Preservation

In this corner of the world we have something very special. Something tangible we can see and touch, and that is our environment. Unlike other places where the freeways mask nature, here in the Gunnison area we can see it, smell it and touch it daily. There is no smog to mask our vision and the water runs clear. We can jump on our bicycles after work or put on our hiking shoes and travel a few miles out of our towns to recreate in some of the finest country any where in the world. I have a passion for preserving that.

We have metropolitan areas wanting our water and outside interests coming here for the oil and gas and we have to be vigilant. I am not wholly opposed to the extraction industry, but I do think that we need to help them understand that water is so important here to our lives and our economy. If we don’t who will?

Gunnison County has a lot of water on a typical year and if it leaves here clean others will benefit by using it for drinking water, fishing and irrigating our neighbors food. We must preserve what we have here, but it does not have to be at the expense of business owners and our economy; we can protect the environment and make a living here if just work together and keep preservation in the forefront of our minds.