Data becomes information when it is presented in a meaningful context. These visualizations and maps transform data from multiple Colorado state agencies into comprehensive, but digestible graphics that show the true impact of oil & gas development in Colorado communities.
Visit our online store to order a high resolution printed 24″ x 36″ poster or PDF of our maps, and please contact us if you would like to have us create a custom map or visualization for your needs.
In most cases, these maps and visualizations are best viewed on desktop or laptop. Tablets and mobile phones are supported, though larger screens provide a better user experience.
Story Maps and Timelines
Our story maps and timelines take complex regulatory, environmental, and spatial data and turn them into clear, navigable narratives that walk readers through complicated sequences of events as they unfolded, grounding them in place, and connecting the dots between what happened, where, and why it matters.
Marginal Wells Near Colorado Schools
From Lafayette to LaSalle and beyond, thousands of Colorado schoolchildren attend class within striking distance of oil and gas wells; many of them aging, low-producing, and long past their useful life. Our story map traces some of the most impacted Colorado schools, revealing a pattern of environmental inequity that falls hardest on low-income communities and families of color who have the fewest resources to demand change.
Along the way, we meet the operators dragging their feet, the developers who pay to get wells plugged while schoolchildren wait, and the communities caught between economic dependence on an industry and the long-term environmental and health costs it leaves behind.
Colorado Oil & Gas Wells Spud by Operator
This streamchart traces 25 years of oil & gas drilling activity in Colorado, revealing how operators have responded to global forces beyond the wellhead — from the shale boom of the mid-2000s to the dramatic collapse in new drilling that followed the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Each band represents one of the top operators, showing not just the industry-wide expansions and contractions, but giving insight into which companies drove growth, weathered downturns, and ultimately shaped Colorado’s energy landscape over a quarter century.
The Life of an ECMC Complaint
Filing a complaint with the ECMC can feel like sending a message into the void; this timeline pulls back the curtain on what actually happens after a complaint is submitted, walking through each step of the inspection and enforcement process with a real life example so residents know what to expect from the process.
Interactive Maps
Poudre River Trail Oil & Gas Impact Map
The Cache la Poudre River and its 40-mile trail corridor offer some of Northern Colorado’s most treasured recreational and natural landscapes , but sits squarely within one of the state’s most active oil and gas zones.
This interactive map invites trail users to explore the oil & gas infrastructure that lines the Cache la Poudre River corridor and the Poudre River Trail. Learn more about the wells, spills, and large-scale oil & gas facilities that share this landscape with one of Colorado’s most beloved recreational corridors.
Marginal Wells Near Schools: One Mile Impact Map
Hundreds of Colorado schools sit within close proximity to active oil & gas infrastructure — wells, spills, and tank batteries that share a landscape with the students and staff who occupy these campuses every day. This series of interactive maps allow residents to see the true extent and impact of this infrastructure near their children’s school.
These visualizations were produced as part of a broader action campaign calling on oil & gas operators to prioritize the plugging and abandonment of marginal wells within 2,000 feet of schools.
Maps
South Platte River Oil & Gas Impact Map
The South Platte River begins near Fairplay, Colorado and has a drainage basin that includes most of Colorado east of the Rocky Mountains. This map depicts the 6,580 oil & gas wells that have been drilled within one mile of the South Platte River and its tributaries.