Earth Day in Aspen: Environmental leaders to talk state, federal environmental policies

On Earth Day, a panel of environmental leaders will convene in Aspen to explore how state and federal environmental policies are affecting life in the Roaring Fork Valley.

The event, “How Environmental Policies in DC and Denver Are Affecting the Roaring Fork Valley,” will take place at Explore Booksellers from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 22, offering a timely conversation on how decisions made in Washington and Denver are shaping local conservation, public lands management, and climate action.

Moderated by Chelsea Congdon, founder of Kinship, the panel features three speakers whose work sits at the crossroads of environmental policy, advocacy, and justice. 

The discussion aims to move beyond national headlines and state-level budget noise to help residents understand the real-world implications of environmental policy on their community.

Steven Arauza, environmental justice liaison for the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission, will offer insight into how decisions made in Denver are influencing equitable access to clean energy and shaping how environmental impacts are distributed across communities.

Patrick King, senior director of Strategic Partnerships at Protect Our Winters, will bring a federal perspective, discussing how executive orders and shifting political leadership at the national level are shaping climate action across the country.

Will Roush, executive director of the Wilderness Workshop, will anchor the discussion in the Roaring Fork Valley, drawing clear connections between broad policy moves and the specific consequences for public lands and ecosystems in the region.

Roush said there’s growing urgency to help communities understand the consequences of federal action.

“Whether that is public lands, climate, or environmental justice, we had the sense that there was a real appetite for getting folks together to talk about how that might impact us locally and what we can do about it,” he said. “People care a lot about the climate and environmental justice — everybody loves our public lands — so this is something we are excited to talk with the community about.”

His focus during the panel will be on public lands and the increasing threat posed by federal oil and gas leasing. 

“The increased oil and gas leasing is the most significant threat to our local wild places,” he said. “But also, there have been executive and secretarial orders mandating increased logging, declaring 112 million acres of national forest to be a ‘state of emergency.'”

Roush warned that many of these policies appear to be built on misleading premises about forest health. 

“Some of this policy is based around false emergencies, for forest health conditions, but a lot of it is in order to cut some trees to make a buck,” he said.

The conversation comes amid a backdrop of controversial federal directives, including the Trump administration’s now-infamous claim that raking leaves could prevent forest fires. 

In response to inquiries about whether budget cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service would serve that goal, the agency declined to answer directly but provided a statement.

“Secretary Rollins fully supports the president’s directive to improve government, eliminate inefficiencies, and strengthen USDA’s many services to the American people. We have a solemn responsibility to be good stewards of the American people’s hard-earned taxpayer dollars and to ensure that every dollar spent goes to serve the people, not the bureaucracy,” The National USDA Press Team stated. “As part of this effort, USDA has made the difficult decision to release about 2,000 probationary, non-firefighting employees from the Forest Service. To be clear, none of these individuals were operational firefighters.”

“Released employees were probationary in status, many of whom were compensated by temporary IRA funding,” the statement continued. “It’s unfortunate that the Biden administration hired thousands of people with no plan in place to pay them long-term. Secretary Rollins is committed to preserving essential safety positions and will ensure that critical services remain uninterrupted.”

Roush acknowledged the limits of state power when it comes to managing federal land leases but emphasized the importance of engaging with federal agencies directly. 

“Engaging with the feds, instead of relying on the state, is the best for federal leasing of lands,” he said.

When it comes to climate action, however, Roush sees more opportunity for state-level progress. 

“The climate is different,” he added. “We have people from Protect Our Winters who will be present at the panel, and with that, the state can do additional things to keep pushing forward actions to protect our climate.”

The panel promises to be a space not only for education but also for mobilization — encouraging residents to participate meaningfully in the policy processes that determine the future of their environment.