It is not unusual to see deer, elk, or an occasional moose or black bear bound across Interstate 90 between Bozeman and Livingston. The Bozeman Pass area is a vital wildlife corridor connecting Yellowstone National Park and the wild lands to the north.

When the Kyoto Protocol was passed in 1997, communities in the United States took the initiative to pass climate mitigation and adaptation policies. Smaller amenity communities like Boulder, Colorado recognized the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and understood that they could become a role model for adopting exemplary environmental practices. In 2002, the Boulder City Council passed the Kyoto Resolution which set the goal of reducing community Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions to seven percent below 1990 levels by 2012. In 2006, Boulder released their Climate Action Plan which outlined specific actions to be implemented from 2007-2012 to meet their GHG emission reduction goals. These strategies focused on renewable energy, energy efficiency, and reducing vehicle miles travelled.

On January 28, 2013 Missoula City Council unanimously adopted the Missoula Conservation & Climate Action Plan. This Plan, which focuses wholly on municipal operations, sets a goal for the City to be carbon neutral by 2025 by reducing operating costs, reducing energy use and cutting carbon emissions. Using a series of conservation and carbon reduction measures along with the development of and investment in carbon offset projects. Missoula's plan aims to make their government operations carbon neutral, lowering their net greenhouse gas emission to zero.

Nestled high in the Sonoran desert 40 miles north-east of Phoenix, Rio Verde, Arizona is an active community sitting along the western edge of the Verde River and adjacent to McDowell Mountain Regional Park. Known for its spectacular mountain views, its serenity, and its outstanding services and amenities, the Rio Verde residents are involved in a process to ensure sustained sensitivity to the land, water, and cultural heritage of the area. This small, planned community of 1,400 residents is working with a non-profit partner to protect and enhance the environment while advancing economic development and preserving a vibrant social fabric. Rio Verde residents take part in a variety of outdoor recreational opportunities that include golf, hiking, horseback riding, and mountain biking. Respecting the desert's ecological limits is an essential element to preserving this way of life.

In October 2012, County Commissioners adopted the Boulder County Climate Change Preparedness Plan (C2P2) to help local residents and communities prepare for changing environmental conditions. The plan, developed with the help of Stratus Consulting of Boulder, focuses on several key sectors: water supply, emergency management, public health, and agriculture and natural resources. The plan identifies the predicted impacts of climate change, explores the implications of these changes in the context of resource management institutions, and outlines opportunities for adaptation planning efforts.

Perspectives on urban forestry have blossomed from a simple aesthetic amenity that tempers the urban landscape to a solution to pressing urban environmental problems. The creation of an urban tree ordinance and appointment of an implementation and management oversight group demonstrates the Town of Carbondale's philosophy that a healthy urban forest has a dramatic effect on property values. Additional positive economic implications as well as the positive environmental effects like reducing air pollution, abating heat, noise and glare, mitigating drainage and erosion problems, providing shade for streets and parking areas, providing wildlife habitat, and moderating the local climate result from Carbondale's tree ordinance.

Summit County is located in central Colorado 70 miles west of Denver. It is facing many issues that make wildfire protection planning difficult; a growing population, development in the wildland urban interface, mountain pine beetle infestation, and forests that are adapting to intense, stand-replacing wildfires. The county consists predominantly of public land; 80 percent is federally owned, mostly controlled by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service.

The Hebgen Basin Zoning District encompasses 13,280 ecologically important acres at the edge of Yellowstone National Park. Grizzly bears, elk, bison, moose, and other species regularly traverse the area in their seasonal and daily movements. Developments proposed in the 1990s galvanized local concern about the future of the area and the potential impacts of unregulated growth. While a land use plan and zoning ordinance existed, both were outdated and needed revision. Over a two-year period, volunteers painstakingly revised both. They crafted a shared vision for the future of this special landscape and developed a land use plan and zoning regulation that would achieve their goals.

Historic preservation programs and policies have gained support in the past generation. This development is due to communities desire to embrace their heritage, connect with history to create a sense of permanence, reap economic success that often flows from historic preservation, and enhance residents’ quality of life.

Heritage planning is a way to assess all the natural and cultural assets in a community that contribute to both the region's sense of place and quality of life. In 2008, Chaffee County, Colorado, a small but growing mountain community, completed a heritage planning process. The process began with the creation of the Chaffee County Heritage Area by the County Commissioners. The board designated a County Heritage Area Advisory Board to assist with planning and implementation of the Heritage Area program. The Heritage Board successfully nominated the county's major travel corridors as the Collegiate Peaks Scenic and Historic Byway.

Vague comprehensive plan policy statements such as "protect wildlife resources" do little to provide guidance to decision makers. A good comprehensive plan maps natural and cultural resources as well as provides specific recommendations to protect those resources. The Teton County, Wyoming 1994 Comprehensive Plan clearly articulates what and where it desires to protect and outlines specific recommendations on how to achieve its goals.

The Sonoran Institute has long been involved in the area of state trust land conservation and efforts to effectively manage the assets on behalf of the beneficiaries, primarily k-12 public education. With funding from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust and in collaboration with conservation groups, municipalities, and counties across Arizona, the Sonoran Institute has assembled state trust lands suitable for conservation into a single database. The resulting profiles focus solely on conservation values.

It is not unusual to see deer, elk, or an occasional moose or black bear bound across Interstate 90 between Bozeman and Livingston. The Bozeman Pass area is a vital wildlife corridor connecting Yellowstone National Park and the wild lands to the north.

Local governments use native plant ordinances to improve the landscape principles that guide the landscaping of all new development. Many communities find that using appropriate native vegetation in local landscaping helps achieve water conservation goals, preserves habitat in urban areas, greatly reduces landscaping maintenance costs, and protects property values. The Town of Cave Creek's Native Plant Preservation, Salvage and Landscape Regulations are a direct response to the goals stated in the Environmental Planning element in Cave Creek's 2005 General Plan, which address the importance of protecting and improving environmental quality and natural resource values through the protection of native plant species.

The Gallatin County, Montana Open Lands Program, established in June 1997, focuses on preserving working agricultural lands, keeping agricultural producers on their lands, and providing an opportunity for economic development within the agricultural community. It seeks to accomplish this by purchasing development rights or placing conservation agreements on family farms and ranches of the county.

Pressure to convert agricultural lands to residential development is increasing across the West and threatens the agricultural heritage of communities. To combat the tension that develops between agricultural production and residential subdivisions, county governments and agricultural communities are coming together to adopt policies that protect agricultural operations. On March 4, 2008, the Chaffee County Commissioners adopted a Right to Ranch Ordinance (2008-02). The policy provides guidance for all landowners in rural Chaffee County regarding rights, responsibilities, and obligations relating to agricultural activities and owning land in Chaffee County. It contains information about the importance of the county's agricultural operations and activities and provides a forum for dispute resolution.

Bozeman, Montana, population 37,000, is the county seat of Gallatin County, whose population is 89,500. Nearby amenities like Yellowstone National Park, ski areas, and world-class trout streams draw visitors and residents to the area.

Summit County, Colorado is located high in the scenic Rocky Mountains and is a region of high aesthetic and natural resource assets. As the county has grown over the past few decades, citizens have expressed concern that some of the most scenic rural back country areas with significant ecological values could be lost to trophy and second home development. Transfer of development rights (TDR) programs offer local governments a way to direct land use while at the same time compensate property owners whose land is best suited as a low-density area such preserving natural scenic values of a community. They also can make development more predictable and offer greater permanence than typical zoning regulations.

In 1988, water usage in the City of Flagstaff, AZ hit a high of 186 gallons per capita per day (GPCD). The increase in water usage, decline in water resources, and rising pumping costs motivated Flagstaff to implement a strict ordinance supporting their water conservation goals. Flagstaff's water conservation program, active since 2003, includes water reuse rebates for xeriscape conversions and other low water use products as well as an inverted rate structure. The Water Conservation ordinance (section 7-03-001-0014) is a proactive and successful approach to water conservation. Since the passage of the ordinance, Flagstaff has experienced a decline in per capita usage of 39%, hitting a low of 114 GPCD in 2009.

Rio Rancho is one of the most desirable and affordable communities in New Mexico, as well as one of the fastest growing communities in the state. Upon incorporating in 1981, Rio Rancho was a city of 10,000 people. To date, Rio Rancho's population has been growing at an exponential rate with dramatic increases expected to be seen in the 2020 Census. To support this growing community, the City of Rio Ranch is engaged in work to acquire, provide, finance, reuse, and conserve their finite water supply to ensure that Rio Rancho grows in a sustainable manner.

Teton County, located in northwestern Wyoming, is within close proximity to Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park and the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Wildlife is abundant and critically important to the character and value of the county. Many tourists visit Teton County and the Jackson Hole area each year and many new residents have moved there because of the stunning scenery and abundant wildlife.

In 2000, the City of Aspen and Pitkin County launched their Renewable Energy Mitigation Program (REMP) to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. REMP was the first program to establish requirements for a strict energy budget, and to mitigate energy use by installing an approved renewable energy solution (solar PV, solar hot water or ground-source heat pump) or making a payment in lieu to the REMP program. Payments are used to fund other renewable energy projects.

To gain a better understanding of the potential impacts of a proposed new power line on wildlife and community values, Madison County, Montana took an innovative approach. The county reached out to neighboring Jefferson and Beaverhead counties, and together they sought an independent review of the Mountain States Intertie Project (MSTI) power line proposed by South Dakota-based utility company, Northwestern Energy.

Affordable housing is a serious issue in Teton County, Wyoming. From 1970-1990, Teton County experienced job growth that far exceeded the housing supply. With the prevalence of second homes, vacation homes, and high priced property, many people employed in Teton County were forced to live outside of the community, sometimes even outside the region, often resulting in 30 to 60 mile commutes. The impacts of this are felt by the business community and cause the gap between social and economic classes to widen. In an effort to change this trend, Teton's Comprehensive Plan addresses this issue in the Community Character Chapter by highlighting the importance of maintaining social and economic diversity within Teton County and making recommendations to improve the current situation.

Sedona, one of the least affordable cities in Arizona in terms of housing, approved an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) ordinance in 2010 to improve the amount of affordable housing available in the area. An ADU ordinance provides supplementary housing that can be integrated into existing single-family neighborhoods to provide a typically lower priced housing alternative. It also lays the groundwork to increase the amount of affordable rental housing in the community while providing homeowners with a chance to offset mortgage payments, thus making their own housing more affordable.

Bozeman, Montana is a tourist hub supporting nearby ski resorts and Yellowstone National Park, and is home to Montana State University. In 1995, however, downtown Bozeman was feeling the effects of new commercial developments on the outskirts of town. A new highway interchange on the west side of town and a flood of new big-box stores were draining the city's core of customers.

In the past, Grand Junction, like many communities, allowed retailers to stray from the downtown core and locate in strips along local arterial roads. The downtown lost energy and value. Today, the City of Grand Junction is working to bring vitality back to the downtown and has recently made several improvements to amenities and infrastructure that are helping add vitality and real estate appeal to the downtown. At the same time, many of the commercial strips outside of the downtown have declined in value, some precipitously. The city is now looking at ways to revitalize and redevelop these corridors into walkable, mixed-use districts.

Laramie is blessed with a large student population that feeds stores and coffee shops in its vibrant downtown. There are promising opportunities to concentrate growth between the campus and the central business district, rather than continue the spread of residential and retail establishments on the outskirts of the city.

Green Business programs perform double duty; they encourage businesses and citizens to pursue environmentally friendly practices, and they educate the community on how to become proactive in the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make communities healthier and cleaner. In addition to the effort to make businesses ecologically conscious, the City of Aspen's ZGreen program can be embraced by citizens as well.

In Ashland, many businesses implement sustainable practices that are considered cutting-edge in terms of green business practices. The City of Ashland's Green Business Program is a voluntary program that encourages environmental stewardship while actively employing economical and ecologically sound business practices. Ashland's Green Business Program is known for its flexible and attainable criteria that organizations of any size and type can address and achieve. Categories include energy, water, waste management/recycling, toxic reduction, transportation, and education. 

Local governments spend billions of dollars on goods and services. It is becoming more apparent to local officials that their purchasing power can be a point of intervention to reduce their municipal environmental impact by purchasing products and services considered environmentally preferable. The City of Boulder saw the benefit of an Environmental Purchasing Policy and made it an official goal to increase the use and procurement of recycled and environmentally preferred products.

Impact fees are a common way for cities to fund infrastructure for new developments; however, different kinds of land uses require varying amounts of infrastructure. A more equitable approach is for municipalities to implement impact fee schedules that allow for a distribution of fees depending on the type of development and its required infrastructure. Collected fees are then used for funding the planning, development, and implementation, including repair, of city infrastructure.

In 2010, the City of Fruita adopted a parks, open space, and trails master plan, which provides general policy guidelines and planning recommendations for the provision of public parks, open space, and trails. These services can be costly and Fruita has found that new development doesn't always pay their own way. New residential developments often cause financial impacts to the city's public park, open space, and trail systems by necessitating capital improvements that would not have otherwise been necessary prior to their development. To realize the goals of the master plan, Fruita updated their public parks, open space, and trails impact fee/dedication (17.19.090) requiring all new residential developments to contribute a proportionate financial share of the public parks, open space, and trails necessary to accommodate any impacts or need for such facilities through the dedication of land and/or fees in lieu of land dedications. Accessory dwelling units were exempted from this policy change.

Air quality has improved dramatically since growing pollution problems across the United States necessitated the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970. Levels of major air pollution contaminants are down, however 58 percent of the population lives in areas where pollution levels result in short term issues like breathing difficulties and long term issues like chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer, heart disease, and even damage to the brain, nerves, liver, or kidneys. Typical air quality efforts focus on reducing fine particle pollution from automobiles, diesel engines, steel mills and coal-fired power plants. Although the regulation of air pollution involves a large coordinated effort on the behalf of state and county governments, cities have the capacity to intervene at crucial points.

On May 1, 2012, the City of Aspen implemented an ordinance, banning single-use plastic bags, and mandated a 20-cent fee for paper bags. The plastic bag ban does not include bags for prescriptions, fruit, vegetables, bulk items, flowers, frozen food, baked goods, dry cleaning and newspapers. Although some community members are worried that the ban on plastic bags will increase paper bag production, the City feels that a 20-cent fee is costly enough to eventually discourage paper bag sales. The fee is also being used to cover implementation costs of this program.

The connection between the activities that occur within a watershed and diminished water quality has been proven over and over. Negative impacts occur when few or no management practices exist and contaminants are improperly removed or released directly into streams that flow into a water supply. A primary component of watershed management is to prevent contaminants from reaching water resources and this is achieved through watershed planning, land conservation, aquatic buffers, better site design, erosion and sediment control, stormwater management practices, non-stormwater discharge, and watershed stewardship programs. Watershed protection efforts generally focus on human and animal contaminants, and they are tailored to address both the type of pollution source—point or nonpoint—as well as the way pollutants are transported across the landscape. With careful planning and communication, water quality can be protected while still serving other priorities.

Summit County is located in central Colorado 70 miles west of Denver. It is facing many issues that make wildfire protection planning difficult; a growing population, development in the wildland urban interface, mountain pine beetle infestation, and forests that are adapting to intense, stand-replacing wildfires. The county consists predominantly of public land; 80 percent is federally owned, mostly controlled by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service.

Post Falls is a burgeoning town just east of the Washington-Idaho border close to numerous lakes, rivers, and mountains and just 25 miles from Spokane, Washington. In recent years the city has been promoting tourism and gained appeal to retiring baby boomers. As an amenity city with over a 50 percent growth rate from 2000 to 2010, coordination with the county and neighboring cities is important to ensure growth is better controlled. Instigated by Kootenai County in 2004, an Area of City Impact (ACI) agreement has been adopted by both the county and municipality. These ordinances, developed to address regional growth issues impacting the area prairie and the ultimate annexation of areas into municipalities, are necessary to create sustainable development and maintain certain continuities within communities.

Summit County is located in central Colorado 70 miles west of Denver. It is facing many issues that make wildfire protection planning difficult; a growing population, development in the wildland urban interface, mountain pine beetle infestation, and forests that are adapting to intense, stand-replacing wildfires. The county consists predominantly of public land; 80 percent is federally owned, mostly controlled by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service.

The Roaring Fork Valley is one of the most affluent regions in Colorado as well as one of the most populous and economically vital areas of the Colorado Western Slope. It includes the communities of Aspen, Snowmass Village, Basalt, Carbondale, and Glenwood Springs. Mount Sopris and the Roaring Fork River serve as symbols of the Roaring Fork Valley. To make regional transportation faster, more convenient, and more comfortable the communities of Roaring Fork Valley created the joint Roaring Fork Transit Authority (RFTA), and are working together on projects like the VelociRFTA BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) to improve RFTA's operations and facilities.

The Roaring Fork Valley is one of the most affluent regions in Colorado as well as one of the most populous and economically vital areas of the Colorado Western Slope. It includes the communities of Aspen, Snowmass Village, Basalt, Carbondale, and Glenwood Springs. Mount Sopris and the Roaring Fork River serve as symbols of the Roaring Fork Valley. To make regional transportation faster, more convenient, and more comfortable the communities of Roaring Fork Valley created the joint Roaring Fork Transit Authority (RFTA), and are working together on projects like the VelociRFTA BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) to improve RFTA's operations and facilities.

Urban growth boundaries and urban service boundaries direct urban development into areas designated and planned for urban uses and away from natural resources or rural areas. Although urban growth boundaries (UGB) are the most commonly known form of urban containment, urban service boundaries (USB) can be a more flexible method of growth policy since they are typically more consistent with the economics of planned public facilities.

Complete Streets principles focus on accessibility of all transit users to safe, reliable, and viable transportation options. Most programs address cyclists and pedestrians, but it is important to create a space for all modes of transportation to exist together where appropriate. Special attention is given to accommodating non-automobile transportation in order to promote healthier transportation options among citizens and decrease automobile dependency.

Sedona, one of the least affordable cities in Arizona in terms of housing, approved an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) ordinance in 2010 to improve the amount of affordable housing available in the area. An ADU ordinance provides supplementary housing that can be integrated into existing single-family neighborhoods to provide a typically lower priced housing alternative. It also lays the groundwork to increase the amount of affordable rental housing in the community while providing homeowners with a chance to offset mortgage payments, thus making their own housing more affordable.

In 2007, Bozeman, Montana adopted an urban mixed-use (UMU) zoning district in their city code. The urban mixed-use zoning district sets the framework to establish areas within the city that are mixed-use in character, and to set forth certain minimum standards for development within those areas which encourage vertical mixed-use development with high density. The purpose in having an urban mixed-use district is to provide options for a variety of employment, retail and community service opportunities within the community, with incorporated opportunity for some residential uses, while providing predictability to landowners and residents in uses and standards.

As an established ski resort and summer outdoor destination location, Aspen has long struggled with accommodating the transportation needs of tourists and employees of the tourism industry. The number of developments in the surrounding Roaring Fork Valley, which extends northwest from Aspen in Pitkin County into Garfield County, has greatly increased with neighborhoods of summer homes and an influx of people seeking year-round residency at cheaper rates than found in the City of Aspen. In 1993 officials from Pitkin County, the City of Aspen, and the Village of Snowmass passed a resolution to maintain the number vehicles traveling into the city at 1994 levels. Due to this goal's emphasis in the Aspen/Pitkin Strategic Plan and additional concerns for environmental preservation, a comprehensive, multimodal transportation system was developed providing more commuting options and connectivity for the various buses, shuttles, and trail systems in the Roaring Fork Valley.

Post Falls, Idaho is a burgeoning amenity city just east of the Washington-Idaho border close to numerous lakes, rivers, and mountains. In recent years the city has been bolstering its tourism industry and working to appeal to retiring baby boomers. A population increase of 50 percent from 2000 to 2010 has made accommodating issues such as parking difficult. The parking issues were addressed in 2006 when the city hired consultants, PlaceMakers, to develop a SmartCode. By 2010, a revised version was officially adopted, incorporating specific SmartCode-zoned districts.

In a city working to promote active modes of transportation it is essential to develop programs that facilitate accessibility through connectivity and also promote the use of the resulting trails, bike lanes, and paths. Flagstaff has been at the forefront of such initiatives. Situated in the Ponderosa Pines of north central Arizona at the intersection of the Colorado Plateau and the San Francisco peaks, the city has a history of contemplating ways to increase cyclist and pedestrian traffic providing opportunities to visitors and community members to easily travel throughout the city and access the surrounding natural environments.

The quality of community forests is just as important in forested communities as they are in desert communities combating the urban heat island effect. Trees contribute to a higher quality of life in terms of the aesthetic benefits and the impression of street narrowing, which encourages slower driving. The natural elements of the community also flourish: the roots system significantly reduces erosion in many types of landscapes and slopes and peak storm runoff can be reduced up to 20 percent. Trees sequester carbon dioxide and create oxygen increasing air quality as well as removing sulfur dioxide and nitrogen from the air. A community forest can also serve as a habitat for a wide variety of wildlife that would otherwise not survive in urban settings. However, community forests in some localities are under pressure from natural factors, as well as challenges presented by people and development.

Perspectives on urban forestry have blossomed from a simple aesthetic amenity that tempers the urban landscape to a solution to pressing urban environmental problems. The creation of an urban tree ordinance and appointment of an implementation and management oversight group demonstrates the Town of Carbondale's philosophy that a healthy urban forest has a dramatic effect on property values. Additional positive economic implications as well as the positive environmental effects like reducing air pollution, abating heat, noise and glare, mitigating drainage and erosion problems, providing shade for streets and parking areas, providing wildlife habitat, and moderating the local climate result from Carbondale's tree ordinance.

The Telluride Foundation's Alternative Futures Project, Phase I, is the culmination of two years of work and public involvement, funded by the Telluride Foundation, to better inform the Telluride Region's long range grant making strategy. The principal objectives of this study were to understand and model regional scale economic, ecological and community interactions and to assist the Telluride Foundation and regional community leaders and governments in decision making that might affect the future of the region.

In January of 2002, Los Alamos County, New Mexico began a six month process to develop a community vision that would guide an update to the County Comprehensive Plan. The previous planning efforts in which the county had engaged all ended in failure. This time, they wanted to do it right. They contracted with The Community Store, a small consulting firm with expertise in visioning and facilitation. The consultant devised a planning framework for the development of the vision that followed chronologically through four principles: