A maze of oil and gas wells at the base of western Colorado's Roan Plateau. © SkyTruth/EcoFlight
The tumultuous geologic history of our region has produced an array of dramatic landscapes, including mountains, mesas, basins, wetlands, and rivers. Our biological diversity reflects this diversity of habitat. Yet our long history of high-impact land use has left us with a legacy of habitat destruction, polluted air and water, damaged forests and prairies, roads leading nearly everywhere.
Extinction, sadly, is part of this legacy. The yellowfin cutthroat trout, New Mexico sharp-tailed grouse, and Grand Junction cat’s-eye are all extinct. Grizzly bears and wolves, too, once traversed the region’s wildlands. Hundreds of others are now declining toward extinction. But we can protect each of these species and recover their habitat. We may even succeed in restoring some — like the lynx and the wolverine — that we once exterminated in the region.
While our focus is largely on providing critical ecosystem defense, especially for the most imperiled species and habitats, we are acutely aware of the importance of promoting long-term economic and ecological sustainability. If we are ultimately to succeed, we simply must pay attention to the economic, political, and social implications of our conservation efforts. For this reason, we take seriously the importance of building relationships with diverse partners, engaging in earnest dialogue with those potentially affected by the positions for which we advocate, and thinking about how long-term economic sustainability can coexist with the core ecological values in which we are rooted. The future of the native species with whom we share this magnificent place, as well as our own future, depends on both an uncompromising defense of the most imperiled species and collaborative solutions to these difficult challenges.
