The number of completed or ongoing action items stemming from recommendations in the Routt County Climate Action Plan are growing thanks to implementation efforts during the past 17 months that were highlighted during an open house Thursday evening.

Of the plan’s 40 actionable recommendations in the categories of land use, transportation, energy, waste and economy, only four measures remain coded in red for “not yet started” as highlighted in the presentation by the Routt County Climate Action Plan Collaborative Board and working group leaders. Across the categories, nine recommendations have been completed, and 27 are underway from the Climate Action Plan that was adopted in 2021 by Steamboat Springs, Hayden, Oak Creek, Yampa and Routt County.

The board, volunteers and municipal representatives were happy to share successes in climate work or policy changes that will help lower carbon pollution emissions in the region. Leaders also introduced a climate equity committee that was created earlier this year that includes representatives from several nonprofit organizations.

“We have something to be very proud of in that we have collectively chosen to make our Climate Action Plan an instrument for change,” said Executive Director Michelle Stewart at nonprofit Yampa Valley Sustainability Council, which is the contracted program manager for the plan. “This is a really important part of our community, and I just want to thank you all for making this the living instrument that it is. This work is very, very important.”

Of the 11 land use recommendations, four are completed with seven underway. Tim Sullivan, land use working group leader, highlighted successes in land restoration such as reforestation planting and regeneration surveys in wildfire burn scar areas, completion of the Community Wildfire Protection Plan, riparian area plantings to promote river health, climate smart agriculture initiatives for riparian buffers and wet meadow restoration projects.

Sullivan emphasized recent land use policy successes in Steamboat Springs or Routt County such as waterbody setback improvements, wetland protections, continuation of land use preservation subdivisions, utility-scale solar-siting requirements, turf installation limits and irrigation efficiency guidelines.

In the energy category, five of six recommendations are underway especially aided by recent state and federal grant awards. Energy working group leader Paul Bony highlighted such successes as city and county work to benchmark facilities toward decarbonization, geothermal energy efforts in Hayden, workforce development and job training, and progress toward a Routt County Solar Array and Energy Storage System project.

A key completed energy recommendation is the countywide adoption in all jurisdictions of the updated 2021 International Building Code with restrictions on outdoor fossil fuel energy use.

Of the six transportation recommendations, three are underway with two completed. Transportation working group leader Sarah Jones highlighted successes such as a grant to Routt County to create its own Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan, electric vehicle readiness requirements in new building codes, increases in electric vehicle charging stations, increases in registered electrically charged vehicles at 588 countywide, and progress on the Colorado Department of Transportation’s mountain passenger rail study. Jones also highlighted work progressing toward the formation of a Regional Transportation Authority with completion of a feasibility study. A funding ballot measure for that authority is planned to go to the voters in November 2025 with the target of starting service in 2026, Jones said.

In the waste sector, working group leader Scott Cowman highlighted a current construction and demolition materials study and the city adoption of commercial recycling ordinances that also apply to multi-family housing of a triplex or larger. Cowman pointed to four completed planning studies related to composting, regional and city waste diversion, and feasibility for a waste drop-off facility. Of 11 waste reduction recommendations, eight are underway and one completed that requires water bottle fillers at most new drinking fountains.

In the economy sector, organizers highlighted procurement policies that favor local businesses, workforce development in the clean economy, and the increase to 28 businesses now participating in the Colorado Green Business Network of the Yampa Valley.

Climate Action Plan leaders encouraged community members to get involved by supporting climate action policies and holding decision-makers accountable, by volunteering with the Yampa Valley Climate Crew or other environmental efforts, and by staying informed and providing input via RouttClimateAction.com.

The goal of the climate action work is to help address the continuum of changes occurring in the Yampa Valley such as increased temperatures, variable snowpack, greater weather and streamflow variability, earlier spring runoffs, increased drought and wildfire risk, less predictable growing seasons, and increased variability in weather, precipitation and stream flows.

Organizers say if all 22 overarching strategies and associated actions are implemented successfully, the Routt County Climate Action Plan could lead to the reduction of carbon pollution emissions by 35% by 2030 and by 74% by 2050 compared to the 2018 emissions baseline.