On Friday, Sept. 29, Carbondale-based conservation advocacy nonprofit Wilderness Workshop released Wild for Good, a report highlighting 10 of western Colorado’s most ecologically-rich landscapes now at increasing risk of development. The report was released as a call to action to protect Coloradan public lands, and directs citizens to both experience their local landscapes for themselves and to advocate for their long-term protection.

“Public lands are part of Colorado’s identity, and once they’re gone, they’re gone forever,” said Will Roush, executive director of Wilderness Workshop. “This report is both a warning and a roadmap. It identifies specific steps we can take now to keep our most treasured wild places intact for future generations.”

In 28 full-color pages, the Wild for Good report catalogues Wilderness Workshop’s history with vivid landscape photography and quotes from representatives, business owners and scientists, all celebrating the cultural, economic and ecological value of Colorado’s wilderness-quality landscapes. The landscapes receive in-depth features noting their natural beauty, ecological diversity and conservation history — as well as the risks they presently face.

The report includes landscapes intimately familiar to residents of the Roaring Fork Valley — such as the Crystal River and Thompson Divide — and landscapes further away yet no less ecologically significant.

Tucked in Colorado’s northwest corner, Greater Dinosaur receives attention for its petroglyphs and big game as the largest complex of unprotected land in the state. The Roan Plateau, often passed by commuters heading westward to Grand Junction, is featured for its population of genetically pure Colorado River cutthroat trout and blossoms of Parachute penstemon — an endangered alpine flower found only on the Roan’s shale outcrops.

The report was strategically launched ahead of National Public Lands Day, Sept. 27, a federal holiday meant to draw awareness to the country’s parks and wildlands. Wilderness Workshop distributed the report to Colorado state representatives, spreading awareness of these lands all the way east to Washington, D.C. while the federal government continues to draft proposals to sell and develop public lands for oil and gas use and eliminate conservation protections.

“We’ve been hearing from communities throughout the Western Slope that people really do want to be proactive about protecting these places and doing that before they’re lost to drilling,” said Campaign Director Michael Gorman. “This report is a way for us to be proactive and set the agenda on these landscapes.”

The Wild for Good report was launched along with its own website, which Wilderness Workshop intends to use as a platform for activism and ongoing news updates regarding the status of different landscapes and the actions citizens can take to protect each one.

While Wild for Good encourages citizens to engage in more traditional forms of activism — such as writing letters to congresspeople and signing petitions — the campaign also uses social media to spread awareness about the risks public lands currently face.

Wild for Good instructs citizens to “Join the Movement” by first picking up an official Wild for Good bandana at Wilderness Workshop’s Carbondale office and venturing to one of the 10 landscapes highlighted in the report. Participants can then snap a photo of themselves with their new bandana and email the image back to Wilderness Workshop and/or post the image to their social media account, tagging @wildernessworkshop on the post and including a short story about why they love their featured landscape.

The report takes care to remind Roaring Fork Valley citizens that the hundreds of thousands of acres of wilderness in our backyards only gained their protected status due to continued efforts by a dedicated community, tracing Wilderness Workshop’s own origins through the hard work of three women — Connie Harvey, Joy Caudill and Dottie Fox.

“Places like the Maroon Bells and the Raggeds Wilderness are areas that people are very grateful for. It was a lot of work [to protect those places],” said Gorman. “Those are great victories, and there’s more work to do. The pressures keep multiplying and the stakes are higher and now it’s our turn to take that next step.”

The full report can be found online at www.wildforgood.org