2026 Colorado Open Space Alliance Conference
October 4–7, 2026
Crested Butte, Colorado
Caring for the Commons
This year's conference will be held jointly at the Grand Lodge and the Elevation Hotel. Both properties will host an equal number of room nights. The Grand Lodge will serve as the location for meals and keynote sessions, while the Elevation Hotel will host all breakout sessions and meeting rooms, making the event evenly split between the two venues.
*Reservation Booking Information is coming soon.
Quinn Brett
Quinn Brett is a former climbing ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park and professional climber whose accolades include being part of the first team to climb seven Big Walls in seven days in Yosemite, the first all-women team to climb two El Capitan routes in a day, and a first ascent on the South Face of Cerro Fitz Roy in Patagonia, the Colorado Route. After a 2017 climbing fall left her paralyzed from the waist down, she became the first person to hand-cycle both the Tour Divide — a 3,000+ mile route from Jasper, Canada to Antelope Wells, New Mexico. She remains an athlete and channels her experience into advocating for inclusive access to wilderness and public lands, working with land managers and trail builders to ensure people with disabilities, including wheelchair and mobility device users, can experience the outdoors alongside everyone else. She also works as the Development Director for Unite 2 Fight Paralysis, supporting the global spinal cord injury community through advocacy, education, and research toward functional recovery.
Ben Goldfarb
Ben Goldfarb is an environmental journalist whose work has appeared in National Geographic, the Atlantic, Smithsonian Magazine, the New Yorker, High Country News, and many other publications. His most recent book, Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet, was named one of the best books of 2023 by the New York Times and received the Rachel Carson Award for Excellence in Environmental Writing and the Banff Book Competition’s Grand Prize. His previous book, Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter, won the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. He lives in Colorado with his wife, his daughter, and his dog, Kit — which is, of course, what you call a baby beaver.
2025 Colorado Open Space Alliance Conference
October 6–8, 2025
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Celebrating Stories of Open Space: 25 Years of Conservation and Connections
Help us celebrate COSA’s 25th annual conference in Steamboat Springs, Colorado! The conference will be held at The Steamboat Grand, an amazing conference center just steps from the base of the ski area. Accommodations range from a selection of spacious hotel rooms to condos and penthouses, so plan to bring your entire family!COSA continues to partner with the Rocky Mountain Ranger Association and the National Association of Interpretation Four Corners Region to bring you an amazing line-up of conference sessions and keynote speakers. Offsite field trips and a 25th conference anniversary celebration featuring Mountainfilm on Tour will make COSA’s 25th conference its best yet!
Christopher Preston
Christopher Preston is an award-winning author, environmental philosopher, public speaker, and clean energy enthusiast based in Missoula, Montana. Christopher grew up on the white cliffs of England’s south coast and moved to Colorado at age 22 to pursue a graduate degree from Colorado State University. While in the United States, he fell in love with the giant landscapes, wildlife, and wildlands of Alaska. Christoper is a accomplished writer and his most recent work, Tenacious Beasts, won the 2024 High Plains Book Award for non-fiction and was included in The New Yorker’s ‘Best Books of 2023.’ Christopher will share his experiences researching recoveries across the globe and the lessons that open space agencies can learn from these success stories.
Presented by the Colorado Lottery and Great Outdoors Colorado.
Marcus Robinson
Marcus Robinson is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Ride for Racial Justice, a Colorado-based organization whose mission is to ensure access to resources, education, and community for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) cyclists and to dismantle systemic racism. Through advocacy and lobbying, Ride for Racial Justice works to enhance BIPOC leadership, voices, experiences, community and infrastructure in cycling, from global brand to local events. Marcus came to Colorado as an infant and like many kids, Marcus was lucky to have a bike growing up. That sense of freedom and joy is still a driving force for him today. Marcus attended Denver East High School and Colorado State University. Marcus will share his insights on equity and the outdoors and how open space agencies can ensure our parks and trails are welcoming, equitable spaces.