A Bittersweet Goodbye to Scott Braden of the Colorado Wildlands Project
Scott Braden with his daughter, Josie Lee. Photo credit: Karen Webster.
This article first appeared in the Summer 2025 edition of Wild Works.
This May, we said a bittersweet goodbye to Scott Braden, who founded and led the Colorado Wildlands Project for the past four years. Scott took over leadership of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA), a longtime partner and ally of Wilderness Workshop. Scott’s vision and dedication took the Colorado Wildlands Project from an idea to a highly effective force for protecting BLM wildlands across western Colorado.
Under Scott’s leadership, CWP:
- Mapped and prioritized BLM lands across the state deserving of additional protection. Only 8% of Colorado’s 8.3 million BLM acres are permanently protected through conservation designations.
- Elevated the preservation of the Dolores River Canyon country through a monument proposal, which can now be leveraged to achieve permanent protection through legislation.
- Founded Restoring the Wild, a multi-year program to restore wilderness-quality lands and improve their ecological condition across northwest Colorado.
- Developed a deep and meaningful partnership with the BLM, elevating conservation and ensuring responsible management of western Colorado’s BLM lands.
Scott will be missed. However, the good news is that Soren Jespersen, CWP’s current Field Director, will serve as the Interim Director. Soren brings nearly two decades of experience in public lands conservation across the western U.S. and has been instrumental to CWP’s work since its inception. His leadership, place-based knowledge, policy expertise and deep regional relationships will enable him to guide CWP into its next chapter.
