A CHANGING OF THE GUARD In 2002, after nearly two decades at the helm, Publisher and Editor Ed and Betsy Marston decided to step down. Longtime staffer Paul Larmer became publisher, and Greg Hanscom took over as editor. Together with Art Director Cindy Wehling, they turned the black-and-white tabloid into a full-color magazine that celebrated the beauty and exposed the ugliness of the West. This included deep reporting on the region’s extractive industries. The 2000s brought an unprecedented oil and gas boom, spurred by $100/barrel oil prices and new hydro-fracking technology that enabled producers to tap new reservoirs of hydrocarbons. George W. Bush’s industry-friendly appointees opened the doors to new development on public lands.