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Geothermal test bore cuttings mark clean energy futures: Michelle Stewart, Ph.D. 2014, Executive Director of Western Resilience Center, with Matt Cooper, Founder/Owner of High Altitude Geothermal, and Paul Bony, Energy and Transportation Director of Western Resilience Center, in front of Western Resilience Center’s downtown Steamboat Springs headquarters at the start of their geothermal test bore.

Our high elevation western slope Colorado geographies are on the front lines of impacts due to changing climate: year on year, increasing temperatures are forcing earlier spring snowmelt, reduced river flows, decreasing forest health and regeneration, and more. At the same time, the needed energy transition away from coal impacts regions like northwest Colorado -- home to three coal mines and two coal-fired power plants – in uneven ways, placing the burden of the “just transition” on local economies and livelihoods.

Geographers know the value of place, and the importance of place-based NGOs in addressing complex challenges. Michelle Stewart, Ph.D., 2014, joined�� as its Executive Director in 2020 and has since been growing the organization’s capacity to support regional climate mitigation and adaptation projects, planning and policies. Western Resilience Center programs span energy, transportation, waste diversion and resilient land and water.

Despite the reeling federal reductions in climate funding, force and policies of 2025, Western Resilience Center has continued to advance projects on the ground in partnership with volunteers and partners. This year, the organization:

• Planted nearly 700 native cottonwood and alder trees along the Yampa River and its tributaries through our . Planting trees keeps the river cooler by increasing shade cover and greatly improves the riparian habitat.
• Planted a total of 100,000 seedlings with the US Forest Service and volunteers in the Big Red Park burn scar in North Routt. Post-burn forests like these need help regenerating through replanting in order to rebuild their function and restore watershed health.
• Restored nearly two miles of ephemeral streams to create wet meadow habitat in California Park by building 64 Zeedyk rock structures with volunteers and Rocky Mountain Youth Corps. These structures slow water runoff and trap sediment, preventing erosion and building habitat for animals like sandhill cranes, toads, and others.

Western Resilience Center�� with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, urging that investments in geothermal energy be part of the power plant’s transition away from coal. Geothermal energy is a key plank in Colorado’s clean energy future, providing no-carbon energy solutions for both building heating and cooling and electricity generation.

To model the process and benefits of geothermal heating and cooling for buildings,��Western Resilience Center is planning to install a geothermal heating and cooling system for its new headquarters in downtown Steamboat Springs at 602 Oak Street.��, just completed the test bore, a first step in designing the vertical loop system. Western Resilience Center’s project is the Cooper family’s first commercial project, marking the exciting start of a new chapter for the family and the region: the Coopers created High Altitude Geothermal to enable their transition away from their work at the retiring Craig coal mine, filling a critical workforce gap for clean energy projects in NW Colorado.

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Yampa River Forest Restoration Program volunteers planting native narrowleaf cottonwoods and mountain alders showcase building resilience and climate mitigation in action. Yampa River stream temperatures continue to increase year on year and this multi-year project plants native trees along the Yampa River corridor to increase shade cover as a long-term benefit to keep the river cool and maintain river health.

Western Resilience Center staff and volunteers helped the US Forest Service plant 100,000 seedlings in a post-burn area in NW Colorado. Aridification and fire intensity is reducing forest regeneration, making replanting efforts like these key to building forest resilience.

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