The history of the West has always been defined by water. Long before settlers arrived, Indigenous peoples designed complex water management systems to cultivate the arid land. In the 19th and 20th centuries, large-scale engineering projects redistributed water across the West, enabling the region’s rapid growth. Today, western water resources are stretched thin, and as rivers and streams dry up, so too does the environmental resiliency that’s provided by healthy riparian zones. To help address ...
Mar 28, 2025•43 min•Ep. 46
In the wake of natural disasters, navigating complicated bureaucratic systems can be extremely challenging – especially for those living in historically underserved communities. Community navigators can help raise awareness about available resources and provide technical assistance when applying for grants or other government aid. In this episode of Out West, WGA senior policy advisor Jonah Seifer speaks with Meryl Harrell, the Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment at the ...
Jan 17, 2025•39 min•Ep. 45
Last year, as the Chair of WGA, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon launched the Decarbonizing the West initiative. It examined how methods of decarbonization can position Western states at the forefront of innovation and reduce the effects of carbon emissions on the environment. The initiative explored a wide range of engineered decarbonization and natural sequestration strategies – everything from direct air capture and carbon credit markets to climate-smart agriculture and biofuel – all of which pre...
Jan 16, 2025•45 min•Ep. 44
In this episode of Out West, hear about the threat posed by invasive zebra and quagga mussels to western waterways, and understand the ongoing work to contain and eliminate this threat. We dive into recent detections of invasive mussels in the Snake River in Idaho and a stretch of the Colorado River in Colorado. Those detections sparked rapid and thorough responses to contain, monitor, and even eradicate these mussels. Over the course of the episode, WGA Policy Advisor Zach Nowak sits down with ...
Nov 27, 2024•37 min•Ep. 43
The Western Governors' Association celebrated the 40th anniversary of its founding by hosting an afternoon of programming that included fireside chats with current and former Western Governors. Joining WGA's current chair, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon, was former Governors - and former WGA Chairs - Steve Bullock of Montana, Gary Herbert of Utah, David Ige of Hawaii, Matt Mead of Wyoming, Bob Miller of Nevada, Butch Otter of Idaho, and Brian Sandoval of Nevada. Their discussions, which were moder...
Jul 19, 2024•58 min•Ep. 42
In this episode of Out West, Jack Waldorf, Executive Director of the Western Governors' Association (WGA), sits down with WGA's Chair, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon, for a discussion about their experiences leading the Association. They speak about the importance of their bipartisan relationships with the other Governors, their aspirations for Governor Gordon's WGA Chair Initiative, Decarbonizing the West, as well as the Association’s upcoming 40th Anniversary celebrations and what they hope the ...
Jan 24, 2024•30 min•Ep. 41
In this episode of Out West, Celebrate the West founder Christine Ogsbury discusses her inspiration behind starting the program and some of her most memorable moments.
Jan 08, 2024•11 min•Ep. 40
The potential of geothermal energy in the West is vast and offers significant advantages in the effort to expand renewable energy resources. Advances in technology and increased interest in developing domestic sources of low-cost, reliable, clean energy have brought greater attention to the energy potential of the heat beneath our feet. As Chair of the Western Governors’ Association in 2023, Colorado Governor Jared Polis launched The Heat Beneath Our Feet initiative to examine opportunities for ...
Oct 04, 2023•51 min•Ep. 39
The Western Governors' Foundation released a new podcast highlighting Emily Cooper, the overall first-place winner of the 2023 Celebrate the West art competition, an annual art competition hosted by the Western Governors' Foundations, which challenges high school students to create original works inspired by their state or otherwise evocative of the West. Listen here as Emily discusses her winning art and what the West means to her....
Aug 08, 2023•6 min•Ep. 38
In this episode of WGA's Out West podcast, Anna Thielen, Manager of the Western Governors' Foundation, speaks with four Delegates from the 2023 Western Governors' Leadership Institute - Garrett Kelly from Arizona, Donya Sarrafian from California, Andee Baker from Montana, and Kaelan Reedy from North Dakota - about their experiences at the 2023 Western Governors' Leadership Institute where they had had chance to discuss the nuances of leadership with former and current Governors, including Jared ...
Jul 11, 2023•13 min•Ep. 37
Each year the Western Governors’ Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Western Governors' Association, hosts a competition that challenges high school students to create a piece of artwork that is inspired by their state. Now in its eighth year, Celebrate the West generates hundreds of amazing pieces created by budding western artists. The application window for this year’s competition opened on January 9th. The deadline for entries is April 30th. In today’s episode of Out West, Anna Thielen,...
Jan 09, 2023•18 min•Ep. 36
In the latest episode of WGA’s Out West podcast, The Well of the Future: Repurposing Oil and Gas Wells for Geothermal Energy Production, WGA Policy Advisor Steven Emmen sits down with Johanna Ostrum, the Chief Operating Officer of Transitional Energy; Will Pettitt, the Geothermal Discipline Lead at Baker Hughes; and Will Gosnold, a professor of geological engineering at the University of North Dakota. Together they delve into the potential for blending aspects of the oil and gas industry with ge...
Dec 01, 2022•32 min•Ep. 35
The Next Generation of Western Leaders, the latest episode of WGA’s Out West podcast, highlights the inaugural class of delegates from the 2022 Western Governors’ Leadership Institute, a new programmatic offering from the Western Governors’ Foundation that is designed to promote and encourage the effective exercise of leadership in young adults throughout the West. Listen in as Aspen Lenning from Oklahoma, Gustaf Vanderdonck from Arizona, Samantha Mooney from Colorado, Gabriella Smith from Washi...
Sep 15, 2022•28 min•Ep. 34
The new episode of WGA’s Out West podcast, 'Supporting Coal Communities,' explores the economic trends impacting Utah’s coal communities in the face of changing energy markets and state efforts to bolster economic development opportunities in those areas. Listen in as WGA Senior Policy Advisor, Lauren DeNinno, speaks with Alyssa Kay, Director of Program Development for the Utah Office of Energy Development, and Geri Gamber, the Executive Director of the Southeastern Utah Association of Local Gov...
Jun 23, 2022•32 min•Ep. 33
The new episode of WGA’s Out West podcast, Agricultural Workforce in the West, explores the challenges that communities face as more agricultural workers retire, the barriers that young people face when attempting to start a career in the industry and opportunities to address the issue by expanding apprenticeship programs on family farms and ranches. Listen in as WGA Policy Advisor, Kevin Moss, speaks with Kate Greenberg, the Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture, and Sarah Wenzel-Fisher, the Exe...
May 17, 2022•39 min•Ep. 32
'Post-Fire Restoration Challenges' explores the challenges that wildfire-affected communities face and the available resources to help them recover. Listen in as WGA Director of Federal Relations and Strategic Initiatives Troy Timmons speaks with the Founder and CEO of Coalitions & Collaboratives, Inc., Carol Ekarius, about improving community capacity to address restoration needs, federal programs that offer assistance and opportunities to enhance the implementation of both pre-fire mitigat...
Apr 21, 2022•37 min•Ep. 31
The new episode of WGA’s Out West podcast, Fixing America’s Forests, delves into recent forest management projects that successfully protected western communities by slowing potentially catastrophic wildfires and insect infestations. The lessons extrapolated from these case studies can help communities coordinate forest health treatments – especially as resources become available as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the U.S. Forest Services’ 10-year fire strategy. Listen in ...
Mar 14, 2022•28 min•Ep. 30
The latest episode of WGA’s ‘Out West’ podcast, Supporting Cross-Boundary Conservation, explores the importance of cross-boundary management for healthy and productive working lands, and how programs with the National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) can help unify various management activities across public and private lands. In this episode, WGA Policy Advisor Kevin Moss sits down with Emily Fife, the Utah State Conservationist for the NRCS, to discuss opportunities for landowners to lever...
Feb 14, 2022•22 min•Ep. 29
This episode of ‘Out West’ delves into the region’s behavioral health care challenges that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic – including obstacles to accessing care and significant workforce shortages – and the strategies that western states have applied to overcome these issues. Listen in as WGA Policy Advisor Lauren Cloward speaks with Mary Beth Brown, the Behavioral Health Strategist at the Washington State Department of Health, and Megan Selheim, the Youth and Young Adult Progra...
Jan 20, 2022•34 min•Ep. 28
The new episode of WGA’s Out West podcast, Federalism, the Genius of American Democracy, explores the work that Western states and organizations are undertaking to strengthen and rebalance the states’ relationship with the federal government. Listen in as WGA Senior Policy Advisor Kevin Doran speaks with Matt Morrison, CEO of the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region Foundation, Edgar Ruiz, Director of the Council of State Governments West, Jonathan Shuffield, Associate Legislative Director for Publ...
Dec 21, 2021•32 min•Ep. 27
The new episode of WGA’s Out West podcast, Moss Balls and Emergency Invasive Species Responses, explores the collaborative efforts of western states and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to address the recent discovery that Marimo moss balls, which are often used in aquariums and sold in pets stores nationwide, harbored invasive zebra mussels. Listen in as WGA policy advisor Laura Cutlip speaks with Brian Nesvik, the Director of Wyoming Game and Fish, Joshua Leonard, the Statewide Aquatic Invas...
Nov 22, 2021•36 min•Ep. 26
In honor of Cybersecurity Career Awareness Week and National Disability Employment Awareness Month, the new episode of WGA’s Out West podcast, Diversifying the Cybersecurity Workforce, explores the efforts to address workforce shortages in the cybersecurity field by expanding the talent pipeline and actively training un- and underemployed populations, including those with disabilities. Listen in on the conversation between, WGA Policy Advisor Lauren Cloward, Jeff Rangel, the Senior Director of G...
Oct 19, 2021•29 min•Ep. 25
The Western Governors’ Association recently released its 2021 Annual Report, which highlights the Western Governors’ past year’s policy work and paths to continue that work. The conversation in this episode includes topics such as broadband connectivity, workforce development, COVID-19 response and recovery, cybersecurity, wildfires and species management. Listen in to the conversation between WGA Executive Director Jim Ogsbury, WGA Senior Policy Advisor Lauren DeNinno, and Director of Federal R...
Sep 14, 2021•14 min•Ep. 24
The Western Governors’ Foundation recently announced the winners in the sixth annual Celebrate the West regional art competition, which challenged high school students to create two-dimensional artwork inspired by their state. This year nearly 400 works of art were entered. Listen in as Foundation Advisor Anna Thielen talks with First Place winner Isabella Tarantino from New Mexico, Shaw Y. Hu of Arizona (Second Place), and Alain Soltys-Gray of Alaska (Third Place) about their inspiration and ar...
Aug 25, 2021•17 min•Ep. 23
The Chair's Initiative of Oregon Governor Kate Brown sought to achieve an expanded regional agreement on electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the West to bolster current economies and create a roadmap to the future. Gov. Brown discusses outcomes of the Initiative contained in the Special Report on its work with WGA Policy Advisor Kevin Moss.
Jul 21, 2021•14 min•Ep. 22
Electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming more common, but a lack of charging infrastructure – especially in rural areas – continues to be a barrier to adoption. This Out West episode highlights how everyone from cities to manufacturers can generate significant economic opportunities by developing a robust charging network. Listen as WGA Policy Advisor Kevin Moss speaks with Scott Bricker of Destination Development at Travel Oregon, and Jim Chen of Rivian.
Jun 22, 2021•31 min•Ep. 21
Invasive species are a complex and costly issue throughout the West. To properly address the issue, it’s imperative that the various states, agencies and stakeholders working on it have access to accurate data. This episode features an interview with Annie Simpson, a data coordinator for the Biofoundational Data Team in the Science Analytics & Synthesis Program with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She details both the importance and the difficulties in accumulating quality data for such ...
Jun 07, 2021•29 min•Ep. 20
Electric vehicle (EV) technology is advancing rapidly. Innovations in battery technology, infrastructure modeling analysis, and fleet charging and fueling systems are enabling more diverse and lower-cost uses of EV cars, trucks, and buses. This episode, the second in a series for the Electric Vehicles Roadmap Initiative of Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, highlights researchers and companies working at the forefront of EV technologies in the West. Listen as WGA Policy Advisor Kevin Moss speaks with: Alex...
May 10, 2021•39 min•Ep. 19
The Western Governors' Foundation leverages the collective influence of former and current Western Governors to promote the welfare of the West. In this episode of Out West, WGA Executive Director Jim Ogsbury discusses the impetus behind the creation of the Foundation with current board Chair Dennis Daugaard, the former Governor of South Dakota, and two of the Foundation’s sitting directors, Steve Bullock, the former Governor of Montana, and David Ige, the Governor of Hawaii. The group also high...
Apr 13, 2021•17 min•Ep. 18
Electric Vehicles in Rural Areas is the first episode in a series for the Electric Vehicles Roadmap Initiative of Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, which is focused on enhanced planning, siting and coordination of electric vehicle (EVs) infrastructure in the West. Consumer ownership of EVs is expanding across the West, but rural citizens face particular challenges with owning and operating the vehicles. Listen as WGA Policy Advisor Kevin Moss speaks with Alliy Sahagun, the Member Relations Supervisor at t...
Mar 17, 2021•32 min•Ep. 17
