San Juan Citizens Alliance

Climate change: San Juan Citizens Alliance pursued retirement of polluting coal facilities in the Four Corners region, and cleaner sources of electricity for Colorado utility customers. In northwest New Mexico, SJCA supported completion of the San Juan Solar renewable energy project as replacement for now-retired coal-fired San Juan Generating Station. SJCA also supported and tracked additional solar development projects, including Foxtail Flats, which is projected to begin construction in 2026, as part of the regions transition to renewable energy. SJCA provided public outreach and education to members of La Plata Electric Association to encourage forward-looking policies to support local, renewable energy sources and supported LPEAs replacement of its long-term power supply contract from Tri-State with a new portfolio of local and renewable energy sources. SJCA also continued tracking abandoned oil and gas wells in New Mexico advocating for companies or the state to clean-up these old leaking wells. SJCA also tracked the proposed expansion of the Navajo Mine and participated in regulatory proceedings related to the proposed acquisition of Public Service Company of New Mexico to ensure continued progress toward a zero-carbon energy future.

Public lands protection: San Juan Citizens Alliance spearheaded public outreach and education to improve conservation management across the San Juan National Forest and Bureau of Land Management lands in southwest Colorado. SJCA continued to lead public opposition to the massive proposed Village at Wolf Creek development project, a planned city of 8,000 people atop Wolf Creek Pass that continues to be stalled almost 40 years after originally proposed. SJCA engaged the public to review and comment on development activities including proposed timber sales, oil and gas leases, and forest and recreation planning efforts to ensure the protection of wildlife habitat and quiet recreation uses, with a particular focus on the HD Mountains, the ponderosa pine forests west of Dolores, and the undeveloped alpine valley of Minnie Gulch above Silverton. SJCA also worked with the Forest Service on the Salter timber project to advocate for protection of some of the largest and oldest trees in the forest.