Sweeping views of the La Plata Mountains and Mesa Verde National Park served as a dramatic backdrop Thursday as Gov. John Hickenlooper signed two bills related to wildfire prevention and response.
They were the first of seven bills the governor signed into law throughout a daylong tour of Southwest Colorado.
But before he took up a pen, Hickenlooper attended an event that was surely longer in the making than any legislation awaiting his signature.
Thursday marked the grand opening of the Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center, a $16.5 million project that was the product of decades of work. Hundreds of people attended, including officials representing federal, state and local government as well as several Native American tribes.
"(Mesa Verde) is one of the most remarkable places that I've ever been anywhere," Hickenlooper told the crowd. "Mesa Verde is one of the great treasures of Colorado, and I think this new visitors center is going to allow us to enhance that experience and make it more accessible to more people."
After a ribbon cutting, several state legislators accompanied Hickenlooper to a historic table and chair pulled from the Mesa Verde museum's collection. The chair belonged to Jesse Nusbaum, who was the park's superintendent in the 1920s and '30s, and was the first to see the need for a visitors center, said Cliff Spencer, Mesa Verde's current superintendent.
After making sure the chair was steady, Hickenlooper took a seat to sign Senate Bill 270 which calls for $500,000 to be appropriated to the state's Wildfire Preparedness & Emergency Response Fund, which expands uses of that money and gives the governor authority to transfer resources into the fund during an emergency. The second bill he signed, Senate Bill 83, establishes a prescribed-burn program under the state's Division of Fire Prevention and Control.
Sen. Ellen Roberts was a sponsor of both bills. Southwest Colorado and Mesa Verde have a long history dealing with wildfires, which is what motivated her to get involved with the issue of wildfire preparedness, Roberts said.
The bills support the state's commitment to address the problem of wildfires and mitigate their impact, she said.
Hickenlooper's next stop was a private ranch north of Dolores where he signed two bills related to conservation easements that offer tax breaks to landowners who dedicate land to conservation.
Senate Bill 221 aims to make it easier for landowners to know if the state will approve their conservation easements by offering a precertification option. House Bill 1183 limits conservation-easement tax credits allowed to $45 million a year statewide.
After a bridge dedication ceremony in Placerville, the governor was off to Ouray where he signed Senate Bill 138, a bill sponsored by Rep. Mike McLachlan that concerns the responsibilities of school resource officers.
The governor finished the day at Chinook Medical Center, an emergency medical supply company in Durango, where he signed two bills, one related to investing opportunities for colleges and the other establishing an export-development program for small businesses. McLachlan and Roberts are sponsors on both bills.
House Bill 1297 gives Fort Lewis College and the Colorado School of Mines authority to control their own investments. Currently, the schools' funds are held and invested by the state treasurer, who operates under more restrictions, McLachlan said.
HB 1193 establishes the Advanced Industries Export Acceleration program to provide companies with grants of up to $15,000 as well as other training and consulting resources to help them increase international exports.
"Obviously, if Colorado is going to compete in the global economy, we need to have these advanced industries fostering exports and doing business with other countries," McLachlan said.
ecowan@durangoherald.com