Annual Report 2011: FY July 1, 2010-June 30, 2011
Rocky Mountain Section
The Rocky Mountain Section of AAPG represents the more than 3,300 AAPG members residing in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico (except for the SE quadrant which is in the Southwest Section), Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. The Section has 11 affiliated geologic societies throughout the Rocky Mountain region. Current Section officers are Bob Suydam, president; Mike Vanden Berg, president-elect; Elmo Brown, secretary/treasurer; and Sue Cluff, secretary/treasurer-elect.
Annual Section Meetings
The Rocky Mountain Section holds annual technical meetings focused on the oil and gas developments in Rocky Mountain basins. These conventions are organized and hosted by one or several of the 11 affiliated societies. The venue for the meeting moves around the region to draw attention to the exciting new developments in different Rocky Mountain basins and to offer a broad array of field trip opportunities.
The 2010 meeting was held in Durango, CO in June 2010, at Fort Lewis College, hosted by the Four Corners Geological Society. Attendance was 435. The 2011 meeting was held in Cheyenne, WY June 25–29, 2011, hosted by the Wyoming Geological Association. Attendance was 725. The Cheyenne meeting featured a major focus on the Niobrara Shale play nearby in Colorado and Wyoming, including a full day plenary session, three-day Niobrara field trip, half-day Niobrara core workshops and core “museum,” a Prospect Fair, and a Public Session to discuss development impacts with the general public.
In most years the conventions have been hosted by one of the larger affiliated societies that have sufficient memberships to provide all the many volunteers needed to organize and run these meetings, and in a larger city such as Denver, Salt Lake City, and Billings. Recently the RMS has been successful in involving the “second-tier” societies and smaller venues, including Durango, and upcoming next year will be Grand Junction. The recent meeting in Cheyenne, WY was the first time ever for that city, and nearly all the volunteers were from Casper, WY, home of the WGA.
The schedule for future annual conventions of the Rocky Mountain Section is as follows:
- 2012: Grand Junction, CO (Grand Junction Geological Society)
- 2013: Salt Lake City, UT (Utah Geological Association)
- 2014: Denver, CO (Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists)
- 2015: Bye, due to Denver, CO, ACE (Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists)
- 2016: Early planning for a joint meeting with the Pacific Section, possibly in Nevada
Imperial Barrel Award Regional Contest
This year’s Rocky Mountain Section AAPG Imperial Barrel Award competition was a huge success with a first-time team from Utah State University being sent to Houston for the International Finals. Colorado School of Mines came in second, University of Nevada Las Vegas followed in third, and the judges gave BYU Idaho an honorable mention for being the only all-undergraduate team. Additional competing teams included the University of Wyoming, Boise State University, and New Mexico Tech. The competition was held at the University of Colorado on March 19, 2011, and the RMAG sponsored the event financially, with additional funding for travel expenses coming from the RMS. Kim Parsons, the section chair and a former RMS president, has successfully developed the program from only two schools competing the first year to seven schools just two years later.
Rocky Mountain Section–AAPG Foundation
The Rocky Mountain Section AAPG Foundation is run by a board of dedicated volunteers whose mission is to provide financial support through grants and gifts to geological societies, schools, colleges, and organizations promoting the geologic sciences. The RMS Foundation has assets greater than $300,000. In FY 2010–2011 the Foundation made 11 Grants-in-Aid totaling $14,380. It also approved grants of up to $1,000 each to support the 10 active AAPG student chapters in the RMS The Rocky Mountain Section periodically transfers funds to the Foundation to further its good works.
Teacher of the Year
The Section sponsors an annual Earth Science Teacher of the Year (TOTY) competition to honor outstanding earth science educators in our secondary schools. The Section encourages participation and solicits nominees from all of our 11 affiliated societies. Our 2010–2011 TOTY, nominated by the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists, was Sharon Milito, an enthusiastic science teacher at Patrick Henry Elementary School, Colorado Springs, CO. She went on to receive the overall AAPG Excellence in Teaching Award at the ACE in Houston, April 2011. The RMS has a great track record in selecting TOTY recipients, in that 6 of the last 11 overall AAPG winners came from RMS nominations.