The Colorado Environmental Coalition unites Coloradans to protect our natural heritage and quality of life. Every year, the Coalition mobilizes thousands of organizations and individuals who, like you, care deeply about Colorado. From soccer moms to steelworkers, from students to ranchers, from commuters to backpackers enjoying the world-famous Rocky Mountains, the Coalition`s membership is as diverse as our state.



The Colorado Environmental Coalition is the largest state-based citizens` group committed to conserving our clean air, water and open spaces for generations to come. By strengthening the effectiveness of Colorado`s environmental community, the Coalition has a legacy of success for our state`s wild places and quality of life. With the help of our thousands of members across the state who recognize that the economic value our wild places offer is as important to Colorado as the spiritual fulfillment these public lands provide residents and visitors, the Coalition is a powerful voice for our state.



Campaigns

Wilderness

The Coalition is dedicated to winning wilderness protection for Colorado`s roadless wildlands – some of the most breathtaking landscapes in our state.



These wild places are what make Colorado so special: pristine rivers flowing through deep canyons, cool ponderosa forests dotted with wildflower meadows and quaking aspen stands, ancient petroglyphs carved on rainbow-hued rocks – the treasures that our public lands hold offer a rich natural heritage to residents and visitors alike.



The most protective status, wilderness safeguards the irreplaceable values of Colorado`s wild treasures – scenic splendor, cultural artifacts, wildlife habitat, quiet recreation. By designating these spectacular, untrammeled vestiges of solitude and beauty as wilderness, Colorado`s wild places will enjoy permanent protection from development and destruction at the hands of oil and gas drilling, logging, off-road vehicle use and other high-impact activities.



Responsible Growth

Coloradans are attracted to our state because of its scenic beauty and the outstanding opportunities for outdoor recreation. Yet Colorado`s rapid growth and lack of significant growth management policies threaten to undermine the quality of life we enjoy in Colorado. During the last decade, Colorado was the third-fastest-growing state in the country and, despite the economic downturn, Colorado is expected to grow by nearly a third in the next 20 years.



This rapid growth combined with sprawling land-use patterns have led to disappearing open spaces, more congestion on our highways, and a larger brown cloud over Denver. The Coalition is dedicated to fighting for reasonable smart growth policies that enable our communities to continue to grow without sacrificing the quality of life we have come to expect throughout Colorado.



Water

Over the last four years, Colorado has in the grip of a major drought, including a lack of precipitation resulting in brown lawns, low reservoirs which supply our drinking water and dried up rivers. These dry years have resulted in a litany of proposals for how to deal with the water shortage. Ranging from conservation and efficiency measures to a blank check for unnamed dam and reservoir projects, these proposals have far-reaching implications for how Colorado grows into the future.



The Coalition has been an advocate for the inclusion of conservation and efficiency measures and smart water planning that will conserve, protect and restore our Colorado rivers and safeguard our drinking water supplies.



Building Technology

The Coalition`s technology efforts work to build the Colorado environmental community`s capacity for using information technologies. We offer assistance to our member and partner groups with technology planning, networking, software and hardware upgrades & troubleshooting, antivirus efforts, and training. Our emphasis in all these endeavors is on helping organizations take advantage of new technologies while becoming more `technology self-sufficient.`