The Colorado Association of Conservation Districts has given state Sen. Ellen Roberts its 2013 Legislator of the Year Award in recognition of her leadership in conserving natural resources.
Announcement of the honor came at the association’s recent 69th annual meeting in Colorado Springs.
Roberts, R-Durango, didn’t receive the award for a specific act or particular legislation but for her overall support of natural resources, said Brett Moore, a contract lobbyist for the conservation districts.
“There was no particular piece of legislation that she supported,” Moore said. “The award was for the accumulation of her work in the Senate.”
The association followed 54 of the 325 pieces of legislation the Senate took up this year as well as 288 bills in the House.
The 54 bills covered areas of interest to the association such as water, land, erosion, minerals and agriculture.
Roberts serves on the Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy Committee and on two joint Senate/House committees – the Water Resources Review Committee and the Wildfire Matters Committee.
“I appreciate the recognition,” Roberts said Friday. “I think it was for my on-the-ground stewardship of natural resources.”
The ruling this week by U.S. District Court Judge William Martinez in Denver that overturned a U.S. Forest Service law requiring ski areas on public lands to turn over water rights to the federal agency is an example off issues that the association follows.
“We have to make sure the federal government doesn’t overstep,” Roberts said.
Roberts said the state Senate could see similar protective legislation in the upcoming session that convenes Jan. 8.
The association represents 76 conservation districts in 10 watersheds.
The La Plata Conservation District sells 3,000 to 4,000 seedling trees annually as a fundraiser. The district provides all fourth-graders with a tree and instructions for planting and caring for it.
Roberts served in House District 59 from 2006 to 2010. The session next year marks her fourth in the Senate.
State Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, was the House recipient of the association award.
daler@durangoherald.com
