Aspen Journalism was recognized with seven awards in the 2026 Top of the Rockies Excellence in Journalism competition organized by the Society of Professional Journalists Colorado Pro Chapter in recognition of journalism published in 2025.
Reporting from Heather Sackett, Laurine Lassalle, Eleanor Bennett, Kari Dequine, Kaya Williams and Elizabeth Stewart-Severy added up to three first place and four second place awards. Aspen Journalism was recognized across the categories of business enterprise reporting, climate reporting, legal news, general reporting for a series or package, arts & entertainment, information graphic, and social justice.
According to the Top of the Rockies awards announcement, the 2026 contest had nearly 2,100 entries – the largest field ever – from 100 news media outlets and 25 freelancers from Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico, which was judged by journalists in southern California.
“We are pleased to honor so many journalists and media outlets for their tireless journalistic efforts,” said Deb Hurley Brobst, SPJ Colorado Pro Chapter president and the contest’s coordinator. “We are seeing top-notch work from journalists throughout the region, no matter what the staff size.”
Aspen Journalism competed in the medium-sized newsrooms category for newsrooms with five to nine full-time reporters, despite an editorial staff below this threshold. “For the last few years we have chosen to compete above our weight class,” said Curtis Wackerle, Aspen Journalism’s editor and executive director. “It is an honor to have six journalists writing for Aspen Journalism awarded, showcasing the strength of our freelance team, full-time journalists and editors — and the efficiency and efficacy of our model.”
Also of note, the Social Justice Desk, a multi-media, bilingual collaboration between Aspen Journalism and Aspen Public Radio, received second place for best beat reporting. “Reporter Eleanor Bennett takes a solutions-journalism approach to covering systemic inequities faced by marginalized communities in western Colorado,” SPJ judges noted in their comments. Kaya Williams was also honored with a third place award in the agriculture and environment feature category for her story produced for the Aspen Daily News Journalism Fund, “Groundswell of support for local farmers honors Casey Piscura’s memory.”
First Place | Social Justice Reporting
Indigenous youths finish historic journey down Klamath River with help of Aspen-based nonprofit after dams removed by Eleanor Bennett
Local nonprofit helps indigenous youth on first descent of the free flowing Klamath River
A group of youths completed a historic 310-mile kayak journey down the Klamath River—the first full descent since four major dams were removed. Led by Aspen-based nonprofit Ríos to Rivers’ Paddle Tribal Waters, a program that trains Native youth in river navigation, environmental stewardship, and cultural revitalization. With salmon returning and water quality improving, the journey symbolized restoration—for the ecosystem and for tribal communities. Eleanor Bennett traveled to the basin to interview the youths and witness the historic moment. Read or listen to the story.
First Place | Infographic
Comparing Colorado basin snowpack, 2021 versus 2025 by Laurine Lassalle
Infographic in support of Heather Sackett’s water desk story Upper Basin water managers want monthly drought meetings with feds
Water managers request monthly meeting with feds to monitor drought conditions
Water managers are concerned that hydrologic conditions this spring and summer could resemble 2021, when drought and dry soils caused a good-but-not-great snowpack that peaked at 93% of average across the Upper Basin to translate into just a 36% of average inflow into Lake Powell. That summer, as the crucial desert reservoir was sliding down toward record low levels, the Bureau of Reclamation implemented short-notice emergency releases from upstream reservoirs from July through October. With Upper Basin snowpack at 94% as of mid February and parched soil-moisture conditions going into the winter, Upper Basin officials don’t want to be caught off guard if similar releases are again needed and are asking for monthly meetings with federal officials to monitor drought conditions. Check out the visualizations created for Sackett’s story by AJ data editor Laurine Lassalle comparing the 2025 versus 2021 snowpack and Lake Powell water levels.
First Place | A&E and Food News or Feature
Boom in private clubs highlights tensions between belonging and exclusion by Kaya Williams
Private clubs change who mingles in the valley
A surge in private club, members-only business models across the Roaring Fork Valley reflects a broader trend of exclusivity in social spaces. As the membership landscape expands, questions arise about who belongs, who is left out, and how these spaces shape social life in the region. While these clubs claim to offer members a sense of belonging, and range from blue-collar bars to billionaire’s escapes, they also directly contrast the culture Aspen was known for: billionaires and blue collar folks rubbing elbows at the bar. Business owners say the model helps provide more curated services and ride out the revenue seasonality.
Second Place | General Reporting series
The impact of staff and funding cuts on the White River National Forest by Elizabeth Stewart-Severy
Elizabeth Stewart Severy wrote multiple stories over the course of 2025 detailing the impacts of federal funding cuts and shifting priorities on the White River National Forest. Stories submitted for this award include:
‘The public is losing out’
Aspen-Sopris Ranger District staff down 45 percent as top ranger leaves Forest Service
Volunteers report uptick in illegal campfire rings
Local groups and remaining WRNF personnel surge in response to drought danger: ‘It’s up to all of us’
‘Voice of wildlife’ takes early retirement from the Forest Service
District ranger’s office not planning to rehire for longtime biologist and prescribed fire advocate’s position
Former White River boss fears for future of public lands amid drastic budget, staffing cuts
Scott Fitzwilliams says it’s time to pay attention
Second Place | Legal News
The rights of boaters, anglers and private property owners swirl toward legislative clarity by Heather Sackett
Defining the public's right to river access
Boaters and anglers in Colorado are calling for clearer laws governing public access to streams by urging the state to define rights to wade, float or portage around hazards. The dispute stems from a gap in statutes around the ownership of streambeds and how access interacts with private land. Advocates like American Whitewater and the Colorado Stream Access Coalition say clearer regulation is needed to protect recreational use without infringing on landowners’ rights. Despite parallel desires by boaters and anglers to have clearly stated access and rights, some groups are seeing each right as its own track through the legal process. “I personally cannot support [the right to wade] because I believe it will tank the whole thing,” said one observer.
Second Place | Climate Reporting
Exceptional drought and a ring of fire for northwest Colorado. Once ‘unimaginable’, megafires are here by Kari Dequine
As once-in 50 years fought conditions persist, megafires become more common
A D4 “exceptional drought” is expected about once in 50 years, reserved for the most extreme drought conditions. But parts of Colorado have entered into exceptional drought at least five times since 2000. Colorado’s recent D4 drought conditions covered the footprints of four fires that burned in August through northwest Colorado. Firefighters described some of the fire behavior witnessed as unprecedented, with one veteran noting that 100,000-acre fires were once unimaginable. Analysts warned that such extreme conditions could become more common, and while fire has always been a part of the western U.S. landscape, this size and intensity poses significant challenges for future wildfire management.
Second Place | Business Enterprise Reporting
Private ski area proposal near Steamboat divides community by Kari Dequine
Members-only ski communities in Colorado
A proposal by Discovery Land Co. to build an exclusive, members-only ski community — Stagecoach Mountain Ranch — 20 miles south of Steamboat Springs has sparked a sharp divide among local residents. Supporters tout jobs, infrastructure improvements and public-benefit housing; opponents warn of water-use stress, environmental harm, skyrocketing housing costs and loss of community character. With similar developments proposed in Marble, CO, Dequine explores the concept in depth.