A Compilation of Steamboat Institute Press Coverage 2017/2018 Friends
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IN THE NEWS a compilation of Steamboat Institute Press Coverage 2017/2018 Friends, The Steamboat Institute’s mission of defending the nation’s first principles has been amplified by a steady drumbeat of state and national press coverage. This has allowed our message to echo far beyond the walls of our events, reaching exponentially more people than we could fit in even the largest conference rooms or auditoriums. This booklet provides a sampling of this media presence over the past year and a half. I am proud to say it is on par or even exceeds the presence of some of the biggest and most well-established state think tanks. In addition to news coverage, this booklet contains a sampling of the steady stream of op-eds I have written for state and local publications, which allows us to lay out a fuller and more persuasive case for free minds and free markets. This booklet only contains our print media coverage. The Steamboat Institute has also been regularly featured on Colorado radio stations (with reach throughout the Rocky Mountain region), and our latest Freedom Conference was covered by C-SPAN and CNN.com. Please take a moment to browse through this booklet to gain a deeper understanding of The Steamboat Institute’s priorities, scope, and influence on the public debate we care so much about. Thank you, Jennifer Schubert-Akin Chairman, CEO and Co-founder As Zinke Makes Steamboat Appearance, Hundreds Rally In Protest By Grace Hood | Aug 10, 2018 Hundreds of people filled a Steamboat Springs city administration also reduced the size of the Grand street next to the Routt County Courthouse Friday Staircase Escalante. evening to protest a visit to the area by Interior Secre- Democratic State Rep. Dylan Roberts, Steamboat’s tary Ryan Zinke. 1984 Winter Olympic gold medalist Deb Armstrong, Zinke was making an appearance at a private event Rout County officials, native American speakers, and sponsored by the conservative Steamboat Institute’s others, took turns at the podium. Many in the crowd Freedom Conference. carried signs critical of Zinke and President Trump. Cody Perry, who helped organize the Stand for Our Earlier, Zinke told the Steamboat Pilot & Today, Land rally, said he staunchly opposed Zinke’s policies “I’m passionate about public lands. I’m passionate that have reduced the size of some national monu- about never selling them, never transferring it, but we ments, and made it possible for more private oil and have to manage it.” gas exploration and extraction on public lands. The secretary is also proposing to move the Bureau Perry was particularly angered by Zinke’s move to of Land Management, and perhaps the U.S. Geologi- shrink the size of Bear’s Ears National Monument in cal Survey headquarters from Washington D.C. to an Utah. as-yet-unnamed western state, including Colorado. “I see it as a civil rights issue. I see him as marginal- Grace Hood is Colorado Public Radio’s energy and en- izing the sovereignty of tribes and I see it steeling from vironment reporter. She has reported on wildfires, floods, the American public,” he said. land use, water, energy and hydraulic fracturing. Grace Zinke has argued that the federal land ought to be joined CPR in 2015 after six years with KUNC in Greeley. managed by Utah state leaders, many of whom sup- ported resource extraction in Bears Ears. The Trump Morning Energy: The one-stop source for energy and environment news Time to say goodbye By Kelsey Tamborrino | August 10, 2018 FULL STEAMBOAT AHEAD: Interior Secre- retary Heather Swift said the conference isn’t a politi- tary Ryan Zinke treks to Colorado today to speak at cal event, but instead an official conference at a think the conservative-heavy “Steamboat Freedom Confer- tank, featuring a policy speech and has been cleared by ence,” where he’s expected to talk public lands — but Interior ethics officials. The rally will take place at 5:30 his appearance is not likely to be a quiet one. Zinke p.m. today on the Routt County Courthouse lawn. is slated to deliver the keynote address at the annual Zinke’s speaking engagements have come under conference in Steamboat Springs, Colo., where well- fire in the past. But a government watchdog previously known conservatives like former White House aide Se- determined an earlier speech did not violate the Hatch bastian Gorka and Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk Act, which bars federal employees from engaging in and Candace Owens will also speak. partisan activity while on official duty. Celebrating its In response to his appearance, Steamboat residents 10th anniversary, co-founder of the Steamboat Insti- and organizations will hold a “Stand for Our Land” tute Jennifer Schubert-Akin told local media Zinke rally, featuring an array of outdoor recreation, envi- would be the first sitting member of the Cabinet to at- ronmental and indigenous speakers in opposition to tend today’s conference. The Steamboat Institute pays Zinke’s moves on public lands. Rally organizer Cody the travel expenses for all of the conference’s speakers, Perry told ME the rally popped up as a “inclusive, she said back in May, including Zinke, but she noted community response” to Zinke’s policies, while he he will not be paid a speaking fee. attends “a private, political event.” Interior press sec- ‘Get A Sense Of Real Issues’: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke Visits Steamboat Springs By Matt Kroschel | August 10, 2018 STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4)– Hun- Wild horses are federally protected. Advocates for dreds rallied in Northern Colorado Friday evening, the horses don’t agree on a solution, but are “cau- calling on the Federal Government to do more to pro- tiously optimistic” they will be dealt with before the tect public lands. problem grows any worse. The Stand for Our Lands protest on the Routt Zinke spoke about wildfires currently raging across County Courthouse lawn comes as Secretary of the the West. He says there needs to be a better offensive Interior Ryan Zinke visits the area. He spoke at the game, clearing the fuel loads, more logging, before the Steamboat Institute Freedom Conference about his massive fires can spread, destroying wildlife habitat vision for multiple users on public lands. and adding to the greenhouse gas problem. Zinke sat down with CBS4’s Matt Kroschel prior Zinke and his team are working on a watershed to the event and says he understands there are peo- program, an endeavor that itself is a monumental un- ple who don’t agree with his new vision for managing dertaking. public lands. He also says the Trump Administration “I like to get out in the field, get out of Washington, has some lofty goals to reorganize and streamline bu- as much as possible and really get a sense of what the reaucratic red tape. real issues are on the ground by seeing them for my- Zinke addressed the wild horse issue that costs tax self,” he told CBS4 in his only interview with a Colo- payers hundreds of millions of dollars, a current pro- rado TV station on Friday. gram that people on all sides say isn’t working. Zinke Matt Kroschel covers news throughout Colorado work- would like to see the horses sterilized until popula- ing from the CBS4 Mountain Newsroom. Send story ideas tion numbers stabilize. He says current ranges where to [email protected] and connect with him on Twitter @ horses are allowed to live in the West can’t support the Matt_Kroschel. growing population. Interior official opines on Endangered Species Act, as protesters await Zinke in Steamboat By Joey Bunch | Aug 10, 2018 This week, Coloradan David Bernhardt, the depu- Public lands was expected to be the focus of pro- ty director of the Department of Interior, was making tests Friday in Steamboat Springs. a case for the Trump administration’s changes to the Zinke was to address a private event at the conser- Endangered Species Act in a Washington Post op-ed. vative Steamboat Institute’s Freedom Caucus. Meanwhile, protesters in Colorado were making Protesters are unhappy with the administration’s plans to protest his boss, Interior Secretary Ryan Zin- decision to reduce the size of Utah’s Bears Ears and ke, as he planned to speak at a private event in Steam- Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. boat Springs Friday night. Zinke brushed aside those concerns last Sunday. Bernhardt wrote about a “modern vision of conser- “The president had me look at 27 monuments. The vation” in The Post. He defended the administration’s recommendation I made? There are 150 monuments. views on protections for at-risk wildlife, which some- The recommendation was to modify four of them ....” times can get in the way of business and conservation. “The revised boundaries were still larger than Zion The changes announced last month include, for the and Bryce Canyon (national parks) combined,” Zinke first time, factoring in the economic impact of a desig- said. nation under the 45-year-old law. Threatened species Joey Bunch, Colorado Politics senior political reporter would not automatically receive the same protections as endangered species. VIDEO: 30 minutes with US Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke was in Steamboat Springs on Friday to speak at The Steamboat Institute’s Freedom Conference. He also sat down with the Steamboat Pilot & Today for an interview. By Matt Stensland | August 10, 2018 STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Some people said it “It is clear that seasons have gotten longer. The would never happen. temperatures have gotten higher,” Zinke said. “It is in- Even those within my journalism circles said there disputable that the dead and dying timber has been a was no way U.S.