County Lines: Aurora's fracking fight leader
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Randy Willard, president of the community group Save the Aurora Reservoir. Photo: Getty/Aaron Ontiveroz/Denver Post
Randy Willard dedicated three years to fighting a battle he suspected he would lose.
Why it matters: The 63-year-old retired IT specialist became the unlikely leader of Save the Aurora Reservoir (STAR), a grassroots group that fought a residential fracking operation near a major drinking water source in southeast Aurora.
Zoom in: Under Willard's leadership, STAR evolved from a loose neighborhood group into a sophisticated campaign that raised $130,000 and mobilized thousands of people for public meetings.
Yes, but: The Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission still approved the State Sunlight-Long fracking site, about a half-mile from the Aurora Reservoir, last month.
The outcome left Willard cynical about the government but hopeful about community organizing.
- "We moved the needle on this issue as far as anybody has ever done, and that counts for something."
Catch up quick: Willard never planned on becoming the face of a suburban anti-fracking movement.
- Before being laid off during the pandemic, he worked for small software companies — building high-tech databases — which he says helped prepare him to battle bigger entities.
- He dug into fracking roughly three years ago after receiving a letter from an energy company that sought to buy mineral rights near his southeast Aurora home.
Flashback: Willard first connected with grassroots climate nonprofit 350 Colorado as a volunteer before joining STAR and eventually becoming its leader.
- "I hadn't been an active environmentalist ... but what surprised me was the level of passion I built around this. I'd never done anything completely selfless like this."
The bottom line: Losing this battle doesn't mean he has regrets.
- "Would I do it again? Yeah."
🤨 Proust Questionnaire ⁉️
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
"The work I'm doing with STAR feels as substantial as anything I've done in my life."
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
"That we'd have none of this chaos in the government, none of this stupid stuff that's destroying our air and water."
📍 I'm profiling our neighbors one street at a time. If you know someone making waves, send me a lifeboat at [email protected]. 🌊