CC Students Riff Off Old National Parks Posters in the State of the Rockies Vintage Poster Contest
The State of the Rockies Project encourages students to explore environmental and social challenges in the Rocky Mountain West through collaborative student-faculty research, coursework, and stakeholder engagement. Students embark on interdisciplinary investigations around the region to discover the possibilities for balancing human activity without spoiling the natural environment.
New this year was the Conservation in the West student vintage poster contest in which students were invited to design a vintage-style poster of a national park, monument, or forest in the Rocky Mountain region. Students based their posters on artwork produced during the Federal Art Act of 1937, which promoted visitation to a newly created National Parks system — but with a twist: the posters were required to contain a contemporary conservation message. During Summer 2020, visitation numbers and parks visited more than doubled, so the messages needed to be much different for recreationists today.
Students analyzed State of the Rockies Conservation in the West Poll results to pick their contemporary conservation message. The poll explores voters in the Rocky Mountain West’s bi-partisan opinions about conservation, energy, water, and more. The posters for this year’s winners tackled various issues, from forest fires to climate change.
1st: “Keep It in the Ground” Coconino National Forest, Arizona by Isabel DeVito ’26
2nd: “Respect and Preserve” Arches National Park, Utah by Charlie Bragg ’23
3rd: “Save the Glaciers” Glacier National Park, Montana by Sophie Mariel Dua ’23
Honorable Mentions: “For the People, Land, and Water” Bears Ears National Monument, Utah by Natasha Yskamp Long ’22
“Remember Bugs Made This” Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado by Casey Millhone ’22
“Mangum Fire” Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona by Sofie Nouhan Miller ’23
