WestWord Summer 2008 Newsletter 
August 19, 2008
In this issue: Wyoming grants counties authority on large-lot subdivisions; Montanans capture sense of place in pictures; a vision for a model sustainable community in the desert; and more.
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Institute Research Shows Ending Oil and Gas Industry Tax Break in Colo. Won’t Raise Prices
July 24, 2008
Ending the tax break for the state’s oil and gas industry would not measurably increase prices for Colorado consumers at the gas pump or for home heating, according to an economic white paper from the Sonoran Institute.
Read Press Release
Download the Press Release (pdf )
Download White Paper: Colo. Oil & Gas Severance Tax Break
Managing Growth in the Tetons
May 27, 2008
“Spillover” growth from booming Jackson Hole, Wyoming is creating both opportunities and challenges for surrounding counties.
Read Press Release
Download the Full Report (pdf)
Baja California: The Dream is Real
May 9, 2008
This 800 mile peninsula is the original California.
It’s defined by the distinctive places you’ll find on this map,judged by the people who actually live here as being Baja’s most authentic treasures. Visiting them enriches your journey, and sustains their future.
Read more
Download the Baja Geotourism Map (front – pdf)
Download the Baja Geotourism Map (back –pdf)
Ready for a tour? Read more
2007 Annual Report Outlines Vision, Plans, Accomplishments
 March 14, 2008
From railroads and dams to public lands, the West has long been the home of big, bold ideas. Now – with rapid growth and change underway – is the time for another one.
Read the Annual Report (pdf)
Mining Impact Study Released
 February 11, 2008
Economic impacts of mining in Southeastern Arizona analyzed in new report.
Download the Full Report (pdf)
Download the Executive Summary (pdf)
View the study area (pdf)
See Press Release
Report Issued on Ecosystem Challenges to the Lower Colorado River Basin and Delta
 A Sonoran Institute report contends that existing water policies in the Lower Colorado River Basin are putting the quality of life and the health of ecosystems in the region at risk, especially in the Colorado River Delta. This report outlines a set of initiatives and policy changes that would bring water to and restore this important ecosystem.
Download Executive Summary [pdf]
Download Full Report [pdf]
Sustainable Water Management Report
March, 2007
 Growth
across the arid West has brought many challenges, not the least of which is
reconciling the water needs of current and future residents, agriculture and
industry, and plants and wildlife
with the preservation of the region's remaining rivers and streams.
Read More
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Montana Smart Growth Conference Set for Sept. 19, 2008
The Montana Smart Growth Coalition will kick off its 10th anniversary with the conference, “Big Sky or Big Sprawl – The Last Best Place in the Past, Present, and Future,” on September 19th, 2008 at Carroll College in Helena, Montana.
Download more information and how to register
Learn more about the Montana Smart Growth Coalition
2008 Our Land, Our Schools 
July 14, 2008
The Sonoran Institute supports Proposition 103, the 2008 Our Land, Our Schools initiative, which will go before Arizona voters in November. This initiative will conserve important wildlife habitat and open space on state trust lands, encourage well-planned growth, and improve trust land management throughout Arizona. By fostering better planning in cooperation with local governments and improving the tools available to the State Land Department, the Sonoran Institute believes that, if passed, this measure would lead to more sustainable growth patterns while protecting the long term value of the trust.
Download PDF for our position statement.
Download PDF for fact sheet
Protecting Places for Creatures Great and Small
July 2008
With signs of rapid change all around, it is incredible that in some places in the West wildlife can still successfully migrate hundreds of miles in search of food and shelter. In the Greater Yellowstone region, elk, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, wolves, grizzly bears, wolverines and other species wander vast distances through a mosaic of public and private land. Their survival depends on moving from summer to winter ranges or into new territory to avoid competition or find mates. However, critical migration routes are increasingly vulnerable to rural residential sprawl, oil and gas drilling, highways, and other barriers to safe passage.
Read More
Understanding & Valuing Native Grasslands
June 2008
The Sonoran Institute and the Research Ranch Foundation are seeking partners and funding for research to promote the understanding of grassland ecosystems, help value the services they provide, and increase their protection.
Download PDF for information.
Stepping It Up in Colorado
May 2008
The Sonoran Institute has plans a "mile high" for work in Colorado, where our issues are frequently in the headlines.
Rich McClintock is the Institute’s new Colorado Policy Director to lead
work on reform of state-level policy and legislation involving growth,
energy, water and related issues. He will investigate opportunities for
the Institute to engage in the public discussion of a ballot measures
like the one that would increase funding for clean energy, wildlife
habitat and sustainable communities by eliminating a property tax
loophole for the oil and gas industry. Rich's first steps are to refine
our policy agenda for Colorado, meet with key stakeholders and
establish our new office in Denver.
Read More...
Montanans Capture Sense of Place
April 2008
A recent contest in Bozeman, Montana, had one straightforward rule: Capture – in a single photo – what you treasure most in the surrounding Gallatin Valley. Dozens of amateur photographers submitted more than 200 images for the Gallatin Grassroots Forum photo contest, “Shaping the Future of Our Valley: Picturing Our Place.”
Read More
Big Vision, Bold Plans for the Changing West
The Sonoran Institute's new strategic plan sharpens our focus on
the goal of
a West "both prosperous and healthy, with a civilization to match its
scenery," as Western writer Wallace Stegner envisioned. The
Institute is
devoted to realizing this vision which embraces civil dialogue and
collaboration as hallmarks of decision making.
Learn more...
Executive Summary
Full Strategic Plan
Gallatin Area Planning (GAP) Grants Program
The Sonoran Institute through its local project, the Montana Smart
Growth Coalition, announced the launch of the Gallatin Area Planning
(GAP) grants program. This grants program will serve as a catalyst for
citizens to envision, plan for and manage growth that protects the
region’s unique quality of life.
Press Release
Grant Criteria and Application
March Event Celebrates 2008 Award Winners
2008 Winners Announced - Read More
2008 Winners Press Release - Read More
Sonoran Institute honors eight projects featured in new
"Building from the Best of the Northern Rockies"
book
 Building from the
Best of the Northern Rockies, a new publication from the Sonoran Institute,
showcases innovative planning, design and building projects in Montana, Wyoming
and Idaho, that demonstrate ways for communities to grow without sacrificing
their natural, cultural and architectural assets.
Read More
About the book
Gallatin County proposes new Growth Management Strategy
Gallatin County, Montana is now the 32nd fastest growing county in America. At the growth rate of the past decade, the county will double its number of homes in the next 20 years. The Gallatin County Commissioners have proposed a plan to control sprawl and direct growth to existing communities through a combination of incentives and regulations. In the next few months they will be making the decisions that will shape the future of Gallatin County’s landscape. Learn more about Gallatin County growth trends and the Commissioner’s plan.
Grow Native – Don’t Plant a Pest:
Creating a low-water
southwest garden design is now easier with the publication,
Grow Native – Don’t Plant
a Pest.
Collaborating with many partners, the Sonoran Institute
encourages efforts to support native species in Arizona.
For information on how to choose native options for landscaping
plants, check out the Grow
Native website.
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Phoenix Steps Up on Preserving Urban Green Areas
May 2008 - Phoenix residents overwhelmingly approve measure to acquire urban green space. Opinion piece by the Arizona Republic. Read More
Headwater News: Western Perspective
June 2008 – Headwaters News highlights a “Western Perspective” by the
Institute’s Dennis Glick on the impacts of cascading development in the
Tetons region of Idaho and Wyoming. Read the Article
Eco Tourism in the Colorado River Delta
April 27, 2008 - Not your typical tour. Exploring the majesty and beauty of the Delta. The San Diego Tribune.
Read more
Designing the New West
April 26, 2008 - Exploring innovative design ideas in the fastest growing region in the nation. The NewWest.Net.
Read more
Preserving Western Beauty
March 14, 2008 - Congress moves closer to preserving millions of acres of conservation land in the West. The Christian Science Monitor.
Read more
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Institute Research Shows Ending Oil and Gas Industry Tax Break in Colo. Won’t Raise Prices
DENVER (July 24, 2008)― Ending the tax break for the state’s oil and gas industry would not measurably increase prices for
Colorado consumers at the gas pump or for home heating, according to an
economic white paper from the Sonoran Institute.
Read more |
Sonoran Institute Opens Statewide Policy Office in Denver
DENVER, Colorado (June 2008) -- The Institute is expanding
its work in Colorado by opening an office in Denver to focus on growth, energy and other issues. Rich McClintock
will lead the new office.
Read more |
Regional Planning Urged for Teton Area
CHEYENNE, Wyoming (May 27, 2008) A new Institute study examines regional impacts of “spillover” growth from Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Read more |
Wyoming Partnership Receives Grant
A $10,000 grant will fund growth-related research, training
and technical assistance for Wyoming’s communities.
Read more |
Proper Land Use Planning Could Significantly Reduce Carbon Emissions
PHOENIX, Arizona. (March 5, 2008) At a recent two-day workshop in Phoenix sponsored by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy/Sonoran Institute Joint Venture, a small but diverse group explored the role of land use planning and transportation in the Intermountain West.
Read more |
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