Southwest Life


Mark Pearson
Position: San Juan Citizens Alliance

New energy and reclamation economy in full swing

The on-the-ground evolution of our region’s energy economy accelerated in July with ground breaking for a large solar project simultaneous with the initial demolition of the coal-fired power...

Forests play a role in fighting climate change

The Earth recently experienced its hottest days on record. The blistering heat waves are yet another ominous indication of climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions. The changing cli...

Chaco gains reprieve from new drilling

A cherished landscape gained a measure of new protection this month when Interior Secretary Deb Haaland signed an order creating a 10-mile buffer zone around Chaco Culture National Historica...

Energy choices come into focus

Whitewater boating season offers a metaphor for our local energy supply. We’re in the calm pool edging closer and closer to the lip of the rapid, before plunging into frothy waves below. Tha...

Conservation Rule Proposed for BLM

Public lands users have an opportunity over the next two months to offer feedback to the Bureau of Land Management about new rules that would elevate conservation to equal status with the ag...

Colorado state lands offer conservation options

Here in Southwest Colorado, we’re blessed by an abundance of public lands administered by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Another land holder is the state of Color...

Regional Energy Transformation Accelerates

The Four Corners region is on the cusp of a rapid transformation from coal to renewable energy. The massive coal-fired San Juan Generating Station near Farmington is slated for demolition la...

Colorado seeks comment on wolf management plan

Colorado’s newly minted wolf management plan is out for public review, with comments accepted over the next month. Colorado Parks and Wildlife recently unveiled its proposed plan for managin...

Celebrating Conservation Gains

Clearer skies, reduced emissions part of conservation gains

Wolf Creek Pass receives a reprieve

The proposed Village at Wolf Creek development atop Wolf Creek Pass was recently rejected again by a federal judge. For some who might not be familiar, this is a long-suffering attempt to cr...

Will uranium boom again in the Four Corners?

The Four Corners has a heritage of uranium production as long as the atomic era. Uranium mines throughout the Dolores River Basin and across the Navajo Nation supplied much of the material t...

Climate legislation is unprecedented in scope

This past week Congress passed sweeping legislation that takes a serious swipe at attacking the root causes of climate change. The Inflation Reduction Act aims to cut carbon emissions by mo...