Coal is fading in northwest Colorado. The region is betting its economic future on another natural resource.

The 10 rafts are secured to the banks of the Green River. The tents are up. The sun is setting over the sandstone canyon walls. As 30 rafters dig into steaming bowls of chili, it’s time to start planning for the future.

How can northwest Colorado entice and manage visitors, protect natural landscapes like the Green River’s stunning Gates of Lodore and prop up an economy girding for the looming departure of coal mining?

“As our coal leaves, what do we have left?” asks Jennifer Holloway, the executive director of the chamber of commerce in the town of Craig, where she grew up. “We have an amazing experience that can change lives. How can we share that, but also protect it?”

Three years ago, Moffat County “had some challenges with our identity,” Holloway says, describing how her father, when she was little, walked away from the family farm to work in the better-paying coal mines. “Not everyone had a coal job, but we focused on coal and neglected other things.”

Those other things — like tourism, agriculture and outdoor recreation — are no longer being neglected. It’s been a year since Tri-State Generation and Transmission and Xcel Energy announced they would be closing their coal-fired electrical plants and nearby coal mines starting in 2028. The closures will cost northwest Colorado as many as 800 jobs.

A community-based transition plan focuses on growing the region’s tourism and recreational amenities while protecting agricultural heritage and natural resources. The communities of Moffat County, downstream from the bustling resort of Steamboat Springs, are essentially a blank slate. They are taking cues from other Western Slope communities, hoping to glean lessons on what works and what does not. And the wheels are turning.

“Our community is on the cusp of doing great things, transformational things,” Holloway says.

Craig has applied for a $1.8 million federal grant for the roughly $2.7 million Yampa River Corridor Project, which hopes to revamp boat ramps and add a whitewater park as part of an effort to bolster the region’s appeal with river runners and paddlers. An additional phase of the plan would build a trail connecting Craig to the Yampa River.

Last year the City of Craig purchased the historic Yampa Building from the Moffat County School District. The historic building has been converted into a visitor welcome center as well as home for artists, a senior center and several local nonprofits and private businesses.

Josh Veenstra said investment in the river will help shape a new identity for Craig and northwest Colorado.

“This is the last stop before the wild begins,” says the co-owner of Good Vibes River Gear who was born and raised in Craig and worked in both the coal mines and power plant.

Veenstra learned to sew at the power plant and now he and wife Maegan are sewing and selling all sorts of handmade, heavy-duty mesh bags and gear for paddlers. They also own the Good Vibes River Gear shop in Craig.

“This outdoor recreation thing, it’s a hit and it’s coming quickly,” says veteran rafter Veenstra, who worries that recreating visitors could impact resources and experiences if the community does not plan. “We’ve always lived in this boom-bust cycle that might not be the best way for us. We might need to grow a little slower, but in a more sustainable way.”