Close your eyes for a moment and imagine wild backcountry loaded with wild critters.

Fortunately, many such backcountry haunts are protected through Wilderness and Monument designations. Many also remain silently unprotected yet provide a home to a myriad of fish and wildlife and recreation opportunities. These areas are the lifeblood of our backcountry culture; a culture that requires pristine places and untouched vistas to stir our imaginations and incite adventure.

The Thompson Divide in western Colorado is such a place – over 100,000 acres of roadless backcountry, throngs of wild game, gushing streams feeding the rivers of dreams and that unique American backcountry ambiance. 

Energy development is on the doorstep of the Thompson Divide. Roughly half of the 220,000 acre area has been leased for natural gas development. But we understand, some places are too special to develop for any reason – the Thompson Divide is one of those places.

Solutions do exist, and we will seek them, but vigilance, fair-mindedness and patience are required.

To some, the Thompson Divide is their backyard. They rely on the area for their livelihood; their water; their recreation; their piece of mind. We want you to know these people, to hear their stories, to know why the fish, the elk, and the vistas are worth much more than meets the eye.

These are their stories, their lives and the reasons they care so deeply about the Thompson Divide. Take a glimpse into the lives of those who work to keep the Thompson Divide like it is.