Dating back at least to the former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer years, there was a table in the executive office of the state’s governor that would seat some 20 plus people. Meetings with governors past occurred at that table, where there were seats for representatives of the many stakeholders within the state. A meeting about rural Colorado issues, for example, may bring to the table rural legislators, the commissioner of agriculture, county representatives, the voices of ag producer organizations, hunting and outfitting leaders, various state agencies with boots on the ground in rural areas, and representatives of other economic drivers in those places. There were seats at the table. More than that, that table represented strong leadership, willing to surround themselves with experts and then, like Lee Iacocca preached, get out of their way.
Today, I’m told that table has been replaced with one that only seats the governor and a handful of others. It’s an accurate metaphor for the current administration.
More worthy of time and treasure than any other work is that which is done to grow – and mend – the partnerships among rural stakeholders who seem to lack a seat at the table. That has long been challenging, in part, because Colorado agriculture and rural communities are so diverse in terms of commodities produced, labor requirements, local economics, resources, water availability, and geography that varies so greatly around the state. In Colorado, 30 million acres are devoted to agriculture production and drive $ 47 billion in economic activity annually. If the state’s governor is unable or unwilling to recognize and respect that contribution, then stakeholders must stand together to demonstrate to the average Colorado voter what is at stake. This is a house that can’t stand divided, especially if the division is contrived and manufactured from afar.
More valuable than the acres, commodities, species, market value, or tax revenue represented at that old table, were the partnerships personified by those in the chairs. In Colorado, rural stakeholders are dangerously close to allowing a governor to leverage chaos and conflict to destroy partnerships that have been cultivated for generations.
Long after those behind the divisiveness are gone, the ranches and rural places will remain. The things ranchers are doing in the best interest of the land and livelihoods will still be done and will still be beneficial to neighbors, consumers, and the small businesses in town. Land stewarded through strong partnerships will continue to create better habitat for wildlife, and in turn create better hunting and angling opportunities. Better stewarded land is conservation in action, and land managed with an eye for conserving both land and legacy, is a more productive and stronger economic backbone for the local and state communities. Leaders, good and bad, come and go but those who partner for the common good leave a legacy worth remembering.
With the keys to the kingdom in their calloused hands, those stewarding the land and resources need to stand shoulder to shoulder and claim their role in the preservation of fire before it becomes merely the worship of ashes. Gone are the days when politics could be ignored by people who would rather keep their heads down and stay out of the fray. The lifestyle isn’t owed; it is a business, and we must become engaged in the business of keeping the gates open.
Saving the working West from those who view it as their own personal playground with said stakeholders and landowners their only hurdle, requires supporting those who are doing the work. Allowing those in power to create conflict is how land and legacy are thrown to the wolves.
Strengthening partnerships between rural stakeholders and articulating that cohesion in thoughtful, coherent, and intentional ways is the only way to overcome micromanagement, inappropriate meddling, and intimidation at high levels. Partnerships are the only way forward through steady, patient, small hits from well-funded adversaries who have a disdain for the people on the land. Depending upon the quiet strength of those partnerships is the only way to pave the way for someone to step forward who can shed light on how science has been reshaped to serve political goals or someone who can expose the unelected figure influencing key decisions behind closed doors and help changes occur. Partnerships between stakeholders who steward land, legacy, resources, and livelihoods is how the West will be won, not undone.
