Time Machine Tuesday: Colorado Environmental Commission

Governor John Love and the Colorado General Assembly created the Colorado Environmental Commission in 1970 to study the state’s environmental quality and identify action needed to improve or preserve Colorado’s environment.  The non-partisan committee met over the course of two years and in 1972 submitted its final report to the governor.  Entitled Colorado:  Options for the Future, the report discusses various environmental concerns including land use, population, transportation, water, health, and more.  It then issues thirty-two recommendations for the future.  Now, with forty years hindsight, readers of this document can determine whether these recommendations were carried through over time.  This document is also an important resource for those researching the history of the state’s environmental policy.