Author of Colorado Powder Keg: Ski Resorts and the Environmental Movement (2012, University Press of Kansas). - An environmental history of skiing in Colorado traces the recreation s rise in popularity as a way of examining major changes in public land management in the American West during the 20th and 21st centuries. I argued as more people headed to Colorado s mountains in search of thrills on the slopes, the USFS became overwhelmed by the demand and turned resort development over to the private sector. The result has been a decades-long battle between developers and environmentalists with skiers and Colorado residents caught in the middle.