Western state voters want the 116th Congress to focus on ensuring clean air and water, as well as access to public lands, rather than maximizing energy production, according to a survey released today.
The results are included in the ninth annual Conservation in the West Poll conducted by Colorado College’s State of the Rockies Project, which surveyed 3,200 voters across Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
“Over the history of the Conservation in the West Poll, we’ve consistently seen bipartisan support for protecting public lands and outdoor spaces,” State of the Rockies Project Director Corina McKendry said in a conference call announcing the results. Read more
Both Republicans and Democrats across the Interior West are concerned about Trump administration policies that shrink national monuments and promote oil and gas development on public lands.
“There is an overwhelming sentiment that conservation rather than resource extraction ought to be guiding our management of these lands,” pollster Dave Metz said.
The poll results show a disconnect between decisions made in Washington D.C. at the federal level and the wishes of voters, Metz said.
The 2019 State of the Rockies report says 70 percent of western voters identify as “outdoor enthusiasts.” The annual bipartisan poll surveys how voters across the Mountain West feel about public lands, water, wildlife, and energy expansion.
“It’s not just a stereotype about the west,” said Lori Weigel of New Bridge Strategy, a Republican-leaning opinion research firm that partnered with a Democratic-leaning firm to conduct the poll. “They are embracing it.”
The State of the Rockies program is based at Colorado College in Colorado Springs and sponsors the survey.
Concern about climate change has grown significantly for voters in western states like Montana, according to the most recent installment of the Colorado College State of the Rockies poll.
“Every single state we tracked saw a jump up in responses,” pollster Lori Weigel said during a conference call with reporters on Thursday. The ninth annual poll started asking how worried people were about climate change in 2016. The number concerned has grown in every state every year, she said.
Weigel works for a Republican-focused polling firm, and teams up with Democratic pollster David Metz to conduct the survey. The poll by landline and cellphone calls reached 3,200 registered voters in eight states between January 2 and 9.
WASHINGTON – The number of Arizonans who believe climate change is a “serious problem” has grown sharply in the past three years, according to an annual survey of Western-state voters’ opinions on environmental issues.
That was just one finding of the Conservation in the West Poll released Thursday by Colorado College’s State of the Rockies Project. It also claimed that voters in eight states are worried about water and climate issues, disappointed in recent federal rollback of environmental protections and even willing to pay more taxes for conservation.
The survey, the ninth annual, said 73 percent of Arizona voters claim to be worried about climate change in 2019, up from 63 percent in 2016. That was higher than the 69 percent in the eight-state region who said they see climate change as a serious problem in 2019. Read more
Editor’s Note: Over the next year, The Colorado Independent will examine, season by season, the effects climate change is having on the state’s water supply and the many forms of life it sustains.
Every time Stella Molotch finishes a run down the ski slope at Steamboat, her dad Noah slips two Skittles into her tiny hands. It’s a reward – yet another step forward as the six year old is learning to ski.
People across the Rocky Mountain ranges long have quipped that kids here often learn to ski before they know how to walk. But these days, this powder-based parenting style is increasingly born out of necessity rather than impatience.
The purpose of this tour was to further understand the diversity of water usages and water conservation in the Lower South Platte River Basin of Colorado’s northeastern corner. To learn about the diversity of water usages, representatives from Quail Ridge Dairy, Pawnee Station Power Plant, Western Sugar Cooperative, and the L7 Trade Group hemp farm spoke about the necessity of a dependable water supply in sustaining their daily operations.
A cautious Quail Ridge dairy cow panhandles a tour group member. Photo by Cyndy Hines
At Quail Ridge Dairy, water goes toward producing feed, sanitizing the automated milking machines, and cooling the milk to a temperature at which it can be processed and packaged. With a total of 4,500 cows, each cow uses 50 gallons of water per day
Agriculture is a large driver of water consumption in the South Platte, as in the state of Colorado, where over 85% of water is consumed by agriculture.
Additionally, the L7 Trade Group hemp farm uses an extensive system of monitoring and drip-irrigation in order to cultivate seeds for CBD production, an emerging, lucrative market. Hemp is often touted as a water-efficient crop that will buffer Colorado farmers from the effects of drought. In actuality, hemp requires significant up-front costs in equipment because the is not suitable to dry-land farming in Colorado and must be grown in greenhouses. These are just several examples of how businesses are harnessing South Platte River water, and in doing so, shaping the local economies of Sterling and Fort Morgan.
Hemp seeds growing in one of the L7 Trade Group’s greenhouses. Photo by Grace Harmon
The Groves Pipeline, among other projects, illustrate the importance recharge operations to augment supply in the South Platte River Basin. Water is pumped from alluvial aquifers to the river during periods of drought and then stored in the aquifers when the demands of users have already been met. These pumps also ensure that compact compliance is fulfilled, including our obligation to Nebraska to receive their due share of water. However, because water is continuously cycled, this can lead to an increased salinity concentration, a water quality concern for some irrigators. As demonstrated by one agricultural producer, an increased salinity concentration can adversely affect soybean growth. While recharge pumps, reservoirs, and other projects work to continuously cycle and distribute water to various stakeholders, ultimately, the continuous recycling of this water reveals the root issue of water scarcity not just in this basin, but across the state.
Salt is visible on the leaves of this soybean plant, an indicator of the high salinity of the water used to irrigate these crops. Photo by Grace Harmon.
Finally, the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program works to conserve habitat for endangered species, such as the whooping crane, by restoring in-stream flows. This program operates across three states, including Wyoming and Nebraska, and uses existing recharge pumps and diversion projects to meet the demands of agricultural and municipal use. These conservation efforts also support the primary recreative activities in the basin, water fowl hunting and fishing, and work hand-in-hand with river restoration efforts after flooding in 2013. This program is currently authorized until 2020, and pending legislation could reauthorize the program for another 13 years.
This tour was coordinated by Water Education Colorado, a nonprofit organization created by the state legislature, whose mission is providing nonpartisan information about water issues in Colorado. The tour offered a range of perspectives – agricultural, industrial, and municipal, highlighting how governance structures on the state and district level respond to the unique needs of the Lower South Platte River Basin.
Ongoing efforts by the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program support healthy floodplains and endangered species conservation. Photo by Grace Harmon
We kicked off our summer research with a two-day trip up to Boulder and Larimer counties to meet with numerous experts on regional climate issues such as water distribution and flood recovery. The trip was very interesting and we learned a great deal about important local issues while having the chance to speak with key stakeholders. Below are short descriptions of our five meetings.
The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District
Frank Kinder and Jeff Stahla
A visit with Frank Kinder, the Water Efficiency Program Manager, and Jeff Stahla, a Public Information Coordinator. We visited their headquarters in Berthoud, Colorado that includes their Conservation Gardens. These gardens are meant to inform and educate property owners about planting and landscaping methods to decrease water use. We then headed out to visit a few of the District’s major reservoirs to get a better understanding of the system at large. One site we visited is the Windy Gap Project, where Northern Water plans to build a new dam to allow greater water storage capacity. We discussed the intersection of agriculture and development occurring in this geographical area and how this intersection affects regional water.
City of Longmont Community and Neighborhood Resources Office
Carmen Ramirez and Wayne Tomac
We then met with Carmen Ramirez and Wayne Tomac, who work in Community & Neighborhood Resources for the City of Longmont, to discuss Longmont’s Resilience for all/Resiliencia para todos program. Resilience for all focused on connecting Boulder County’s Latinx community to members of county and city government and to community resources, working specifically to address inequity in the emergency response to Boulder’s 2013 floods. Ramirez and Tomac spoke to us about their work to strengthen community groups, identify community assets, and ensure information regarding public resources and emergency response plans were available in English and Spanish. They also introduced us to the concept of a cultural broker, which is central to Resilience for All and describes individuals whose skills and positionality allow them to bridge distinct cultural groups. Resilience for all seeks to work with and compensate these individuals to better connect the City of Longmont to vulnerable segments its population.
Boulder County Flood Recovery
Carolina Van Horn
We met with Carolina Van Horn, a Flood Recovery Planner for Boulder County. We began in Fourmile Canyon, which sustained extensive damage following the 2013 floods. Van Horn works extensively coordinating Boulder County efforts with FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and we discussed the process for home buyouts following major disasters. These buyouts provide the option to homeowners whose homes were substantially damaged to take a buyout option on the pre-disaster value of their home rather than pursue rebuilding in the same location. The buyout program aims to disincentivize rebuilding in hazard areas, both to protect human life and to avoid repeat federally-funded rebuilding. We also discussed some other aspects of the recovery and how Boulder County is attempting to leverage rebuilding to also make the new infrastructure more resilient to future hazards. This includes rebuilding with an eye towards 100-year flood standards as well as using technology to map and better understand future flood potentials.
Boulder County Transporation Department
Stacey Proctor
Our visit with Stacey Proctor, the Communications Specialist with the Boulder County Transportation Department, informed us of Boulder County’s priorities for creating resilient infrastructure under various climate variability scenarios. The goals of the resiliency study were to enhance 1) institutionalized resiliency; 2) withstand shocks; 3) reduce shock, and 4) responsiveness to stresses. The action categories included improving infrastructure, regulation of flood plains, and incentives and education. This resiliency study will then inform the 2012 transportation master plan, which is to be updated this year. A 2019 survey revealed that the majority of Boulder County residents were in favor of increasing expenditures for flood response efforts, indicating that flood response was a high priority issue. Additionally, the group discussed how increasing housing costs and strict development laws will create opportunities to expand upon existing transportation services, such as bike lanes and public transit throughout the county.
City of Boulder Department of Climate Initiatives
Brett KenCairn
For our final visit, we met with Brett KenCairn, Senior Sustainability and Resilience Policy Advisor for the City of Boulder. KenCairn discussed his views on the concepts of resiliency and sustainability, which are currently buzz words whose meanings are not always locked down. Resilience for KenCairn and his department means change. Sustainability means stability. The two together lead to the question of how to create stable change, especially in the face of climate change and a rapidly changing natural world surrounding us. KenCairn also discussed how his department is recentering its resilience efforts to community benefits and equity. With these goals at the center of the plans, the city of Boulder hopes to build stronger networks and solve adaptation, mitigation, and resilience issues more efficiently and with the community in mind.
Hello, and thank you for visiting the Colorado College State of the Rockies blog. My name is Ethan Greenberg (he/him pronouns) and I am a rising senior here at CC. I study political science and am especially interested in environmental and education policy/politics. Born and raised in Denver and a product of Denver Public Schools, my involvement in State of the Rockies stems from my belief that this rapidly-changing region deserves a depository of socio-environmental scholarship that is equally dynamic. In my free time you can usually find me on the soccer field or with my nose in a newspaper.
Grace Harmon is a third-year Environmental Policy major from Darien, CT. During the school year, she enjoys serving as member of the Honor Council and guiding tours for prospective students. She is thrilled to learn more about water management and how Colorado cities are adapting to more frequent drought conditions. In Grace’s free time, you can find her listening to NPR or exploring a new running route.
