Mountain Scholar

Mountain Scholar is an open access repository service that collects, preserves, and provides access to digitized library collections and other scholarly and creative works from Colorado State University and the University Press of Colorado. It also serves as a dark archive for the Open Textbook Library.

Communities in Mountain Scholar

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Colorado State University, Fort Collins 28307
Explore the Colorado State University community’s scholarly output as well as items from the University at large and the CSU Libraries.
Open Textbook Library Archive 25
A limited number of titles are available here. To see all OTL titles, please visit the Open Textbook Library at https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks. Only Open Textbook Library staff have access to all OTL Archive titles held in Mountain Scholar.
University Press of Colorado 1088
Access is limited to University Press of Colorado members. Non-members: to purchase books, please visit https://upcolorado.com/.

Recent Submissions

Access status: Open Access ,
Angler workshop report: improving equity and participation in recreational fishing in Colorado
(2026-05) Lavoie, Anna, author; Teumer, Meghan, author; Colorado State University, publisher
On February 9, 2026 we held a workshop that brought together 13 participants from state agencies, nonprofits, community organizations, and recreation stakeholders to discuss barriers and opportunities related to increasing participation in recreational fishing among women and other underrepresented communities in Colorado. Workshop attendees worked in groups to identify barriers and solutions to inclusivity and access. Across groups, participants emphasized that barriers to participation are deeply interconnected, spanning structural, cultural, economic, informational, and institutional dimensions. Participants also identified collaborative and community-centered solutions that could improve long-term access and belonging.
Access status: Open Access ,
Interdisciplinary analysis on the Iliad: character traits and their correlations with modern Western perceptions of strength and weakness
(2026-05) Simons, Katelynn, author; Fulford, Devon, advisor; Hutchins, Zach, committee member
The myths and culture of Ancient Greece have shaped, and continually shape, many aspects of the modern Western world. Therefore, it may also affect Western ideals of strength and weakness. Across the board, modernly and historically, Western societies tend to celebrate strength over weakness—strengths are meant to be celebrated and enriched, and weaknesses are meant to be minimized and overcome. If behaviors are misaligned with these sociocultural perceptions, the resulting discomfort—within the individual and others—may incite disturbances and conflicts. Furthermore, individuals tend to use these expectations and representations to shape their sense of self, including those present in entertainment media. The Iliad is an example of entertainment which was consumed in Ancient Greece and in the modern day, making it a relevant focal point of analysis. Using character traits and related plot progression, four sub-traits of strength and four sub-traits of weakness were extracted. When characters displayed sub-traits of strength, their actions were predominantly rewarded. Similarly, when characters displayed sub-traits of weakness, their actions were predominantly punished. These sub-traits, and textual context thereof, were individually compared against relevant, modern research findings on Western societal perceptions of strengths and weaknesses. All eight sub-traits experienced correlations with the reviewed research. Overall, textual evidence aligned with the sociocultural beliefs, behaviors, attitudes, and expectations found in the reviewed research on Western society—strengths were favored, weaknesses were unfavored, and correction is insighted when social expectations are broken. This analysis can be used to identify how historical cultures may correlate with modern ideals, and thus, how individuals may associate with representations in stories via those ideals. Findings are limited to correlational analysis of external research, as no experiments were conducted. Findings are, also, constrained to character traits, sub-traits, and related plot progressions in the Iliad. No other Greek poems, mythos, or literature were used in analysis.
Access status: Open Access ,
Explore the air around you: check-out kit for 3rd through 8th grade students
(2024-01-01) Holmes, Maia, author
"This activity will help you explore some of the different particles that exist in the air but are too small to be seen with just your eye. Much of what we find in the air are small bits of larger things that are floating on air currents, like bits of dried plant material, dust, sand, and animal hair. However, some particles that can be found in the air are there because they use air to travel from one location to another, like plant pollen, spores of fungi, and certain viruses and bacteria. Most living things in the air are microbes."
Access status: Open Access ,
Equine postprandial glycemic and insulinemic responses to beet pulp prepared with increasing water concentrations
(2026-05) Aldworth-Yang, Sonya, author; Catalano, Devan N., advisor; Hess, Tanja, committee member; Fedorka, Carleigh, committee member
Access status: Open Access ,
Assessing public park tree canopy diversity in Fort Collins, CO
(2025-12) Gutru, Jake, author; Mola, John, advisor; Hart, Sarah, committee member
The urban canopy of Fort Collins provides tens of thousands of dollars to the city in the form of decreased heating/cooling costs, reduced stormwater runoff, and increased property value for residents. To preserve these benefits, these trees should be managed with diversity and potential disturbances in mind. Specifically, public parks should be closely examined as they are areas of high recreational traffic, which could mean diseases are more likely to be introduced here. This paper describes how publicly available data was used to examine the tree species diversity and adherence to the 10/20/30 rule for 53 public parks across Fort Collins. Despite Fort Collins' assessment of the state of their urban canopy in their Urban Forest Strategic Plan, only 2 of the 53 parks adhere to the 10/20/30 rule. Parks which are particularly diverse or non-diverse for their size are highlighted, and potential actions that the town can take to manage these parks are suggested based on these findings.