Colorado College is pleased to announce that the State of the Rockies Project, which oversees the annual Conservation in the West Poll, has received another two-year grant worth $800,000 from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
State of the Rockies Director Kat Miller-Stevens, CC Associate Professor of Economics, applauds the second two-year commitment from the foundation, which is passionate about teaching young people about climate issues and appreciates how the project engages with CC students during the survey process.
“With this funding, the State of the Rockies Project will continue to expand its reach by sharing Conservation in the West Poll data with journalists and academics across the country,” said Miller-Stevens. “In addition, the grant supports multiple research projects at CC that engage students from all majors who are interested in the social, environmental, and political challenges of living in the Rocky Mountain West. I am thankful to State of the Rockies Project Specialist Cyndy Hines and Director of Corporate & Foundation Relations Laura Hines for their dedication and hard work to make this grant possible.”
A majority of the funds pay for student-led research projects they create based on data and questions from the poll. The projects provide students a platform for interdisciplinary investigations around the Rocky Mountain West for discovering how to balance human activity without spoiling the natural environment.
“We choose topics that are interesting to our students,” added Miller-Stevens. “For example, our teams of student researchers go into the field to places like Waldo Canyon and the Great National Sand Dunes to observe the impacts of fire and dark skies. We run vintage poster and photo contests each year. We write questions for the annual Conservation in the West Poll and collaborate with two consulting companies so that our students have a voice. Gathering data and learning how to do research is the emphasis. The Hewlett Foundation asks us to teach students how to do research in the field on topics related to the poll.”
Between one-third and one-half of the grant supports the Conservation in the West Poll, which summarizes the non-partisan attitudes of voters in eight western states: Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Idaho, Arizona, Montana, and Nevada. Topics range from climate change to energy, from conservation and public lands to outdoor recreation and water. The annual survey is CC’s top media-producing news story every year.
The opinion poll companies are both Republican and Democrat leaning, so that all the data reflects a balance of views. The consulting companies handle the media inquiries for CC, as they know the data inside and out.
Miller-Stevens’ faculty leadership of the project ends in December 2024, when a new director will take the helm and round out the 15th year for the project. She shares in her Director’s Note some of the many accomplishments under her watch and says of her three years:
“The State of the Rockies has been a major highlight of my time at CC, and I will be forever grateful for this experience. I look forward to seeing what the future holds and where it will take our students!”