GJ community members discuss climate concerns

By JULIA WILDMAN

Julia.Wildman@gjsentinel.com

Cleantech Business Coalition hosted more than 75 community members at the Mesa County Public Library on Wednesday to hear about their experiences with climate impacts. The listening session was part of the statewide “Here and Now” tour sponsored in part by 350 Colorado.

Cleantech Business Coalition Chairman Jim Marshall said that he wants to make sure the interests of the Western Slope are heard by legislators. The impacts of climate-related disasters are expected to cost Colorado taxpayers between $50 and $54 billion by 2050 according to a study released in January by the Colorado Fiscal Institute. The goal of Wednesday’s event was to compile concerns and ideas about how to address that burden to eventually present to lawmakers.

“The Western Slope is not represented when legislation is made,” Marshall said. Wednesday’s listening session is an effort to change that by organizing and documenting what the Western Slope says they need.

Atlasta Solar co-owner Lou Villaire said sustainable energy management is actually a safety measure and economically practical.

“No one’s really interested in buying solar these days. What everyone’s interested in, what’s in the forefront of people’s

See CLIMATE, page 4A ➤

Western Coloradans listen to a presentation by Jerry Nelson on climate change’s impact on air and air quality during the CleanTech Business Coalition’s “Here and Now Tour: Building Local Resilience to Climate Disaster$” meeting at the Mesa County Libraries Central Library on July 8.

LARRY ROBINSON/ The Daily Sentinel

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minds is ‘how do I pay less for electricity?’“ Villaire said. “‘How do I have resiliency and safety for my family when there’s wildfires that are two miles away and Xcel is going to shut my power off ?’” With the Snyder Fire fresh on everybody’s mind, wildfire management, suppression and mitigation was at the forefront of the discussion, with most of it revolving around how to protect homes and prevent fires from encroaching on private property.

John Rizza, the executive director of Two Rivers Wildfire Coalition, gave a presentation on his team’s fire mitigation and planning services. Another presenter was Jerry Nelson with Citizens for Clean Air to talk about the health impacts of wildfire smoke.

After the presentations, the attendees were divided into four groups to discuss their concerns. They were guided by a set of questions and a facilitator recorded the group’s answers — which will be compiled into a list of ideas and demands Cleantech Business Coalition can present to lawmakers and elected officials.

The most common concerns were the decision- making of local elected officials, development and the impact to wildlife.

Many attendees were critical of the Grand Junction City Council’s decision last year to table the Sustainability and Adaptation Plan that was adopted in 2024. Grand Junction City Council Member Scott Beilfuss said it wouldn’t be “a big deal at all” to reinstate the Sustainability and Adaption Plan.

“We didn’t vote on taking it off,” Beilfuss said. “It was just the mayor and the mayor pro-tem that, kind of, put some pressure on and off it went.”

Community member Eric Rechel attended the event and said he wants to see a “moratorium on building” in the county. He didn’t say how long he’d like to see it last but that unfettered development could strain the region’s natural resources and harm wildlife. Stricter zoning and coding were brought up many times.

Restoring riparian ecosystems and protecting wetlands was another common concern discussed. Extreme drought conditions on the Western Slope are drying out vegetation and limiting the water supplies. Pete Kolbenschlag of Fulcrum Rural Solutions in the North Fork Valley said investment in rural water systems is vital for agricultural resilience.

“We need to invest in water systems and that does mean infrastructure and ditches and things like that and making them more efficient” Kolbenschlag said. “But it also means restoring watersheds and working on watershed health, which is also forest health.”

One attendee who spoke before the small group sessions was booed out of the room after saying “climate change is a scam.” Grand Valley Instrumentation co-owner Rikki Cook calmed the crowd and said even if other people’s opinions are hard to hear, Wednesday’s event was a space for listening.

Marshall said sustainability and climate change are buzzwords that have been politicized. He said that when talks to people about sustainability, they automatically assume he’s threatening the job market. However, the Clean Jobs Colorado 2025 report by E2 found that the clean energy workforce in Colorado is more than double the size of the fossil fuel workforce.

Beilfuss said he thinks homeowner’s insurance is going to drive the sustainability discussion. He said places like Glade Park are becoming too risky for insurance companies and eventually people will be priced out.

Beilfuss also said people who are resistant to sustainable practices tend to think it’s a form of control or an infringement on their rights. He went on to say that if things get bad enough, then either the environment or the insurance companies will control where people can live and that if they engage in proper planning then at least they’ll have some sort of control over the process.

“Its gonna have to be some big disasters that’ll get their attention, but even that won’t do it I don’t think,” Beilfuss said.

Beilfuss wants more people to show up and present data and science to the City Council to help them understand why the community is concerned.

Cleantech Business Coalition has an educational newsletter people can sign up for and Marshall said they’re always looking to hear people’s ideas about how to make the Grand Valley more resilient and sustainable.