A Watershed Moment
The American West is portrayed as a place of rugged landscapes and endless opportunity. But the land is fragile, resources are finite, and space is at a premium. The essays of A Watershed Moment explore the tensions between a culture rooted in endless growth and personal freedom and the ecological, economic, and social constraints set by community values and the land itself. As Westerners come up against these limits, these essays highlight issues of sustainability central to the region’s future and to the nation’s as a whole.
The contributors are policymakers, government employees, land and water managers, urban planners, biologists, tribal members, writers, and academics from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives. The result is a compelling vision of place-based, policy-oriented sustainability across the West.

Press
> Mar. 21, 2025: Mason Osgood at KOTO: Telluride Community Radio interviews Robert Frodeman and Evelyn Brister, “Authors explore a modern American West.” Audio and transcript available here (starts at 3:44).
> Feb. 21, 2025: Jenna McMurtry at KHOL: Jackson Hole Community Radio interviews Robert Frodeman on “Making the case for limits in the Mountain West,” Audio available here.
> Dec. 16, 2024: In Yellowstonian: A Voice for Wilderness, read an excerpt on wildfire from Paul Roger’s chapter in A Watershed Moment. The excerpt is titled “When a Community Stands in Defiance—not Defense—of Nature.”
> Dec. 12, 2024: Utah Public Radio’s Matthew LaPlante interviews author Paul Rogers on the Undisciplined podcast. Paul talks with him about how “We Probably Can’t Prevent Forest Fires. So What Can We Do Instead?“
> Nov. 21, 2024: Video of the University of Utah Press Book Launch sponsored by the Wallace Stegner Center at the S. J. Quinney School of Law. Speakers included Bob Keiter, Evelyn Brister, Seth Arens, Bonnie Baxter, and Robert Frodeman. View it here.
> Nov. 12, 2024: In Yellowstonian: A Voice for Wildness, Todd Wilkinson asks “Where Does the West Go From Here?” and discusses limits to growth with book editor Robert Frodeman. Read it here.
> Nov. 5, 2024: Utah Public Radio’s Tom Williams interviews book editor Robert Frodeman about housing and other issues affecting Western communities, including the need for interdisciplinary and cross-sector solutions. Listen here.
Events
Sponsored by the Ruckelshaus Institute
Speakers: Evelyn Brister, Robert Frodeman, Matthew Kauffman, Drew Bennett
Editors

Robert Frodeman writes on environmental philosophy, science and technology policy, and the future of the university.
Contact Robert at [email protected]

Evelyn Brister is a professor of philosophy at Rochester Institute of Technology and works on environmental justice and conservation policy.
Contact Evelyn at [email protected]

Luther Propst is an elected county commissioner in Teton County, Wyoming. He founded the Sonoran Institute in 1991 and served as executive director until 2012.