Stewarding the Land: Keystone’s Natural Resources Legacy

As Keystone Policy Center marks its 50th anniversary, one theme continues to define its legacy: the power of collaboration to solve the toughest natural resource challenges. Through decades of work across the American West and beyond, Keystone has helped communities and governments navigate fraught environmental issues—from cleaning up polluted mine sites to managing national monuments, and from expanding access to outdoor spaces to designing collaborative processes around one of the West’s most iconic and polarizing species: the gray wolf.

This work hasn’t always made headlines, but its impact runs deep. Drawing on interviews featured in Keystone’s latest three-part podcast series, this article explores how the organization’s natural resources portfolio has shaped landscapes, policies, and partnerships that endure to this day.

From Superfund Sites to Shared Solutions

The legacy of extractive industry and military activity across the West has left behind a long list of contaminated sites—many of them still leaking toxic waste into watersheds. Keystone stepped into this space in the late 1980s, applying its collaborative model to environmental remediation.

One of the earliest and most emblematic cases was the cleanup of abandoned mines in Colorado’s Snake River watershed.

“It started with a lot of conflict. But over time, it evolved into something really creative. Instead of arguing over who was responsible, we shifted to: ‘How can we pool our resources and solve this together?,” said Julie Shapiro, the director of Keystone’s Center for Natural Resources.

Keystone also played a key role in efforts to clean up former military installations contaminated with hazardous waste. At the Pueblo Army Depot, where aging stockpiles of mustard gas posed public safety and environmental risks, Keystone facilitated community conversations that led to safer, community-supported disposal methods. The initial plan involved incineration—a method that sparked public concern. Keystone’s engagement helped move the conversation toward alternative technologies that addressed those fears.

At the Rocky Flats Nuclear Site, where plutonium triggers for nuclear weapons had once been manufactured, Keystone helped guide a contentious cleanup process. The site’s radioactive contamination posed massive technical and political challenges. Keystone brought together federal agencies, scientists, environmental advocates, and community members to address core questions of safety, transparency, and long-term stewardship. Today, the site has been transformed into a wildlife refuge—an outcome that reflects the scale of what collaborative governance can achieve.

Redefining Public Land Management

Keystone’s role in public lands policy has grown alongside the public’s expectations for these spaces. While federal land management agencies often face pressure from opposing sides—recreation vs. conservation, growth vs. preservation—Keystone has provided a neutral forum where those interests can meet.

The process following the 2015 designation of Browns Canyon National Monument offers a case in point. Long delayed in Congress, the monument was established through executive action, prompting concerns about how it would be managed.

Keystone led a ground-up stakeholder process to develop what became known as the “Sustainable Alternative”—a community-informed vision that the federal government later adopted as the foundation of the monument’s official management plan.

“Engaging the community at the front end—way before the planning even began—was a really unique opportunity,” Jonathan Geurts, a project director at Keystone who facilitated the discussions, said.

Shaping the Outdoors Together

In recent years, Keystone has helped shift the conversation about public lands to include the voices that have historically been left out. Through its work with the Next 100 Colorado coalition, the organization has supported efforts to foster deeper relationships and shared leadership in land and outdoor policy.

Next 100 Colorado launched a mentorship program to connect emerging leaders of color with experienced professionals in the conservation and outdoor fields. The goal wasn’t just career development—it was building lasting community.

“The mentorship program has been about creating space for trust and dialogue between new and seasoned leaders—where people can learn from each other and feel a sense of shared purpose.”

Keystone’s Center for Tribal and Indigenous Engagement (CTIE) has also been instrumental in supporting Indigenous-led conservation efforts. Through a growing partnership with The Nature Conservancy, CTIE is co-developing cultural competency training, evaluating conservation initiatives with Indigenous partners, and exploring co-management strategies rooted in tribal priorities.

Wolf Reintroduction and the Politics of Shared Stewardship

Perhaps the most politically charged natural resource issue Keystone has tackled in recent years is the reintroduction of gray wolves in Colorado. After voters narrowly approved Proposition 114 in 2020, Colorado Parks and Wildlife turned to Keystone to lead public engagement, stakeholder facilitation, and technical coordination.

Keystone managed an intensive public process—holding 47 meetings across the state—and guided two key advisory bodies: the Stakeholder Advisory Group (SAG), which included ranchers, hunters, and conservationists, and the Technical Working Group (TWG), composed of scientific experts.

“We created a structured process that gave people with deeply opposing views the chance to sit down, build relationships, and work through the issues methodically,” said Julie Shapiro. “The plan that emerged wasn’t perfect for anyone, but it was something everyone could live with.”

Keystone also facilitated engagement with Tribal Nations. One of the tribes, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, had expressed formal opposition to the reintroduction before the ballot measure was passed but nonetheless appointed a representative to participate in the SAG. That spirit of respectful dialogue continued beyond the planning phase: in 2024, the Southern Ute signed an agreement with the state to formalize communication on wolf management.

Despite ongoing tensions, Keystone’s framework has set the tone for future collaboration.

A Model for the Next 50 Years

Keystone’s natural resources work offers more than a collection of case studies—it’s a model for how to move forward. In an era marked by polarization and environmental urgency, the organization’s success lies in its ability to slow things down, get people talking, and build durable solutions.

Please listen the podcast series we have embedded below on this work. It underscores the work of bridging divides is not about erasing difference—it’s about managing it. And after 50 years, Keystone is still proving that collaboration is not just possible, but powerful.

Back to Keystone at 50 landing page.