2006 STATE OF THE ROCKIES REPORT

Conference Offers a Rocky-Mountain Wide Look at Region

By Headwaters News, 4-06-06

Today, in Western Perspective, Headwaters News offers a first look at an important regional conference next week.

Colorado College will present its third annual "State of the Rockies Report Card" April 10-13 in Colorado Springs.

Caitlin O'Brady and Bryan Hurlbutt, this year's editors of the Colorado College's report, write in their preview that the Rocky Mountain West must act in concert to bring national attention to the issues the region is facing.

The eight-state region addressed in the Report is the fast-growing in the nation, and that growth, along with increased energy development, is having a marked effect on the region.

The conference will look at loss of ranchland and wildlife habitat, the effects of climate change and environmental justice, among other topics.

The State of the Rockies report traditionally assigns a grade to all 281 counties in the region on a critical community issue, and this year the issue is how counties nurture their youth.

Stay tuned to Headwaters and New West for news from the conference next week, or better yet, attend the free conference and see how your county fared.

New West's Tonya Poole will be on-hand at the conference to live blog the reports findings and the panel discussions. Bookmark www.newwest.net/stateoftherockies to keep up on the coverage. Following the conference, Colorado College will be posting sections of the report on New West's State of the Rockies page for discussion.

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