Every week, we post ways that you can contribute to making our region a greener place, including events, community science projects, jobs, internships, scholarships, and direct actions. If you have something you would like included in the next round-up, please email us at info@rockymountainwild.org.
Event Highlight
Virtual: A Conversation with Colorado Parks & Wildlife: Wolverines
Date & Time: Thursday, February 12, 2026, 6:00 PM Mountain Time
Join The Colorado Sun’s Rural Reporter Tracy Ross as she speaks with Colorado Parks and Wildlife wolverine expert on Feb. 12. The event will be virtual, held on The Colorado Sun’s website, at 6 p.m.
Dr. Bob Inman, Colorado Parks and Wildlife wolverine coordinator, will discuss the wolverine management plan, and how the state organization plans to reintroduce the predator to the state. This will be the first attempt ever, to reintroduce the animal.
Attendees are encouraged to submit questions!
Oil and Gas Lease Sale Comment and Protest Periods
Big game and sage-grouse in Montana need your help!
Montana Bureau of Land Management’s proposed August 2026 oil and gas lease sale threatens wildlife and wildlands. Paige’s screen shows overlaps with mule deer winter habitat and greater sage-grouse habitat. Use Rocky Mountain Wild’s resources to comment on the proposed parcels. Comments due February 19.
Photo credit: Dennis Fluman / USFWS (CC BY 2.0)
Speak up for Lesser Prairie Chicken, Big Game and more in New Mexico!
New Mexico Bureau of Land Management’s proposed May 2026 oil and gas lease sale threatens wildlife and wildlands. Paige’s screen shows overlaps with mule deer winter habitat and greater sage-grouse habitat. Use Rocky Mountain Wild’s resources to comment on the proposed parcels. Comments due February 20.
Photo: Lesser prairie-chicken on a lek, Greg Kramos/USFWS (Public Domain)
Demand protection for prairie dogs, sage-grouse, big game, and more in Wyoming!
Wyoming Bureau of Land Management’s proposed September 2026 oil and gas lease sale threatens wildlife and wildlands. Alison’s screen shows overlaps with greater sage-grouse habitat, Areas of Critical Environment Concern associated, habitat for white-tailed and black-tailed prairie dog, and much more. Use Rocky Mountain Wild’s resources to comment on the Draft Environmental Assessment. Comments due February 23.
Photo credit: National Park Service (Public Domain)
Speak up for greater sage-grouse, big game, rare plants and more in Colorado!
Colorado Bureau of Land Management’s proposed March 31, 2026 oil and gas lease sale threatens wildlife and wildlands. Alison’s screen shows overlaps with greater sage-grouse habitat, lands with wilderness characteristics, critical habitat for the endangered Colorado pikeminnow, occurrences and habitat for rare plants, high priority habitat and much more. Use Rocky Mountain Wild’s resources to protest the proposed parcels. Protests due March 2.
Photo credit: Tom Koerner/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Public domain (Public Domain)
Mexican spotted owl, rare plants, greater sage-grouse, and more in Utah need your help!
Utah Bureau of Land Management’s proposed March 31, 2026 oil and gas lease sale threatens wildlife and wildlands. Alison’s screen shows overlaps with greater sage-grouse habitat, critical habitat for the endangered Colorado pikeminnow and current range for other endangered Colorado river fish, occurrences and habitat for rare plants, crucial winter habitat for mule deer and much more. Use Rocky Mountain Wild’s resources to protest the proposed parcels. Protests due March 2.
Photo credit: USFS, Lincoln National Forest (Public Domain)
Demand protection for big game, prairie dog, greater sage-grouse, and more in Wyoming!
Wyoming Bureau of Land Management’s proposed March 31, 2026 oil and gas lease sale threatens wildlife and wildlands. Alison’s screen shows overlaps with greater sage-grouse habitat, crucial winter habitat for big game, important habitat for prairie dogs, species range for rare plant and butterfly, and much more. Use Rocky Mountain Wild’s resources to protest the proposed parcels. Protests due March 2.
Photo credit: Dennis Fluman via Wikipedia (CC BY 2.0)
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Other Featured Environmental Actions and Opportunities
The Endangered Species Act is at Risk!
This bipartisan law has protected wildlife for more than 50 years
For more than half a century, the Endangered Species Act has reflected a shared national commitment to preventing extinction and protecting the wildlife and wild places that define who we are. Passed in 1973 with overwhelming bipartisan support and signed into law by President Richard Nixon, the ESA established a science-based framework to conserve species and the ecosystems they depend on. It has long stood as a reminder that caring for our natural heritage is a responsibility that crosses political lines.
That legacy is now at risk.
The ESA Amendments Act of 2025 (H.R. 1897) would weaken important provisions of the Endangered Species Act, making it harder for threatened and endangered species to receive the protections they need to survive. Rolling back these safeguards puts decades of conservation progress at risk and undermines the science-based foundation of wildlife protection.
Photo credit: Bald eagle in CO by Alan Stark. Image cropped. (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Taxpayers Shouldn’t Pay for Corporate Cleanup!
URGENT: Trump Administration Plans to Stick Taxpayers with Oil Company Cleanup Bills. Here’s what’s happening: The Department of Interior is planning to roll back bonding requirements that ensure oil and gas companies pay for their own cleanup when they’re done drilling on public lands.
Why this matters:
- There are already over 10,000 idle wells on our public lands
- Cleanup could cost taxpayers up to $15 billion
- 90% of Westerners believe companies should pay their own cleanup costs
- These wells leak methane and can poison groundwater.
The good news? We can fight back. Join thousands of Americans demanding the administration keep current bonding requirements in place.
Keep it Public, Colorado!
Our public lands need your help, now more than ever. Recent actions include massive funding cuts, incentives for oil and gas development, and hollowing out the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA). Stay informed and take action at keepitpublic.co. Photo of Vermillion Basin: Sam Cox-landscape Imagery.
Speak Out Against the Development at Wolf Creek Pass
Help us tell the developers and decision-makers why building a “village” for 10,000 people at Wolf Creek Pass is a bad idea and the wrong choice for our community and state.
Your statement can help us stop the destruction of this incredible natural resource.
Organizations in Colorado Working Towards Equity in the Outdoors
- Adaptive Sports Center – enhancing the quality of life of people with disabilities through exceptional outdoor adventure.
- Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center – providing adaptive sports programs to individuals including adaptive winter ski and snowboard programs at Breckenridge, Keystone, and Copper Mountain Ski Resorts, and summer programs on local rivers, lakes, bike paths, and an adaptive ropes course.
- Camping to Connect – uses outdoor recreation and nature immersion to address the diverse issues faced by young men of color in America’s cities—from mental health to healthy masculinity.
- Colorado Blackpackers – providing gear, outdoor excursions, and outdoor education for free or at subsidized costs and connecting participants with volunteer opportunities, internships, jobs, and post-secondary education resources to create a pipeline from outdoor recreation to outdoor industry careers.
- Colorado Gone Hiking – creating an inclusive community that focuses on starting a love of hiking and nature.
- Colorado Treks – breaking barriers to outdoor experiences by providing accessible and enriching adventures in nature for Colorado’s diverse communities, particularly youth and families, fostering a lifelong connection to the healing power of the outdoors.
- Ecoinclusive Strategies – fostering healthy and diverse organizational and community ecosystems that empower individuals from all backgrounds to thrive.
- Environmental Learning for Kids (ELK) – reaching out to students who have been traditionally overlooked and under-encouraged in science and science-related careers, most notably, youth of color, LGBTIQA2+, and girls.
- Everyone Outdoors Colorado – Everyone Outdoors Colorado creates equitable access to the benefits of nature in Colorado, centering historically excluded communities through advocacy, storytelling, and leadership development. Formerly known as Next 100 Colorado.
- Green Latinos – convening a broad coalition of Latino leaders committed to addressing national, regional, and local environmental, natural resources, and conservation issues that significantly affect the health and welfare of the U.S. Latino community.
- Latino Outdoors Colorado – inspiring, connecting, and engaging Latino communities in the outdoors and embracing cultura y familia as part of the outdoor narrative, ensuring our history, heritage, and leadership are valued and represented.
- LGBT Outdoors Colorado – getting LGBTQ+ community outdoors, creating safe spaces, and promoting diversity among the outdoor industry.
- Native Womens Wilderness – inspiring and raising the voices of Native women in the outdoor realm to encourage a healthy lifestyle within the wilderness and provide an education of the Ancestral Lands and its people.
- Outdoor Asian Colorado – creating a diverse and inclusive community of Asian and Pacific Islands in the outdoors.
- Outdoorist Oath – an action-based commitment to planet, inclusion, and adventure. It offers tools/education for inquiry, a shareable education model, and the hub for a community that cares to build a better future.
- Rising Routes – elevating diverse communities and collaborating with partners to spark public action toward social and environmental resilience.
- Summit for Action – a gathering for thought-provoking discussions and solutions-based recommendations for Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Nonprofit Organizations.
- Vibe Tribe Adventures – offering global outdoor recreation and adventure sports opportunities for Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), and friends.
- Wanderland Outdoors – founded to fill the need in the outdoor space for diversity in faces, an elevated luxury experience, and to help reconnect future clients to the land around them.
- Women’s Wilderness – creating space for girls, women, and nonbinary people of all ages and backgrounds to find their place, their voice, and their power in the outdoors.
In-Person Events
Here are some conservation, stewardship, and advocacy events happening in person. All locations are in Colorado unless indicated otherwise.
- See Wilderness Workshop events here.
- See Colorado Native Plant Society events here.
- 2/13 & 2/14 Denver – Water Workforce Summit & Career Fair. The Colorado Water Center at Colorado State University connects expertise, convenes conversations, and catalyzes collaboration addressing complex and evolving water-related challenges in Colorado and beyond. The Colorado Water Center’s Water Workforce Summit and Career Fair launched in April 2024 as an opportunity to convene students, water industry professionals and employers, water-related educators and trainers, workforce development specialists, and other stakeholders to discuss and address water workforce needs across the state. Held every other year, the Water Workforce Summit is a day of water education and workforce stakeholder engagement with a keynote speaker, panel discussions, and breakout group work. The Water Workforce Career Fair takes place every year, connecting water workforce professionals, organizations, and businesses, with students from Colorado State University, technical colleges, high school programs, and other institutions of higher learning.
- 4/27 – 4/29 Colorado Springs – Partners in the Outdoors Conference. Organized by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The Partners in the Outdoors Conference serves as a vital platform to address the intricate balance between conservation and outdoor recreation in Colorado.
Virtual Events
- Weekly Series American Trails Advancing Trails Webinar Series. American Trails brings agencies, trail builders, planners, architects, advocates, and volunteers the latest in state-of-the-art information on all aspects of trails and greenways usually applicable to all trail types, with expert presenters.
- 2/19 (and monthly through April) – Naturalist Chat, A Bird Q&A. Join Audubon Rockies for this monthly event. Whether you’re curious about feeding birds, their behaviors, population changes, or need help with an ID, we’ve got you covered! Join us for Naturalist Chat: A Bird Q&A, where our community science coordinator and bird expert, Zach Hutchinson, will answer your questions live on Zoom. See other Audubon Rockies events here.
Community Science Projects
Colorado Pika Patrol
The Colorado Pika Project is a research project implemented by community scientists across Colorado. Through long-term monitoring of pika populations, we are not only providing useful data to researchers and land managers, but we are doing so in a way that educates and engages Coloradans in conservation and the local impacts of climate change.
Pika Patrol App
Can’t commit to the Colorado Pika Patrol project? The Pika Patrol App allows you to record observations of American pikas wherever you find them!
Colorado Corridors Project
Colorado Corridors Project remote-triggered cameras collect tens of thousands of photos each year in an attempt to make a case for building an overpass for wildlife along the I-70 mountain corridor. Because of this overwhelming data, they need help identifying the wildlife you see in these photos. With your help, they can process and analyze the data much faster than if they did it on their own.
Colorado Bat Watch
Colorado Bat Watch was developed by Rocky Mountain Wild in collaboration with bat experts from the U.S. Forest Service, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Colorado Natural Heritage Program, and the North American Bat Monitoring Program. This program recruits and engages community scientists to collect data that will enable these agencies to monitor bat species over time and better understand the impacts of white-nose syndrome and other threats on local bat populations.
Go Big! Central Colorado Bighorn Sheep Survey
The Central Colorado Bighorn Sheep Survey engages the community in recording observations of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, domestic sheep, and domestic goats in Central Colorado. The data collected by volunteers participating in the project will inform conservation strategies for Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep in Central Colorado.
Join Denver Zoo’s Boreal Toad Conservation Team
In the summer months, volunteer community scientists on the Boreal Toad Conservation Team help us to search the mountain wetlands of Colorado for this hard-to-find amphibian. The data us and our volunteers gather in this projects informs CPW’s management of boreal toads, identifies future sites for wild reintroduction, and uncovers unknown populations (and we hope even ‘super-toads’ that may have natural resistance to chytrid fungus).
Join Audubon as a Climate Watch community scientist
Explore how North American birds are responding to climate change. This innovative community-science program enlists volunteer birders across North America to count certain bluebirds and nuthatches in the same place (or places) twice each year. By sticking to a scientific protocol and sharing their results, these community scientists help track whether birds are moving in accordance with projections from Audubon’s climate models.
Join Bumble Bee Watch
Volunteers needed to submit photos or videos of bumble bee nest sightings. The bumble bee nest sighting can come from anywhere within North America. An ideal sighting would include an image of the bumble bee (to determine the species), a GPS location (to be used in future habitat analyses), a description of the location and materials of the nest (i.e. in my garden, underground or in a woodpile), and, if possible, a video of the nest, surroundings, and activity.
Jobs, Internships, and Fellowships
Here are some job and internship openings in the environmental field: (For equity reasons, we only post job postings with transparent salary ranges). Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act went into effect on January 1, 2021 and requires that pay rates or ranges in job postings that will be or could be done in Colorado (including remote work) be posted. Colorado’s minimum wage is currently (2025) $14.81. The City of Denver’s minimum wage is $18.81. Colorado’s minimum salary for exempt workers is $56,485.
Positions are in Colorado or remote opportunities unless otherwise stated.
A huge thank you to Ms. Platt’s elementary school students who learned of this webpage and wanted to provide this resource on green careers to all our job seekers! Check out: “Guide to Green Careers.”
Job List Sites to Check
- Alliance for Collective Action Green Jobs Board
- Conservation Job Board
- Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education
- EcoJobs
- EnvironmentalCareer
- Impact Jobs Hub
- Green Jobs Network
- Work for Good
Other Job Postings (Jobs that are new this week are highlighted in green)
- 2/13 & 2/14 Denver, Water Workforce Summit & Career Fair. The Colorado Water Center at Colorado State University connects expertise, convenes conversations, and catalyzes collaboration addressing complex and evolving water-related challenges in Colorado and beyond. The Colorado Water Center’s Water Workforce Summit and Career Fair launched in April 2024 as an opportunity to convene students, water industry professionals and employers, water-related educators and trainers, workforce development specialists, and other stakeholders to discuss and address water workforce needs across the state. Held every other year, the Water Workforce Summit is a day of water education and workforce stakeholder engagement with a keynote speaker, panel discussions, and breakout group work. The Water Workforce Career Fair takes place every year, connecting water workforce professionals, organizations, and businesses, with students from Colorado State University, technical colleges, high school programs, and other institutions of higher learning.
- National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) is seeking a Social Media Manager. NOLS is a nonprofit global wilderness school that strives to be the leading source and teacher of wilderness skills and leadership that serve people and the environment. The Social Media Manager is responsible for developing and executing a results-driven social media strategy that builds brand awareness, drives engagement, and supports business goals. This role owns the full social lifecycle—from strategy and content creation to publishing, community management, and reporting—across all relevant social platforms. Salary Range: $45,000.00 To $55,000.00. Application Deadline: 28 February 2026.
- The Nature Conservancy is seeking a Southern High Plains Initiative Director. As the Southern High Plains Initiative Director, you will lead the Southern High Plains Initiative (SHPI), which is a collaborative cross-boundary conservation initiative that centers on TNC’s 2030 grasslands goals. You will lead multi-disciplinary teams across portions of five TNC business units (Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas) to conserve our most critical grasslands using a variety of conservation strategies and innovative solutions. Salary range $98,000 – 138,000. Other job postings at The Nature Conservancy here.
- The City of Greely is seeking a Generation Wild Coordinator. This position is a 1-year term limited part time position in the Natural Area and Trails Division in Culture Parks in Recreation for the City of Greeley. The Generation Wild Coordinator will steward the Generation Wild Greeley Coalition, a coalition composed of program providers, partners, and residents. In general, the Generation Wild Coordinator supports coalition vision and strategy, ensures implementation of aligned activities and shared measurement practices, cultivates community engagement and ownership, mobilizes resources, and provides accountability for execution of grant deliverables. Full Salary Ranges: $29.57 – $39.95 Hourly. Other job postings at the City of Greeley here.
- Audubon is seeking an Associate, Communications – Working Lands. The Communications Associate, Working Lands, will support the communications, storytelling, and promotional efforts of the Working Lands programs which includes the Audubon Conservation Ranching (ACR) program. Compensation: $27.00 – $29.00 / hour (higher in specific locations). Other job postings at Audubon here.
Take Action with Partner Organizations
Follow the links below to find actions sponsored by these organizations to protect wildlife and wild lands:
- Animal Legal Defense Fund: The Animal Legal Defense Fund’s mission is to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system
- Audubon: Audubon protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow.
- Center for Biological Diversity: Center for Biological Diversity works to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction.
- Earthjustice: Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit public interest environmental law organization.
- Food & Water Watch: Food & Water Watch fights for sustainable food, clean water, and a livable climate for all of us.
- League for Conservation Voters: The League of Conservation Voters builds political power to protect people and the planet – because our Earth is worth fighting for.
- National Parks Conservation Association: National Parks Conservation Association is the voice of America’s national parks, working to protect and preserve our nation’s most iconic and inspirational places for present and future generations.
- National Wildlife Federation: The mission of National Wildlife Federation is uniting all Americans to ensure wildlife and people thrive in a rapidly changing world. The National Wildlife Federation Action Fund, an affiliated but separate entity works to raise the visibility of key conservation issues with voters and elected officials.
- The Nature Conservancy: The Nature Conservancy is a global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive.
- REI: At REI, we believe that a life outdoors is a life well lived.
- Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance: The mission of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance is the preservation of the outstanding wilderness at the heart of the Colorado Plateau, and the management of these lands in their natural state for the benefit of all Americans.
- Union of Concerned Scientists: The Union of Concerned Scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.
- The Wilderness Society The mission of The Wilderness Society is uniting people to protect America’s wild places
Local (Denver) Environmental Fight Led by Indigenous Community
- SunCor Energy, a Canadian-run company, runs an oil refinery north of Denver, Colorado. Suncor is Colorado’s only oil refinery and one of our largest emitters of greenhouse gasses and toxic air pollutants, and has been operating without any changes to its procedures or pollution controls for years. In spite of numerous enforcement actions and settlements, Suncor continues to flout air quality laws, putting neighboring communities — who are primarily BIPOC and low income — at extreme risk. Suncor has no regard for human or non-human life and will continue to harm our communities if action is not taken. Please take a moment to watch Spirit of the Sun’s short film on Suncor’s impact on Colorado’s Indigenous communities or scroll to the bottom of the page to send a form-letter to Governor Polis, Colorado Dept. of Health and Environment, and the EPA asking them to shut down Suncor for good: https://www.suncorsundown.org
- Donate to Spirit of the Sun’s efforts to combat Suncor’s harmful impacts through their Mycelium Program which trains their community members to inoculate the soil in their communities and throughout Native land with networks of mycelium to restore the health of our soil systems. When we cannot depend on the systems in power to create change, we educate ourselves and our community to protect the systems we hold dear: https://www.spiritofthesun.org/mycelium-healing-project-1
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