Environmental Stewardship

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The land is not a backdrop here. It is the working foundation of this county, the ranches and grazing allotments on the west end, the watersheds that feed every town, the forests and trails and open country that draw people from around the world. Caring for it is not separate from caring for the people who depend on it. It is the same job.

 

Two things keep me up more than any others: water and fire. Water is the resource everything else rests on, agriculture, drinking supply, the rivers, the wildlife. In a drought-prone county, protecting water quality and the health of our watersheds is not optional. And in a fire-prone, high-altitude landscape, wildfire readiness is a matter of public safety and economic survival, not just ecology. These are concerns that unite the whole county, east end and west.

 

San Miguel County has already committed to leading on climate resilience: protecting our natural resources, cutting our carbon footprint, and strengthening our ability to withstand drought, fire, and a changing climate. I support staying that course. The question for a commissioner is not whether to act, but how to do it in a way that works for the whole county and brings ranchers, water users, and west-end voices to the table rather than around them.

 

The west end has said this in its own words. The 2026 West End Vision Plan puts “Living With the Land” at its center, the idea that working lands, water, and public access are not in tension with stewardship but are stewardship, done by the people who know the land best. I share that view. The county’s job is to be a partner to ranchers, water users, and land managers, not to dictate to them, and to make sure decisions about our public lands include the local voices closest to them.

 

Protect water and the lands it sustains

    •    Protect water quality and strengthen the resilience of our watersheds.

    •    Safeguard working lands and the agriculture that depends on them.

    •    Partner with conservation organizations and landowners on voluntary agricultural easements that keep working lands working.

 

Lead on climate resilience, as the county has committed to do

    •    Continue the county’s adopted climate work: implementing local and regional climate action plans, reducing emissions, and improving energy efficiency.

    •    Sustain county funding for wildfire mitigation, including fuels reduction, defensible space, and community chipper programs.

    •    Strengthen drought resilience and readiness for wildfire and other hazards across the county.

    •    Support countywide waste reduction and a county Natural Resources Plan.

 

Keep local voices at the table

    •    Make sure decisions about our public lands include the people who live, work, and recreate on them, as the West End Vision Plan calls for.

    •    Protect the dark skies that are part of this county’s character and a growing economic asset, building on the dark sky designations already held in Norwood and across the west end.