President Biden’s Executive Order to protect 30% of our land and water by 2030 has been on the table for months. However, many details including funding and land conservation classifications are unclear. Twenty-six percent of our water is currently protected, though only about 12% of our land is officially conserved by federal estimates.
"To achieve the America the Beautiful framework, we are doing it one lands package at a time," Colorado Congressman Joe Neguse said last month at an event organized by the Conservation Lands Foundation. He pointed to H.R. 803, the "Protecting America’s Wilderness and Public Lands Act," approved on a largely party-line vote (E&E News PM, Feb. 26). That package would establish nearly 1.5 million acres of new wilderness areas and incorporate more than 1,000 river miles into the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System in Arizona, California, Colorado and Washington state.
The future holds promise for our environment, though significant challenges remain. The UN says up to $3.8 trillion is needed annually until 2050 to prevent an irreversible devastating rise in global warming.
Encouragingly, climate investment grew in 2018 to $546 billion according to the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI). Research from the non-profit Climate Disclosure Project (CDP) finds that emissions attributed to banks’ investing and lending activities are 700 times larger than emissions from banks themselves.
It is now more important than ever that we each seek out the greenest financial institutions. Ask about their sustainability initiatives and if they intend to increase their green lending portfolio. Your mutual fund probably holds stock in several banks, so ask your financial advisor what they are doing to help combat global warming.
“The G20 members... are now spending 50 per cent more on sectors linked to fossil fuel production and consumption, than on low-carbon energy.” That's according to the December 2020 Climate Action team at the UN. They explored G20 rescue packages in the depths of the Covid pandemic. The team concluded it was the time to act boldly, but in a constructive way that would heal the planet productively.
I'm encouraged, more than 124 countries have committed to become climate neutral by 2050. The European Union, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan and the Republic of Korea are included. I expect the EU will reduce its emissions to at least 55 percent below1990 levels by 2030. (https://www.visualcapitalist.com/race-to-net-zero-carbon-neutral-goals-by-country/)
The costs are immense and are projected to increase as wildfires become more frequent and more severe.
The firefighting effort, including aviation and personnel is costly. The loss of buildings and power transmission lines is common. The loss of whole communities is tragic. As whole towns shut down, tax revenue drops dramatically. Recovery can be a long-term proposition. The loss of vegetation and recreation assets can be significant. The fire itself increases our carbon output and we lose the vegetation to capture carbon.
When you add up the suppression, indirect and rehabilitation costs, the infamous 2002 Hayman Fire in Colorado, cost around $207 million, according to the Western Forestry Leadership Coalition. Each cost category has gone up exponentially since then.
Recently, I had the opportunity to stay at one of the magnificent Summit County Huts. The journey began at a Summit Stage stop in Frisco near the post office. The ride as always is free to guests and 15 minutes later I disembarked at Passage Point Copper Mountain.
The group of volunteers gathered, then made our way up the Colorado Trail about 5.5 miles to Janet’s Cabin. The forest was reasonably plush, as it had been raining and at 11,000 feet. Dead lodgepole pines were not in sight. It even snowed in the evening and the next chilly morning. The outing provided the perfect get away to think about the daunting environmental issues here in the region and beyond.
Millions of Americans will visit our magnificent forests and waterways over the summer engaged in hiking, rafting, fishing, and camping. This is coincidentally at a time when we are in full crisis mode, as the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Coast bake in an extremely dangerous heat wave. Humans are suffering and dying. Infrastructure is severely strained as roads are buckling and power cables are melting.
This follows an extreme episode in the already notoriously arid southwest where a 20-year mega drought continues with expectations that it will get worse.
Global warming trends are a significant contributor to the precarious situation we face. The parched soil is not able to help absorb the heat as temperatures rise. Global warming is costing us and will continue to do so in the future unless we act with massive ferocity.
It was snowing here in Summit County a few weeks ago, when I boarded the Colorado Bustang bus service at the Frisco Transit Center. I was heading west for a mud season break. It was me, my backpack, and my bike. My destination, Grand Junction. And after a few comfortable hours reading and napping, I arrived at the Grand Valley Transportation Station. There are timely bus connections to take you just about anywhere in the region, including Palisade and Fruita. The drivers are friendly and informative.
Sustainable Hiker Beyond the Trail Series Powerful Outdoor Restoration Bill
You will be heartened to learn Senator Michael Bennet has just introduced the Outdoor Restoration Partnership Act, a powerful step forward for our forests and watersheds. The Senator rightly cites our natural assets as infrastructure that warrant investment.
This is a key development. I have long advocated for this approach to natural asset restoration and care. If we don’t leave a factory in disrepair, why would we allow our life and economy providing natural assets to deteriorate?
As a kid in Milwaukee, WI, my parents encouraged me to play outside and in the dirt. The backyard and all the beautiful parks were fair game and after an adventurous day getting dirty, I felt healthy and energized waiting to do it all again. Little did I know at the time how powerful and dynamic soil really is for us.
It is so important that archaeologists have determined the demise of many sophisticated civilizations, such as the Mayans of Central America and the Harappan of India, resulted directly from the mismanagement of their soils. (Soil Science of America)
We currently consume goods & services with little attention to their ecological footprint. For us to reach a sustainable balance between humans and the natural world, our consumption and choices must experience a radical paradigm shift with conscientious purchases that protect our natural resources.
Here in Summit County, two startups in retail are changing this dynamic. In Breckenridge, Folcland Clothing (https://folcland.com) owner Alyssa Pullekines takes sustainability seriously. She offers a dynamic suite of women’s clothes. “Not only do the lines we offer prioritize natural, up-cycled, and eco-friendly materials and low impact techniques, but also overall production quality and labor standards,” says Pullekines.
According to a November 6th Colorado Sun article, 25% of the state is in exceptional drought status, with all the state in some degree of drought. Recent snowstorms have provided some relief, though water issues continue to plague Colorado and most of the Southwest.
The West is facing a daunting future as the Colorado River Basin, that provides water for millions, is drying up. How can we protect and manage this vital resource? As I’ve written before, roughly 11% of the flow reduction over the last century has been due to climate change.
“The impact of warming on the West’s river flows, soils, and forests is now unequivocal,” writes Brad Udall, Senior Water and Climate Scientist at the Colorado Water Center. Udall goes on to say “There is a clear longer-term trend toward greater aridification, a trend that only climate action can stop."
The 2019 Colorado Climate Action Plan signed by Governor Polis recently received an encouraging boost. About a month ago it was considered a draft Roadmap to reduce GHG (Greenhouse Gas) and Pollution. It outlines potential policies to achieve our States’ goal to reduce GHG by 25% by 2025 and 50% by 2030 and 90% by 2050.
While the development of a road map is encouraging, some believe it lacks clarity and definitive steps with a timeline. It also comes 18 months after the updated Climate Action Plan was signed by Governor Polis.
“I don’t see anything new that the administration hasn’t already presented,” said Stacy Tellinghuisen, a Senior Climate Policy Analyst at Western Resource Advocates. “We need a sense of urgency.”
We will require additional action beyond current policy particularly since there are few firm regulatory mandates with a strict timeline attached to them.
This past Saturday marked the 27th National Public Lands Day. It is a special day that recognizes our shared societal bond that we all can enjoy the beauty, solitude and health-giving attributes of our parks and forests.
Those human and economic benefits are under attack as we battle climate change. The Wilderness Society found that the green-house gas emissions from the production and combustion of fossil fuels, produced on our public lands due to federal leasing programs, are equivalent to over 20% of total U.S. GHG emissions.
Our land and water assets need to be a strong ally in our fight for our health. They filter pollutants and capture carbon. As our forests emit enormous carbon through wildfires, managing our land to help mitigate this threat is essential.
Wildfires continue to scorch significant swaths of land, most significantly in California but also in Colorado. These forests are necessary to combat climate change through carbon capture. Yet the warming trend exacerbates the severity of these wildfires. These fires release immense amounts of carbon. The fires also cost us trees and vegetation that fight pollution and capture carbon. Though some believe it is a net neutral evolution as nature takes its course.
Some forest ecologists and atmospheric scientists generally view wildfire as being carbon neutral. As fires burn, chewing through structures and vegetation, they spit out vast amounts of carbon and other compounds in their smoke. "But then over time, we expect a lot of that carbon dioxide will be drawn back down by plants growing again," says Rebecca Buchholz, a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, based in Boulder. She says, "For fires, it's all about balance."
An incredibly unique area of our eco-system provides tremendous outsized positive impact. A riparian zone is land along waterways including floodplains and stream banks such, as those along the Lower Blue River. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), riparian zones comprise only 1% of land in the western US but are among our most productive and valuable natural resources.
This dynamic area filters pollutants and helps control erosion so unwanted sediment is not sent downstream. Our drinking water supply is naturally aided by this wonder of nature. Riparian zones possess distinct soil and vegetation characteristics from upland zones. Ground water is nearer the surface and promotes robust vegetation and is typically nutrient rich.
