The transition of presidential power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday will happen thousands of miles away from Colorado, in front of pandemic-thinned crowds and extraordinary security, which puts all sorts of distance between the event and everyday life.

While no Coloradans made it into Biden’s top Cabinet spots, there are plenty of things that are expected to shift in the state and affect lives under the Democrat — some sooner than later, especially when it comes to COVID-19 and climate policies.

Here’s a quick glance at the top sectors — immigration, education, health care, environment and energy — that Coloradans anticipate will undergo significant changes, one way or another, under the Biden administration.

The future of energy development on public lands in Colorado and across the West hangs in the balance as Biden takes office.

During the campaign, the Democrat made clear that he supports banning new permits on federally managed land and waters for oil, gas and coal out of concerns about climate change and threats to air and water quality. Vice President Kamala Harris and Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico, Biden’s nominee to head the Interior Department, which manages public lands, also support halting new permits.

It’s a marked change from the Trump administration, which prioritized U.S. “energy dominance” and rolled back or streamlined rules and policies seen as a burden on energy development. That included the Obama-era clampdown on methane emissions from oil and gas sites and management plans for the greater sage grouse, whose habitat overlaps much of the region’s oil and gas fields.

Read the full story here.