Leaders of mountain towns across our region are gathering this week to share how they’re addressing climate change — especially in more conservative states.
In past years, the Climate Solutions Summit brought together elected officials and staff in Vail and Breckenridge, Colorado, a more liberal and environmentally conscious state. But this one is happening in one of the most conservative states in the country: Wyoming.
“We really wanted to make it more relevant to Wyoming, Idaho, Montana where the politics are a little bit different from Colorado,” said Tanya Anderson, the ecosystem stewardship administrator for the town of Jackson, which is hosting the event.
She’ll share how she crafted the town’s sustainability plan to center around shared values, such as keeping air and water clean, and protecting wildlife.
“[It] may be a climate action strategy, but it's really about protecting trout at our trout fisheries or hunting,” Anderson said.
She said talking about these kinds of climate solutions with other mountain towns is helpful since a lot of them have economies that rely on tourism, national parks and ski resorts, and are tackling many of the same issues.
Chris Steinkamp leads Mountain Towns 2030, the organization putting on the summit. He said there’s no room for partisan politics when it comes to climate change.
“With every wildfire, with every inconsistent winter, with every drought, we’re reminded that climate change is at our doorstep,” said Steinkamp.
Anderson said she’s specifically excited to hear from the keynote speakers, Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and James Rattling Leaf, who will talk about climate solutions happening now and Indigenous practices, respectively.
“Doing climate work can be hard. It can be depressing,” Anderson said. “And getting a bunch of people together and hearing successes, that can really bring the energy back and give people hope.”
The event will kick off at the Center for the Arts in Jackson on Tuesday, Oct. 15. Passes for local governments, tribal nations, resorts and nonprofits start at $400 each.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
