There’s no better way to learn about a river than being upside down inside it, says Molly McKeon, a Durango resident and the new executive director of the Mountain Studies Institute.
At a time Southwest Colorado’s concerns about drought and water conservation are heightening, she said she brings expertise in bridging science and policy.
McKeon began her role at the institute about a month ago, but she’s spent a lifetime preparing for it.
She, like many people who call Durango home, grew up recreating in the outdoors. She said she skied, kayaked and explored. Her explorations led her down a path of wonderment about the natural world and into a career in environmental policy.
She previously worked for Environmental Incentives, LLC, where she said she led a team of researchers and facilitators in building a portfolio of global natural climate solutions.
Mother, teacher, director
Molly McKeon, Mountain Studies Institute’s new executive director, said two significant life changes last year led to her pursuing work with the institute.
The federal shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development made her work developing a climate solutions portfolio at her previous job essentially moot, she said. And she learned she was pregnant around the same time she left her past job.
“I had my first son here in Durango, and it just made me realize that I wanted to be investing my time and energy here,” she said. “This is our home, and I want this to be a place that he’s proud and excited about growing up (in).”
She said she wants to be a model for her son about what it means to be engaged in one’s community.
McKeon had her eyes on MSI. She said the executive director role was the third job at the institute she applied for – the candidates for two of the jobs were the best fits for them, and she was a match for the director role.
In previous jobs, she said she blended technical skills and program management in the environmental and conservation spaces, and her “trifecta of skills” in budget, operations and implementation made her a strong fit for executive director.
In addition to her new role at MSI, McKeon also teaches global environmental politics at Fort Lewis College. She said she started work at both jobs the same day – not something she recommends, although she has found teaching and sharing her passion for the environment and the “science to policy nexus” with students exciting and rewarding.
“Bringing all those fresh voices into the conversation – I love their perspectives and energy,” she said.
When she isn’t hard at work, McKeon said she enjoys backcountry skiing and hiking trails in Durango and the surrounding area.
– Christian Burney
MSI formally gained nonprofit status in 2002 with help from the U.S. Forest Service and the late U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, according to 360Durango. McKeon said its founding was based on the need for better mountain science to guide decision-making by mountain communities.
That mission is as relevant as ever, she said.
“In this era of drought and wildfire and more demand than ever on our water systems, this question of, ‘How do we manage mountain ecosystems?’ and what that means for mountain headwaters is becoming more and more important,” she said.
The institute is researching stream restoration and snowtography – the practice of using snowpack and forest remote sensing data to understand how soil is capturing water and distributing it through watersheds. She said that research will inform forest management decisions to maximize water capture from snowpack.
The snowpack project continues to grow, with sites planned for as far west as Dolores, she said. MSI is also expanding its Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments sites into the La Sal Mountains along the Utah-Colorado border.
McKeon said she looks at the project growth as a long-term investment into data collection of unique ecosystems.
“We have desert landscapes running almost directly up to 13,000-foot peaks,” she said. “We’re experiencing changing conditions and changing weather patterns more acutely than many other places, and so it allows us to capture that information and start to unpack what some of our options may be to adapt.”
Adaptation is a key part of McKeon’s vision for the institute. She said what she loves about MSI is its commitment to rigorous science and its ability to shift its focus to the concerns of the day.
Concerns are growing about fire, water and impacts to upstream and downstream communities alike, and MSI is meeting the moment. She wants to lead the institution in building more bridges to those downstream communities.
“My biggest priority coming into this role is to help build the infrastructure for an organization that’s going to last for another 20 years as we continue to grow,” she said. “We bring so much value not just to Durango, Silverton, Mancos, Dolores, Pagosa (Springs), but to downstream communities as we think about the overall health of our river systems.”
cburney@durangoherald.com
