Our Common Ground tracks and reports on threats to our public lands. The target audience of OCG is not only those who spend their free time hiking, camping, mountain biking, etc., but also those who rarely go outdoors because whether you use public lands once in a while for a picnic, or you’re hiking and biking every free moment of your life, these lands belong to us, they are, in fact, our common ground.
Our Common Ground consists of two things. The first is a completely free newsletter packed with the latest threats to and news about our public lands. The second part is this website that provides original reporting on topics like the history of some of our public lands, the science behind wildfire mitigation and control, and deep dives into elected officials’ plans for our lands.
Visit the signup page to receive the free newsletter.
Who’s Behind This Madness?
Our Common Ground was founded in 2026 by award-winning journalist Ryan Lowery. Raised exploring the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Lowery spent more than a decade in New Mexico before returning to Colorado in 2025 to continue exploring the outdoors.
Lowery’s work has been published by the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times, Source New Mexico, the Las Vegas Optic, and many others. He is the recipient of the William S. Dixon First Amendment Freedom Award from the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government and the Sunshine Award from the New Mexico Press Association for his reporting that highlighted lack of transparency within multiple government agencies. He has also received several awards from the New Mexico Press Association and the Colorado SPJ, including best Solutions Journalism for a series of stories on a law enforcement program in Alamosa, Colorado, that emphasizes recovery instead of jail for those struggling with addiction.
