Backed by a boisterous pro-Pios crowd, DU cruised past Cornell in the opening round of the NCAA tournament with a 5-0 win Friday at Blue Arena. Five different goal scorers and 24 saves from freshman sensation goaltender Johnny Hicks were more than enough to set up a regional final showdown Sunday afternoon with .

“I thought we were excellent from the first drop of the puck,” Pioneers coach David Carle said. “Our speed was there all night long, with and without the puck. I thought the guys executed at a really high level.

“(Cornell) makes you earn every inch of ice out there and our guys were up to the task.”

put the Pios on the board first. He deflected a shot from defenseman Cale Ashcroft past Cornell goalie Alexis Cournoyer at 6:08 of the opening period.

It was the eighth goal of the season for Fisher, a sophomore center who was a fourth-round pick by the Avs in 2024. The Pios have now won 14 games in a row, an incredible surge that coincided with Hicks getting the call in net after fellow freshman Quentin Miller was injured.

It looks similar to the shape of the 2023-24 season, which included a midseason dip but ended with a run that led to the program’s record 10th national championship.

“It’s good to go through some adversity,” Fisher said. “We all stuck together, stuck through it and worked even harder. We went through the adversity and we learned from it, which is why I think we’re doing so well now.

“We are built for these moments.”

Denver native Kieran Cebrian made it a 2-0 lead at 15:33 of the first. The junior center got a piece of an Eric Jameson shot for his fifth goal of the season.

Not a lot happened for either team in the middle period, until the puck came to Harris in the high slot and the junior forward buried his 14th goal of the year with 4:29 to go in the second. If it didn’t feel like DU’s date with the Broncos was sealed, then it certainly was after Clarke Caswell extended the lead to 4-0.

Caswell, another of Denver’s deep and talented freshman class, potted his seventh goal of the year when he redirected the puck from Ashcroft with a half baseball swing at 5:06 of the third.

Cornell got closer on the shot clock as the game progressed, but the Big Red had few sustained offensive possessions and Hicks didn’t need to be Superman, let alone Matt Davis from two years ago, to befuddle the visitors from upstate New York.

Familiar foes face off for Frozen Four berth

While it might lack the geographical tie and historical hate of the Gold Pan series with Colorado College, Western Michigan has become a top on-ice rival for the Pioneers. Sunday will be the sixth meeting of this season between the two clubs and the 10th tilt in the past two campaigns.

“I think it’s awesome,” Fisher said. “They’re a great team, but we’re ready for this moment. We couldn’t be more excited for Sunday.”

The Broncos ended DU’s national title defense with a double-overtime win at the Frozen Four last year. Western Michigan also beat Carle’s club in overtime to win the NCHC Frozen Faceoff a year ago.

These two teams swept each other on the road during the regular season, but Hicks and the Pios exacted part one of their revenge with a 2-1 overtime victory in the semifinals of this year’s Frozen Faceoff. Now they have a chance for part two, with a trip to Las Vegas and the Frozen Four on the line.

“I can’t wait,” Harris said. “They ended our season last year. It’s great to play them again. It’s similar to last year. We are all pumped.”

Since 1980, Aspen’s mountains have lost a month of winter — 31 days in the cold months when temperatures no longer fall below freezing as they did in the past, said Hannah Berman, the director of sustainability and philanthropy at Aspen Skiing Co. Climate change is impacting not only Colorado’s mountain economies, but also resort towns’ way of life.

That’s why the ski company will work with environmental groups to lobby for state laws that accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels and to clean energy sources, she said at the Jan. 30 event, standing in front of signs that read “Act Now! Coloradans Can’t Wait!”

“No single company, no sector, no industry, no community can solve climate alone,” Berman said. “A systemic problem requires systemic action. Our local kids deserve to grow up in a place that’s willing to leverage its influence to be a reckoning force to provide them as much stability — and as much joy — as possible.”

Berman’s speech in the Capitol exemplified calls from both inside and outside the ski industry for its leaders to publicly advocate for policies that will address the : increased greenhouse gas emissions from human activity, like burning fossil fuels.

While the big ski companies all agree that climate change is a threat to the multibillion-dollar industry and the globe, the volume of their calls for public policy change has varied.

The heads of four of the largest resort companies have named climate change as “the most critical issue we face.” The Lakewood-based National Ski Areas Association calls it the sector’s And ski companies for years have worked to reduce or offset their own greenhouse gas emissions and implement sustainable practices, such as investing in better recycling and pivoting to renewable energy sources.

But some resorts say that work is not enough. To truly make a difference, they say, publicly advocating for policy change at the local, state and federal levels must be a core part of their mission.

Other Colorado resort owners declined to even discuss the topic for this story.

“People are afraid to get political,” said Erin Sprague, the CEO of , a Boulder-based climate advocacy organization for outdoor recreationists, about hesitations to engage in the policy ring. “And the sad thing is, climate is an issue that has been polarized. But who doesn’t want clean air, clean water and more powder days?”

Neither of the two largest ski companies in the industry — both based in Colorado — agreed to interviews about their roles in shaping or advocating for climate policy, despite prior public pledges to lobby for climate-friendly policies.

— headquartered in Broomfield and valued at $4.7 billion — agreed through a spokesman to speak about how the company is adapting its operations to climate change but, over two months, did not make anyone available for an interview about climate advocacy despite repeated requests. Vail Resorts operates the Epic Pass program and owns 43 resorts across the globe, including Colorado’s Vail Mountain, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Crested Butte.

A spokeswoman for responded to an email requesting an interview about climate advocacy, but stopped responding after The Denver Post declined to provide interview questions in advance. She did not respond to a series of follow-up emails and calls over the following two months.

Alterra, headquartered in Denver, has more than a dozen ski resorts in and operates the popular Ikon Pass program. It owns Colorado’s Steamboat Ski Resort and in 2024 purchased Arapahoe Basin. It also operates Winter Park Resort.

Persuading companies to engage on climate can be a challenge, said Chris Miller, the senior vice president of , the parent company of Aspen Skiing Co. Business leaders assume they have only so much clout to expend and use it on topics they see as more immediate concerns to their companies, like tax policy or labor law.

Others see it as too polarizing, said Miller, who led activism work at the ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s for 12 years before joining Aspen One in March.

The ski industry cannot afford to look away from the existential threat, he said. Reducing resort emissions and increasing recycling are great, but will not solve the problem.

“We could shut our entire operation down tomorrow and our planet is still headed over the cliff,” Miller said. “We’re not going to collectively solve climate change by voluntary corporate action that varies company by company.”

A call to climate action

The history of environmentalism in the ski industry runs parallel to the history of the modern climate movement, according to Auden Schendler.

He would know — he spent more than two decades spearheading sustainability efforts in the ski industry and, in the three years before that, researched corporate sustainability.

The idea of corporate sustainability emerged following the rapid-fire passage of the country’s bedrock environmental protection laws: the Clean Air Act of 1963, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970 and . Instead of a reliance on government regulation, the concept posited that market forces would push corporations to voluntarily and efficiently solve environmental problems on the local and global scales. Government change would then follow businesses’ example.

In the ski industry, that meant the cost savings from energy efficiency — and the positive public relations inspired by such change — would motivate companies to address climate issues.

Schendler felt fired up by this concept when Aspen Skiing Co. hired him in 1999 as the second employee in its new sustainability department, the first such department in the industry. He helped the company install energy-efficient lightbulbs, measure and reduce its resorts’ carbon footprints, and improve recycling and composting.

“But as we were doing this work, after about a decade, I started asking the question: Is this enough?” he said. “Is this actually the solution to a global systemic climate problem? And the answer I came to was no.”

Aspen Skiing Co., and the ski industry as a whole, needed to think bigger, he decided. It needed to engage in the issue where policy is made: in Washington, D.C., in statehouses, in elections, at meetings of county commissions and utility boards.

It also needed to convince other ski companies to join that work — and to do so publicly.

“What����ap always been the problem is that the companies will say they are doing that — ‘We’re lobbying for climate behind closed doors.’ But if it����ap behind closed doors, it����ap not meaningful. … By keeping it behind closed doors, you don’t change social norms,” said Schendler, who left Aspen One in 2025 and authored a book, about modern climate activism and the failures of the corporate sustainability movement.

As Aspen Skiing Co. ramped up its call for industry action, professional snowboarder Jeremy Jones in 2007 founded Protect Our Winters after noticing changing snow on mountains across the globe. At first, the nonprofit group focused on educating people about climate change, said Sprague, the CEO.

Education soon pivoted to political advocacy. By 2022, the organization was lobbying for the Inflation Reduction Act — a massive investment by the Biden administration in clean energy. POW also called on outdoor business leaders to join the political fight, even publishing a

“We really wanted companies to understand the level they have for influence — especially right now, when company leadership, in the absence of political leadership on this topic, is really important and often something their own consumers want to see,” Sprague said of the playbook.

Business leaders she speaks with worry about being seen as activists, she said. But she encourages them to see advocacy as simply exerting their influence on their communities and fellow business leaders — especially since climate advocacy will help their businesses in the long run.

“It takes a lot of courageous leadership to step forward and say what you believe in, and then couple it with action,” Sprague said.

trickled through the industry, but not all companies have adopted the mission to the same degree.

Little to say about once-heralded partnership

In an industry known for competition and season pass wars, an announcement of collaboration between the four largest ski companies in North America prompted a flurry of press attention.

In 2022, the leaders of Vail, Alterra, Utah-based POWDR and Michigan-based Boyne Resorts announced a new partnership dedicated to climate action. Through the the companies stated that “climate change is the most critical issue we face as business leaders and as citizens of this continent and inhabitants of Earth.”

Among other promises, they pledged to incorporate sustainability practices into their resort operations, pursue renewable energy sources and “advocate for climate protection through actionable federal, state and local policies.”

The leaders of the four companies — which collectively represented 77 resorts — stating that beginning in 2023, the group would “advocate at the federal, state, and local levels for policies that curtail greenhouse gas emissions, accelerate a shift to renewable energy sources, and establish a clean energy economy.”

It’s unclear whether they kept that promise.

Neither Vail, Alterra nor POWDR — which owns Copper Mountain and is in the process of selling Eldora Mountain Resort to the town of Nederland — responded to questions about the Mountain Collaborative. Emails sent to the address on the coalition’s website bounced back.

Colorado lobbying records show that Alterra has registered a position on one state bill. It entered an “amend” position and then a “monitoring” position — both of which are short of indicating support — on a that mandated transit planning in a way that reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

In its 2024 annual report, the most recent available, the corporation stated that it had joined efforts with a to pen a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency to finalize greenhouse gas standards for power plants and to advocate���ڴǰ� .

Vail Resort’s lobbying records show the company supported several climate-friendly bills in Colorado between 2017 and 2022, including efforts to invest in air quality improvements and a bill to establish the . The company’s does not describe any advocacy work and instead focuses on efforts to make its resorts more efficient, reduce waste and use more renewable energy.

The database shows no registered lobbying in Colorado by POWDR.

A spokeswoman for Colorado Ski Country USA — the state’s industry association — also declined in an email to speak about the organization’s perspectives on climate advocacy. The organization’s primarily focuses on efforts at resorts to reduce carbon footprints, increase composting and recycling, and revegetate after resort development.

The association lobbies at the Colorado statehouse on a number of matters every session, according to state records that date back to 2003. In the past, those bills have included climate-related issues. In 2022, it aimed at funding clean air projects and that has helped pay for free public transit on high-ozone days. In 2021, it supported promoting the expansion of clean energy.

Quieter work at the federal level

The National Ski Areas Association lists advocacy to policymakers as one of three pillars of its climate efforts. In its , the association describes a series of events its representatives attended in 2024, including a panel on climate action at the Citizens’ Climate Lobby Conference, Climate Week in New York and the Conservative Climate Summit in Utah.

The Post reached out to the association on Dec. 1 to request an interview about the organization’s climate advocacy but, after multiple follow-up requests, spokeswoman Tonya Riley said in a Jan. 23 email that schedules would not permit an interview.

In an email, she highlighted the group’s work with , a nonprofit that organizes businesses for climate and environmental advocacy. Vail Resorts, Arapahoe Basin, Aspen One and Alterra also .

In March, Ceres from both major political parties to discuss the importance of clean energy and the economic benefits of federal clean economy incentives, Riley said in an email. The organization plans to attend similar meetings next month.

“NSAA advocates for policy tools that advance an equitable clean energy economy, sustain healthy ecosystems, and preserve outdoor recreation experiences for generations to come,” she said. “NSAA and ski areas across the country collaborate on multiple national climate advocacy initiatives.”

Sprague, from Protect Our Winters, said the group and other climate advocates needed to change strategy after the reelection of President Donald Trump and a Republican majority in Congress in 2024.

The organization is now playing defense on the federal level — lobbying against the Trump administration’s attempts to restrict clean energy development and testifying at the EPA against the rollback of clean air and water regulations.

“It looked like we were on a path to fix this thing,” she said, referencing the two major climate bills of the Biden administration. “Now we’re in a different era, where we’ve gone in a different direction politically but, economically, the solutions continue to grow and resonate.”

The organization is now focusing its offense on the local and state levels, Sprague said, such as working to end a moratorium on new solar projects in Montrose on Colorado’s Western Slope.

“It’s been a hard time for people, and I want people to take some hope,” she said. “The economics (of renewable energy) are working, the state and local level are working. This change is inevitable. We are going to make a transition to better sources of energy — we just need to do it faster.”

Involvement in advocacy is ‘our responsibility’

Data show that Coloradans and Westerners want climate action.

The 2025 edition of Colorado College’s Conservation in the West poll found that early last year “support the government taking action to reduce carbon pollution that contributes to climate change.” Across the eight states included in the poll, agreed with that statement.

Colorado climate advocates, too, are calling for ski companies to engage on policy for the sake of their industry and to protect the sports so many Coloradans love.

Ski industry leaders recognize the existential threat climate change poses and have taken important steps to advance clean energy and sustainability, said Noah Rott, a deputy press secretary for the Sierra Club, in a statement to The Post on behalf of the organization’s Colorado chapter.

“However, even more partnership initiatives and strategic efforts will be required to counter the enormously influential, wealthy fossil fuel industry that lobbies our legislature, pushes out misleading ads, and manipulates legislators and officials at the highest levels of our federal government,” he said.

Mike Nathan, the sustainability manager at Arapahoe Basin, sees it as an integral part of the resort’s work to advocate for policy changes and to urge the thousands of skiers and riders who visit the ski area to act.

“It����ap our responsibility to be at the forefront of that advocacy work,” he said.

Nathan quickly listed a series of advocacy actions the resort had worked on: lobbying the state health department for stronger methane regulations for Colorado landfills; penning opinion pieces that urged state regulators to adopt rules encouraging the growth of electric vehicles; traveling to lobby Congress for legislation to ; and participating in Summit County climate working groups, including those focused on electric transportation and reducing waste.

In 2022, leaders from the Arapahoe Basin — which is relatively small compared to other Colorado resorts — were outspoken supporters of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

“We really look at sustainability as one of the keys to our success and pillars of our business,” Nathan said. “But we also have a unique and powerful opportunity to be the messenger that drives the much larger change that����ap going to help us out in the long run.”

Aspen One’s leadership in the last year published opinion pieces in Colorado media and the of a that greenhouse gases are a public health danger. The company submitted comments to the EPA opposing that rollback and sent a representative to D.C. to talk to lawmakers about climate change.

During this year’s midterm elections, the company will be watching which candidates prioritize climate issues, said Miller, from Aspen One.

“Whether we like it or not, and for better or worse, businesses are the most powerful entities in society,” he said. “They have great sway, not only with policymakers but with people as well. Corporations, businesses (and) brands are more trusted than the media, the government.

“It����ap both an opportunity and a responsibility for us to use that trust to be advocates for some of these big issues society wrestles with — climate change is a great example of that.”

The No. 4-ranked Denver Pioneers rallied multiple times in the third period, but ultimately lost to the Minnesota Golden Gophers, 6-5 in overtime, in the 2025 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game. It was a wild night in Denver’s first game at Ball Arena since 2023.

“It was a really entertaining game, obviously for the fans. I thought the energy, atmosphere in the building was excellent,” DU coach David Carle said. “It’s a special opportunity to be able to play here at Ball Arena. I’m appreciative of our administration and people at Kroenke (Sports and Entertainment) for making this game happen as well and giving our players this wonderful experience.”

It was a huge coup for the DU hockey program to keep Carle after last season. Fresh off back-to-back Frozen Four appearances and with two NCAA titles in the past four seasons, Carle was one of the hottest names on a robust NHL coaching carousel.

He chose to stay, citing a desire to keep building both the DU program and the college game as a whole. This was a good night on that front.

Two weeks after setting a Magness Arena record for attendance (7,073, against archrival Colorado College), the crowd at Ball Arena was announced at 12,228, making the decision to stage the game downtown instead of on campus worthwhile.

“I mean, it’s amazing,” Pios defenseman Boston Buckberger said. “You look around, you look up, and (it’s a) 18,000-19,000 seat arena. You don’t get to do that every day. And obviously, it’s all of our dreams to play in the NHL. So to play in a rink like this is just unbelievable, and I think that we really enjoyed it.

“We didn’t get the result, but it’s obviously a great experience for all of us, and we can just keep building off it for future games here.”

Even without Zeev Buium, DU Pioneers’ defense corps looks like one of the nation’s best: ‘The show goes on’

As for the game itself, the Pioneers (9-5-1) peppered Minnesota goaltender Luca Di Pasquo early and often. Denver finished the game with 52 shots on goal. That's the second-highest total of the season, and the fifth time in 15 games the Pios have poured at least 49 shots on net.

They had a 25-5 advantage in shots after the first period alone. This isn't the first time all of that offensive pressure hasn't led to enough goals.

The Pios had 59 shots in a season-opening 1-1 tie against Air Force, and 49 in a 4-3 loss to Alaska-Anchorage. In five of the six games DU has not won, the Pioneers have heavily outshot the foe that pulled off the upset.

“It's all about sticking to our process,” DU captain Kent Anderson said. “Period to period, we want to keep building and stick to our game plan. Obviously, pucks don't go in all the time even if you want them to, but that's hockey.”

This one felt a little different than the others, though.

"Is it frustrating? Yes, but it's a part of the game,” Carle said. “We generated a lot of good looks in the first and third. In the second, we got a little bit away from what we wanted to do, but I'm proud of our guys, for everyone to get back to it.

"There were times where we gave them some of their stuff a little bit too easy -- that hasn't been us for most of the year. I'm happy about the resiliency and the offensive development we've been seeing. And I think most nights we have been pretty sound and solid defensively and in the blue paint."

While freshman goalie Quentin Miller has looked like an emerging star, this was his second off-night of the season. He responded to the first one with a six-game winning streak with just eight goals allowed.

The Pios still nearly found a way, thanks to an offensive onslaught in the third period. They rallied from a 4-2 deficit, and then again to force overtime when Buckberger, part of one of the best defense corps in the nation, scored with 23.1 seconds left.

The score might not have gone the Pios' way, but the end result was a fantastic night for college hockey and a great showcase for the program.

"We played well in a lot of ways,” Carle said. “Obviously, we had the puck a lot. Our resiliency in the third period was displayed in a big-time way. We've done that a few times this year. Unfortunately, they made one more play than we did at the end, but I think we can leave with our heads held high."

It was a winding journey for Quentin Miller to get here, but he looks quite at home in net for the Pioneers. He made 29 saves Friday night, outdueling Colorado College star netminder Kaidan Mbereko in a 2-1 overtime win in front of the largest crowd ever for a hockey game at Magness Arena (7,073).

“He’s amazing. He’s the best person and kid too, so you just want to see him have success,” DU defenseman Boston Buckberger said. “I think what he’s done for our team, being kind of a brick and our foundation back there, we know we can rely on him. He’s bailed us out numerous times already. When we go the other way and get our chances, we’ve got to look back and give kudos and credit to him.

“If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have been able to come back (Friday) night. Huge credit to him. I just hope he keeps it rolling, because it����ap awesome.”

People toss around the term legend too loosely in sports, but Davis became one at DU after his incredible 2024 postseason run leading the Pioneers to an NCAA-record 10th national championship. He also helped the Pios back to the Frozen Four last year, and finished his career 6-1 in NCAA Tournament games with eight goals allowed.

Those are massive skates to fill. Enter Miller, who played for three different Canadian junior teams and 10 months ago wasn’t playing at all because of an injury.

A Montreal native, Miller was the backup goalie for the Patrick Roy-led Quebec Ramparts in 2022-23. That team won the Memorial Cup, and helped Roy return to the NHL with the New York Islanders. His work also made him a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NHL draft by his hometown Montreal Canadiens.

Miller was traded in the middle of the next season to Rimouski. He needed shoulder surgery in September 2024, so Rimouski, which was hosting the Memorial Cup, traded for another goaltender. When he was getting close to returning from the surgery, there wasn’t going to be obvious playing time for him, so he went west to the BCHL and joined the Chilliwack Chiefs.

That’s when the Pioneers got involved. Before players with CHL experience were granted NCAA eligibility, junior players often committed years in advance of college. The forthcoming rule change drastically altered the recruiting landscape last season.

“(Assistant coach Tavis MacMillian) learned of a guy in Chilliwack that was coming out of injuries, so just connections and people that we know up there,” DU coach David Carle said. “We didn’t have a long time to watch him, because he came back from injury sometime in late January, early February. We made the decision to recruit him and fortunately for us, he was able to get (33) games in through the BCHL playoffs.

“We have good connections in the Montreal organization as well, and they were supportive of him coming here. That all kind of factors into it.”

Miller played 10 regular-season games for the Chiefs, then helped them to the BCHL championship series before losing to the Brooks Bandits. The Pios not only had to replace Davis, but his backup from the past two seasons, Freddie Halyk, also transferred to Brown.

The three goalies on the roster are two freshmen — Miller and Johnny Hicks — plus junior Paxton Geisel, who had appeared in one game in two years.

“I think that was the big question coming into this year. We didn’t really have a goalie,” junior defenseman Eric Pohlkamp said. “But (Miller) has come in and he’s been fantastic. Even from game one against Air Force, he had a really good game, and he’s just embraced it. He’s super confident. He’s easy to play with. He’s getting better on his goalie breakouts and just keeps improving.”

Miller improved to 6-2-1 with a .941 save percentage after the win Friday night. He helped DU go to Western Michigan, the defending NCAA champs, and sweep the Broncos last weekend with 76 saves on 80 shots.

Colorado College was the better team for much of the first game in the Gold Pan series Friday night, but Miller was unflappable in net. He’s allowed one goal or fewer in six of his nine starts.

The Pioneers have a deep, but young group of forwards and an experienced defense corps. They don’t have a superstar talent like Zeev Buium, but Carle’s club boasts 14 NHL draft picks and a few others who will sign professional free agent contracts.

As Pohlkamp noted, goaltending was a big question. It might not be now, given how quickly Miller has settled in as the No. 1 guy.

“I think it����ap just his consistency,” Buckberger said. “I don’t think he’s really let in many bad goals. He’s just been so solid back there. Now he’s starting to play the puck better, like Matty Davis did so well. Just communicating with him, working in practice, seeing him grow as a goalie, it����ap been amazing.”

The 18-year-old graduate of Denver’s interned earlier this year at a laboratory on the , where he and his peers evaluated whether bio-fortified maize could help hungry Guatemalan children.

The potentially life-saving research was funded by the , the federal agency that humanitarian aid programs relied on to finance their work. The Trump administration dismantled USAID this spring, putting millions of lives at risk worldwide, according to a .

McGregor’s project lost funding. He nearly lost his internship position, too, but the university found an alternative source to pay for it.

As McGregor prepares to attend Brown University this fall with aspirations of becoming a doctor, he said he’s bracing for more federal interference with his education.

“I’m concerned with what my college experience may look like, especially with funding cuts like I’ve already seen firsthand,” he said. “It’s discouraging for people of color, but we will not stop.”

Three Black students who received scholarships from the — a Colorado-based nonprofit supporting Black communities — told The Denver Post about their experiences entering college as the Trump administration works to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs intended to give them equal footing to thrive in college.

Leaders of the foundation, unlike amid federal pressure, say they’re not deterred from continuing their mission.

McGregor said he was alarmed to see the president of the United States in an effort to eradicate the sorts of DEI programs that helped him and other students of color find parity with their white peers so that they had the same opportunities to succeed.

“It has motivated me to prove myself and serve as an example,” McGregor said. “Even when you take DEI away, we will still figure out a way to excel.”

Not backing down

The Trump administration took aim at DEI in schools and colleges shortly after the inauguration in January, threatening to withhold federal funding from institutions unless they eliminated initiatives supporting diversity, equity and inclusion.

in February said any programs that treat students differently on the basis of race to achieve “nebulous goals such as diversity, racial balancing, social justice or equity” were illegal under Supreme Court precedent.

In April, a after a lawsuit brought by the and the accused the Trump administration of providing “unconstitutionally vague” guidance and violating teachers’ First Amendment rights.

Regardless, Colorado universities acknowledged changing their diversity initiatives to avoid losing federal funding. The University of Colorado’s Colorado Springs campus was among more than 50 universities under federal investigation for alleged racial discrimination under Trump’s directives.

Meanwhile, researchers have found that the disparities in the number of Black and Latino students admitted to elite colleges and universities have widened over the last 40 years, according to a

The study found that, despite more students from all races going to college, Black and Latino students were increasingly less likely to attend top-tier, four-year colleges. The disparity remained significant, even when factoring in family income and parents’ education, the study found.

Between 2012 and 2022, college enrollment for Black students in the United States declined 22%, from 2.96 million students to 2.32 million, according to the .

“This suggests that the underlying issue of racial inequality in college attendance goes beyond socioeconomic measures, such as family income and parents’ education, and is intrinsically linked to race itself,” the study concluded. “It points to a systemic issue within the fabric of American education and society.”

It’s these systemic barriers that fuel Ben Ralston, CEO of the Sachs Foundation, to continue his work.

The 94-year-old organization that provides support to Black Coloradoans was founded at a time when the Ku Klux Klan ruled Denver, Ralston said, and its leaders do not plan on backing down.

“There’s a lot of trepidation right now,” Sachs said. “We wanted to make sure that everyone in our community of scholars recognized that none of the work we do is going to change any time soon. When we look at what’s happening at the federal level in reference to DEI, there is no political moment that changes our mission. There has been a historic structure put in place to exclude Black Americans and Black Coloradans from opportunities that have never been rectified. We’re not going to change that mission.”

Sarah Mohamed Ali’s academic journey in Denver has been dotted with scholarly achievements alongside adversity.

Mohamed Ali, a 2025 graduate of , served as an intern at and worked as a dietary aid at an assisted living facility. The daughter of Sudanese immigrants said she was also bullied out of wearing her hijab to school in middle school.

She was selected to attend and the summer program. After enduring pandemic learning and the COVID-19 lockdown, Mohamed Ali desired to reconnect with her authentic self and started wearing her hijab to school again.

The 18-year-old was accepted to in Maine to study health care, but her higher education pursuits have been executed under the cloud of a federal administration targeting DEI.

“I worked really hard throughout school, and hearing about everything that was going on months into applying for college was very scary and shocking,” she said. “But I think in spite of everything that might be going on politically, there are still organizations you know you can rely on. You can still pursue your dreams.”

‘Earned my spot’

The Sachs Foundation chose 53 Black scholars in Colorado this year to receive more than $1.9 million in scholarships.

The foundation’s undergraduate and graduate scholarships are awarded based on academic achievement, financial need and character, Ralston said. The organization also provides student mentorship, youth college and career development, and educator-focused initiatives.

“In a moment where many institutions are retreating from their commitments to equity, we’re proud to stay firm in ours,” Ralston said. “The work we do is not just about scholarships — it����ap about ensuring access, opportunity and belonging for Black students who are too often excluded.”

For 17-year-old Naima Criss, the Sachs Foundation offered community.

This spring, the 2025 scholars met up at to be celebrated. Renowned author and activist shared his story with students.

Criss, a graduate of Denver’s , basked in the Black joy of it all.

“There’s this thing where if you’re really smart and Black, people are surprised,” Criss said. “I can just be a very chill person, and what I like is we’re all amazing and we’re all also just people hanging out and living their best lives. It����ap great to be in a space where you’re celebrated but not the exception.”

Criss’ resume is lengthy already. In addition to being a Sachs scholar, she was named a winner — a prestigious award from the . Through , Criss flew to the nation’s capital and lobbied Congress for more comprehensive sex education in schools. She’s also served on the

The first-generation college student worried whether federal funding cuts might impact her time at , where she plans to study chemical engineering.

“I am still concerned about it, but what I’ve learned is you just have to take it one day at a time,” Criss said. “Just because something is scary, you can’t stop fighting for it or counting yourself out before you’ve given yourself the opportunity to try. I came here to do what I’m going to do, and I earned my spot to be there.”

Like his peers Criss and Mohamed Ali, McGregor knows what it is like to be one of the few. He was among a handful of Black students in his Fort Collins schools growing up and was pleasantly surprised to move to Denver and find more diversity in his classrooms.

McGregor wants to bring that diversity to hospitals that need physicians with varied backgrounds to better serve their patients.

Directives harming programs that help students of color only do a disservice to the industries left lacking employees who can serve the diverse populations around them, McGregor said.

“I’ve never had a physician of color, myself,” he said. “I want to break that barrier. We’ll take it one day at a time.”

That����ap why Congress’s proposed expansion of the is so troubling. This policy risks undermining the very resources that make these transformative experiences possible, threatening access and affordability at schools that depend on their endowments to support students most in need.

We both have direct small college experience and strong Colorado ties: Kyle graduated from Colorado College in Colorado Springs, and Greg is originally from Denver and returned to the area after attending DePauw University in Indiana. We both now chair the boards of trustees for our respective schools, so we know what����ap at stake.

Unlike large universities, small liberal arts colleges like ours and dozens of others across the country rely on donor-funded endowments as essential financial resources. These funds directly support financial aid, faculty salaries, academic programs, and community partnerships. At institutions like Colorado College and DePauw, endowment income typically covers a larger portion of operating budgets – for some, up to 50% — compared to just 15% at larger schools.

For students, endowments support generous scholarships that enable graduates to complete their degrees with manageable levels of student loans. It means that schools are able to provide opportunities that many students — especially those from lower-income families — might never otherwise have. At Colorado College, approximately 83% of our students from Colorado receive financial aid, and 90% of all DePauw students receive some financial aid.

These scholarships are not luxuries. They are the mechanisms by which our institutions create upward mobility, develop future leaders, and build strong communities where they employ faculty and staff. They are how we educate students not just for their first jobs, but for a lifetime of learning, leading, and adapting to a rapidly changing world.

We know this because we both have lived it.

For Kyle, receiving financial aid to attend Colorado College led to a transformative experience that reshaped his future. The college’s distinctive academic environment and close-knit community nurtured intellectual growth as well as  personal confidence and a lifelong sense of purpose. Crucially, it connected him to professional networks, mentors, and social capital.

For Greg, strong academic programs, small class sizes, faculty mentorship, and Division III athletics gave him the tools and confidence to thrive. Starting with foundational internships during college and continuing into a fulfilling career, he brought the value of that education back to the Denver community where he co-founded an investment firm.

The proposed endowment tax hike threatens this important educational ecosystem. It����ap a tax not just on institutions but on opportunity itself. It would harm the very students federal education policy should be helping most, leading to fewer scholarships, fewer faculty positions, and fewer programs that impact college campus communities.

At a time when higher education is under enormous pressure to deliver value, accessibility, and flexibility, Congress should be supporting models that do exactly that rather than putting them at risk. Small colleges already operate more efficiently than their public counterparts — delivering lower taxpayer cost per student, higher four-year graduation rates, and better long-term earnings for graduates. These are institutions that work.

Congress is still considering this proposed tax increase, but it����ap not too late to prevent this mistake. We urge Colorado’s congressional delegation and their colleagues in states across the country to protect small colleges from this tax increase. It doesn’t just hurt the schools. It hurts the students, communities, and the nation they are helping to build.

Kyle Samuel is a graduate of Colorado College in Colorado Springs and chairs the college’s Board of Trustees. Greg Sissel is a Denver resident and chairs the Board of Trustees for DePauw University in Indiana.

His father grew up in Canada and was a hockey player. After retiring, Jon Gustafson settled in San Jose and built a post-playing career in the sport, rising to Vice President of the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda and one of the largest hockey-focused facilities in the country — Sharks Ice.

The younger Gustafson developed as a youth hockey player in San Jose and committed to play at his dad’s alma mater, Colorado College. Then, last month, something happened that, until now, would have signaled the end of his future as a college hockey player.

On May 13, Gustafson signed with the Portland WinterHawks of the Western Hockey League. And he did so with the blessing of Colorado College’s hockey staff. Gustafson will join the WinterHawks for this coming season and the next, but he’s still committed to arrive in Colorado Springs in the fall of 2027.

College athletics has seen massive changes across all sports in recent years — a temporary extra year of eligibility for athletes affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the introduction of the transfer portal, and Name, Image and Likeness financial commitments. Revenue sharing is coming in just a few weeks.

But the college hockey landscape felt another seismic event in November. The NCAA Division I council voted to make Canadian Hockey League players eligible, effective Aug. 1.

“We have more really good hockey players available to us,” Colorado College coach Kris Mayotte said. “With an influx of talent — I mean, college hockey is going to be more talented than it’s ever been, and it’s not even going to be close, I don’t think — how much does it change roster composition in terms of winning championships and being the best team in your league?

“I think that’s what’s still so unknown.”

For decades, players have had to choose between the CHL, which comprises the top three junior leagues (WHL, OHL, QMJHL) in Canada, and NCAA hockey. That decision often had to be made when the player was 14 or 15 years old, even with college 3-4 years away.

Suiting up for a CHL team made a player ineligible for NCAA hockey. That changed with this ruling.

Gustafson is part of the first crop of players who can choose both. When Avalanche star Cale Makar decided to forego playing in the WHL in favor of college hockey at UMass, he spent two seasons with the Brooks Bandits in the AJHL, which is the second tier of Canadian junior hockey.

This ruling will change development paths all over North America. There will be plenty of uncertainty in the short term, which mirrors how the transfer portal and NIL have changed college sports.

But there can be positive long-term benefits as well.

“I think it provides more opportunities for youth players,” said Jordan Pietrus, Hockey Director for the Colorado Thunderbirds youth program. “Now, they don’t have to make a decision at 14 years old in Colorado to say, ‘Yes, I want to go to the Western league or not.’ Now they can say yes to everything and see what opportunities are available. From that perspective, I think it’s really, really positive.”

A modern gold rush

Players like Gustafson or kids currently in the Thunderbirds program will have more time to see how the new landscape develops, but the November ruling drastically altered how 2025-26 NCAA teams will be constructed.

While college teams have typically earned commitments from youth players years in advance, there was suddenly a flood of new players available and far less time to recruit them.

“It’s playing out in real time, and it’s been a little clunky here and there, but for the most part, I think it’s been pretty smooth,” DU coach David Carle said. “There’s never been more ways or avenues to build your roster. That started with the portal and then obviously the CHL player eligibility. So there’s a lot more players within the marketplace.”

Carle said last month that he expects to have between eight and 10 freshmen on his roster next season. His staff didn’t waste any time dipping into the new player pool.

The captains for Everett (Eric Jamieson) and Swift Current (Clark Caswell) from this past season both committed to join the Pioneers in August — a statement that would’ve read like a foreign language to college hockey fans before eight months ago.

Kyle Chyzowski, who scored 41 goals and 105 points in 66 regular-season games for Portland, is committed to joining them. The two goalies who will compete to replace program legend Matt Davis? Both have CHL experience.

Down I-25, Mayotte and the Tigers are excited for their incoming group of newcomers as well. The leading scorer for Prince Albert this past season, Tomas Mrsic, is one of multiple NHL draft picks in CC’s incoming class.

How this influx of older, more accomplished freshmen will affect college hockey remains a mystery. This ruling could open the door for a few more first-round picks who chose the CHL to spend a season or two in college, but it goes deeper than that.

“I know we’re getting really good hockey players, and probably as good as we’ve ever gotten type of hockey players, but so is everybody else,” Mayotte said. “What’s that going to look like in terms of, how do you become one of the best teams in college hockey?

“I think the ceiling is going up, but I think the floor is getting closer to the ceiling. I think the floor is rising at a faster rate. If you add 5-10 more of those (high draft picks across college hockey), how much of a difference is that versus the fact that you’re going to add 150 more 19-20-year-olds that are really good hockey players?”

A trickle-down effect

Just like the extra “Covid” year and the transfer portal, the effects of CHL eligibility go beyond just a stream of new talent available to the 64 Division I programs.

Some players who were committed to those programs for next season have had find a new place to play. The USHL has been the top source of NCAA players from the junior ranks, while those tier two leagues in Canada like the AJHL and BCHL have also been strong pipelines.

Now, those leagues will have to compete with the CHL teams for youth players who can still go to college.

“I think you’ll see guys bounce around all over and find the place that they think is best for their development,” Mayotte said. “I think that’s one of the best things that options create, is it allows the player to do what’s best and not just have one option that they feel like they have to take or else their career is in jeopardy.

“I think you’ll see teams in all leagues that know how to develop players, how to resource development — those programs will thrive no matter what league they’re in.”

Just as NCAA teams are scrambling to adjust, changes will come for the other levels as well. CHL draft pools will change because a Canadian-born phenom like Macklin Celebrini won’t have to tell WHL teams he’s going to college when he’s 15 years old.

Not only could recruiting and scouting at all levels of amateur hockey get tweaked, but player retention is going to be very different now that players can leave the USHL or AJHL for CHL clubs without losing college eligibility. One of Carle’s incoming recruits, goalie Johnny Hicks, began last season with Makar’s old club in Brooks and finished the year with Victoria in the WHL.

How it will affect youth programs like the Thunderbirds also remains to be seen.

“I think it’s going to take a little bit of time to matriculate down to the youth market,” Pietrus said. “I think there’s still a lot of unknowns that are going to sort itself out at the junior level, which will then give more clarity at the youth level.

“Junior clubs are likely going to be looking for top youth organizations to recruit from, so that they know what they can expect. And that����ap going to force youth hockey organizations to be better.”

An eye toward the future

When DU announced a new contract extension for Carle in May, one of the reasons he gave for eschewing NHL opportunities was his desire to help create further change in college hockey. While all of the alterations to college sports have led some (mostly older) high-profile coaches in other sports to leave for professional jobs or retire, Carle is leaning in.

“I kind of get excited about the changes and trying to navigate it,” he said. “I’m trying to drive more change than less change, certainly with our sport. I feel like I’m banging my head against the wall sometimes, but I think there’s a lot of room to still make the sport better.”

One of his objectives is changing the NCAA tournament structure, which has long been a thorny issue for Western schools. But another is tied to the CHL eligibility ruling.

He wants the college hockey recruiting calendar to change. Under the current rules, NCAA coaches can first speak with recruits starting Jan. 1 of their sophomore year in high school and officially extend scholarship offers Aug. 1 ahead of their junior year.

The scouting and evaluation start even before that.

“Why do we need to do that now?” Carle said. “Let’s let the kids be kids. We don’t need to be in rinks watching them in U-15 and U-16 hockey. They’ve got enough going on. Let them be with their teams, let them be coached, let them not have the noise and the pressure of colleges talking to them, and push it all back a year.

“I think it����ap on the radar. We’re not changing tomorrow on it, but it’s something that could potentially change in the next year or two.”

While every college team could have more talent in the coming seasons, there is another side effect. Some players who have the ability to play NCAA hockey are going to be pushed down a level or delay their college careers.

Mayotte has a solution for that, too.

“Hopefully, it allows more schools to start hockey programs,” he said. “Because there are just going to be more good players than there are roster spots at the Division I level.”

A provision in the made public Wednesday would require the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service to sell between 0.5% and 0.75% of the 438 million acres the agencies manage across the West. The upper end of that range is nearly 3.3 million acres, or more than 5,100 square miles — about 12 times the land area of Rocky Mountain National Park. The provision exempts certain lands, like national parks and those leased for economic use, from sale.

In Colorado, the bill would open the door for the sale of portions of the 8.3 million acres managed by the BLM and the 16 million acres managed by the Forest Service. Organizations across Colorado, the West and the political spectrum blasted the proposal, which Republicans pitched as a way to build more housing.

“This isn’t about budget reconciliation or affordable housing. This is a fraudulent scheme to swindle American citizens out of our shared legacy,” Patrick Berry, the president and CEO of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, said in a statement. “Our public lands are not disposable assets, and the gaslighting campaign claiming this is somehow a solution to a housing crisis is an insult to all of us. Our lands are the physical inheritance of generations of Americans who fought to keep public lands in public hands.”

The provision in the Senate version of the budget bill revives and expands a public lands sale proposal that was included in the House draft, but later removed in part because of vocal opposition from some Western representatives.

While the House version targeted only lands in Utah and Nevada, the new provision from does not specify or limit how much land can or should be sold by the state.

“This is the largest public lands sell-off since people were homesteading, frankly,” said Michael Carroll, the BLM campaign director at The Wilderness Society. “It’s unprecedented in many ways.”

Colorado’s senators, both Democrats, have routinely and vociferously opposed the sale of federal public lands. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper on Thursday vowed to fight the sell-off provision.

“I think it’s such bad policy that we’ll win,” Hickenlooper said in an interview. “I’m not sure exactly how that win is going to happen, but we’re going to use every avenue available to make sure this isn’t going to become a reality.”

Local communities, not Washington officials, should decide whether parcels of public land need to be sold for housing or other needs, said Hickenlooper, who earlier this year led . Colorado mountain towns in recent years have successfully led grassroots efforts and worked with federal land managers to make public land available for affordable housing projects when needed, he said.

“Instead, this is a top-down, tyrannical execution of authority,” said Hickenlooper, who sits on the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Exceptions for wilderness, national parks

would carve out certain lands from being sold, including national monuments, wilderness areas, national conservation areas, national parks and national recreation areas. Public lands with grazing, mining, drilling or timber leases also would not be sold.

The budget bill lays out a process for states, tribal nations and local governments to participate in decisions on which land parcels to sell, according to . The provision requires that federal officials consult with a state’s governor, nearby local governments and tribes before selling land.

But it does not mandate that the federal officials receive local consent to the sale.

The federal government already when the agency and local communities decide it is in the public interest, including for community expansion or economic development.

Under the Senate budget provision, federal agencies are directed to prioritize the sale of parcels that are nominated by local governments, are near existing development and infrastructure, or are “isolated tracts that are inefficient to manage.”

“This proposal is central to relieving the housing crisis, fulfilling President (Donald) Trump’s housing and public lands agenda, and creating jobs and strong economic growth in the West,” the summary states.

The text does not set parameters around the affordability of any housing built on the former public lands. It also allows anybody to nominate a parcel of land to be sold.

Critics have seized on such details, or lack thereof.

“This is a shameless ploy to sell off pristine public lands for trophy homes and gated communities that will do nothing to address the affordable housing shortage in the West,” said Jennifer Rokala, the executive director of the , in a statement.

Because there is no restriction on who can nominate land to be sold, people or developers could pick land in which they have a commercial or personal interest, said Carroll from The Wilderness Society. For example, someone could nominate and then buy the, which is on BLM land that could be sold under the provision.

“Presto change-o, I have one of the most prestigious pieces of property in Durango and La Plata County,” he said.

Nearly all of the proceeds from the sales would go to the U.S. Treasury, except for 5% that would go to local governments and 5% that would go to deferred maintenance projects on BLM and Forest Service lands in the state where the sale happened.

The sales must be completed in the next five years and could generate $5 billion to $10 billion over the coming decade, according to the Senate committee’s summary.

The increased revenue would help balance out tax cuts and other spending included in Trump’s budget bill under consideration in Congress. The budget, as passed by the House, would increase the federal deficit by $2.4 trillion over the next 10 years, released .

Strong support in Colorado for public lands

Nearly 90% of Coloradans visit national public lands at least once a year, according to .

In that same poll, said they preferred building housing in or near existing communities over selling federal public lands to develop more housing. Across the eight Western states polled, 82% of people said that was their preferred approach.

Organizations dedicated to wildlife, conservation, hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation for months have feared that the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress would try for a broad-scale sale of public lands.

“Public lands are the backyard of the little guy and the Senate bill will put them on the chopping block for the rich to erect fences and no trespassing signs,” Chris Wood, Trout Unlimited’s president and CEO, said Wednesday in a statement.

Colorado’s state lawmakers opposing the sale or transfer of federal public lands. It calls on the governor and attorney general to oppose any effort to do so. Just five of the state’s 100 lawmakers voted against the resolution.

Public lands contributed more than $17 billion to Colorado’s economy and supported 132,500 jobs in 2023, .

“Misguided attempts to seize control of vast acreage of national public lands from the American public and to force their disposal through litigation and legislation, supported by a multimillion-dollar ad campaign, are inconsistent with the values and interests of Coloradans,” the resolution says.

Federal public lands in Montana would be exempt from the proposed sales. — including Republicans — strongly opposed the House provision and said they would not vote for the bill if it included the sell-off provision.

Colorado’s Republican congressional delegation did not oppose the House provision as forcefully.

Reps. Lauren Boebert and Jeff Crank supported adding the sales to the budget when it was presented to the House Committee on Natural Resources. Rep. Jeff Hurd, from Colorado’s sprawling 3rd Congressional District, broke from his party colleagues and opposed adding the sell-off provision to the budget bill, but later supported the entire package because his concerns about the land sales did not outweigh the benefits of the bill as a whole.

Because the Senate lands sale provision is included in the budget bill, it is not subject to the hearings or oversight such a proposal would receive in a standalone bill, Carroll said. It also can’t be filibustered.

“It’s a way of jamming this through the process,” he said. “Public lands sell-off is wildly unpopular, and proponents know this.”

Other Senate committees are still working this week on their pieces of the budget bill as Republicans .

It never lasts long. Usually because some guy named Makar eventually winds up toppling it.

Because No. 8 is only 26, the greatest defenseman to wear an Avs sweater is at it again. With two goals and six points recorded over this past week, the Avalanche D man pushed his season totals to 26 goals and 81 points through Friday night. And those are two numbers to keep an eye on down the stretch, because …

Makar chasing down Makar records — A

Fun fact: . Makar holds both marks, reaching the former in ’21-22 and the latter last season.

GTW did the math — always a dangerous prospect — and figured out that with 12 games left in the regular season, starting with Saturday evening’s trip to Montreal, Makar is scoring at a clip of 0.371 goals per game and 1.157 points per contest.

This means that if No. 8 doesn’t miss a tilt through April 13, he’d finish the regular season with 30 goals and 95 points — wiping both of his old marks in both categories off the books.

It would also be the first 30-goal season by a defenseman since Washington’s Mike Green netted 31 in 2008-09. Only eight D-men in NHL history have ever scored 30 or more goals in a season, and they’re the usual suspects: Bobby Orr (five times), Paul Coffey (four), Denis Potvin (three), Doug Wilson, Kevin Hatcher, Ray Bourque, Phil Housley and Green.

Referee Kelly Sutherland — F

DU hockey — A

The Pios knocked off rival Colorado College in the NCHC quarterfinals, then took care of Arizona State in the semis of the Frozen Faceoff, having won five of their last six going into Saturday’s Faceoff title game against Western Michigan. In other words, more of the same.

DU men’s hoops — D-plus

Jeff Wulbrun is on leave. “We are not seeking a new head coach,” AD Josh Berlo then tells … well, everyone. A few weeks later, Wulbrun is out. Pioneers men’s basketball remains In other words, more of the same.

Travis Hunter, Lauren Betts’ March Madness star turns — A-minus

Like Super Bowl Sunday, the first weekend of March Madness means slogging through a wave of buzz-driven commercials. For most of them, the jokes get old after about the 290th time they’ve been cycled through during an under-4 timeout. That said, GTW’s couch potatoes got a kick out of seeing ex-CU great Travis Hunter share the stage with Tom Brady, Kevin Durant and Suni Lee while shilling for Dick’s Sporting Goods. And an even bigger one anytime the new AT&T spot featuring former Grandview girls hoops great Lauren Betts popped up. To paraphrase noted philosopher Buddy The Elf: Lauren … here? We know her! We know her!

GEICO’s little piggie commercial — F

But some campaigns need to know when to pack up the tent and move on, for humanity’s sake. When it comes to the squealing pig with the pinwheels, weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee’ve all had enough. More than enough, now that you mention it.

DeVoto summed up the platform pressed by Western elected officials of his day in a memorable punchline: “Get out–and give us more money.” This “economic fantasy” is still with us, as DeVoto predicted, “yesterday, today, and forever.”

The new, fossil-fuel-friendly heads of federal land management agencies are serious about the “get out” part of that plea, firing thousands of their employees and closing dozens of offices across the West. Their list targets Fort Collins, Colorado; Flagstaff, Arizona; Moab and Salt Lake City, Utah; Lander, Wyoming; Boise, Idaho, and more. Local economies will lose millions they’ve depended on.

But President Donald Trump and Elon Musk aren’t doing so well with the “give us more money” part. Voters who elected Trump may not get what they bargained for.

I have a home in southern Utah, in Torrey, gateway to Capitol Reef National Park. My neighbors in Wayne and Garfield counties, who gave well over 70% of their votes to Trump, often complain about federal overreach. They see conservation of national public lands as “locking up” land.

Yet Westerners love all that financial support coming in from the agencies they profess to hate. They rely on the federal government for so much more than they often acknowledge.

After a charming presentation about cowboy culture at Torrey’s nonprofit Entrada Institute recently, my wife asked a young rancher what his family did for health insurance.

“My wife works for the Forest Service,” he said. Indeed, government employees make up 23% of the workforce in Utah’s Garfield County and 25% in Wayne County. These salaries and the benefits that come with them are crucial to family stability.

A revealing shows the reach of investment by the federal government through legislation passed by the Biden administration. I click on the town of Torrey and find tens of millions of federal dollars from the Inflation Reduction Act and bipartisan infrastructure law flowing into the county.

Think upgrades of rural airports, solar panels on small businesses, bridge replacements, removal of lead from drinking water — and on and on.

And then on February 14,  the Department of the Interior announced the firings of more than 2,300 public servants at the Department of the Interior, including the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and Geological Survey. With this “Valentine’s Day Massacre,” southern Utah communities will feel accelerating impacts — loss of income and benefits, more money going to unemployment payments, understaffed parks and monuments, and irate visitors.

My inbox and social media feed are flooded with anecdotes about what these firings mean. One man grew up in a Park Service family and then worked as a park ranger himself for years. He transferred to the Forest Service recently, becoming a “probationary” employee only because he was new to his position. He lost his job and his career thanks to the Trump administration.

When rural Westerners say “get out” to the feds, I don’t think this is what they have in mind.

President Trump is also considering once more eviscerating national monument protection for Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears in southern Utah. These monuments have been good for local communities and economies.

The monuments haven’t locked up the land; ranchers still have their grazing permits. Pre-existing mining and drilling claims remain in force. And the conservation and tourism values of these designated preserves expand every year.

According to a recent Colorado College poll, 84% of Utahns support the establishment of new national parks, national monuments, national wildlife refuges and tribal protected areas. Still, Utah’s governor, attorney general, and congressional delegation continue to waste millions on fruitless lawsuits attacking those same preserves.

Westerners are evolving; politicians aren’t keeping up. And yet we keep re-electing these same officials. Maybe, just maybe, the Trumpian war on civil servants will force a reckoning. We’ll re-evaluate why we need a robust federal presence in the West.

And our war against ourselves will end.

Stephen Trimble is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. He worked for the National Park Service, BLM, and Forest Service in his twenties and has been a conservation advocate ever since.

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