Center of American West

General information

The Center of the American West was founded in 1986 by Patty Limerick and CU Law Professor Charles Wilkinson. The Center has published a number of books, including A Ditch in Time: The City, the West, and Water, a history of water in Denver (2012), the influential Atlas of the New West (1997) and a series of lively, balanced, and to-the-point reports on compelling Western issues, including What Every Westerner Should Know About Energy (2003), Cleaning Up Abandoned Hardrock Mines in the West (2006), and What Every Westerner Should Know About Energy Efficiency and Conservation (2007). The Center’s film, The Lover’s Guide to the West, debuted on Rocky Mountain PBS in April 2010. Limerick and Center staff are currently working on several projects, including a book about the role of the Department of the Interior in the West, based on the “Inside Interior” series of interviews hosted by the Center between 2004 and 2006. The Center of the American West serves as a forum committed to the civil, respectful, and problem-solving exploration of important and often contentious public issues. In an era of political polarization and contention, the Center strives to bring out “the better angels of our nature” by appealing to our common loyalties and hopes as Westerners.