The Colorado Farm Bureau on Tuesday honored state legislators who have supported issues favored by the agency at its annual mid-summer meeting in Pagosa Springs.
Sen. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, received a Friend of Farm Bureau award for her sterling record this past session of voting for Farm Bureau issues and her willingness to carry bills for the agriculture industry.
Roberts was the recipient last year of the Farm Bureau's prestigious lifetime achievement award, the Pinnacle Award.
Her chores in Denver aren't over yet, Roberts said later Tuesday. Next session will bring important issues before legislators, among them water, federal land management and gas and oil, Roberts said.
The drought brings pressure to bear on the Colorado River, which is shared with downstream states and the Front Range. If there were a call on the river - a demand for water entitled to a downstream entity - any restrictions on water use in Colorado should be shared by all consumers, not just the Western Slope, Roberts said.
Livestock producers who graze herds on federal land must be shielded against undue loss of permits, Roberts said. She cited the pressure last year by the U.S. Forest Service to force ski areas to turn over their water rights for continued use of federal land.
daler@durangoherald.com