that climate change is occurring and has negative impacts on society, and one of its main human causes is the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) for energy.
Fracking Site
Northeastern Colorado 2020.
At the same time, burning fossil fuels has been an engine for economic development around the world. Thus, how energy is produced and consumed has complex repercussions for society. MORE.
Meet our 2021 Fellows
Isabel Hicks
Saigopal Rangaraj
Interested in being a future summer Rockies Fellow?
CLICK HERE to learn more about the State of the Rockies 2021 faculty-student research project and the fellowship selection process. Fellowship applications for next year available Block 5 2022.
Partnerships and Collaborations
State of the Rockies created a new fellowship with support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the outdoors. This summer, we partnered with Colorado College's Field Study program to fund student research.
Assessing the Co-Management of Bears Ears National Monument, Utah
An inter-tribal council of Hopi, Zuni, Ute Mountain Ute, Diné, and Uintah and Ouray Ute have been denied the role of being a partner in managing the Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah. State of the Rockies DEI fellow Rosalee Bayer, '22 is working with Drew Cavin, CC's director of Field Study, to explore what factors shape the implementation of collaborative management in the US in order to understand why they are being excluded from participating.
Rockies Rapid Response Research Projects
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Ecoacoustics across natural and built soundscapes at the edge of the Colorado Rockies
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Fountain Valley Water Project
Learn more and apply for a Rockies Rapid Response Research grant
CC students present Rockies Rapid Response research at 2019 SCORE conference
2021 Poll Results
2021 Conservation in the West Survey Results
Green River, Utah
Photo by Olivia Rask '20
Our Latest Investigations
This Bulletin contains summaries of the six 2019-2020 Research Fellows' projects. Please contact us if you'd like more details on each study. The Bulletin also reflects work accomplished this year in partnership with Colorado College's Journalism Institute, geology and GIS departments, and State of the Rockies supported faculty research grants.
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Last updated: 01/21/2022