2025 Fall Conference and Slide Decks

Thank you to all our participants and sponsors that made our 2025 Fall Conference a success! We brought together experts from different industries to discuss the make up of an ever changing Western Colorado at the Crossroads. Full Agenda can be viewed HERE

Recordings of the 2025 Fall Conference can be heard HERE

• Charting the Path Ahead: Congressman Hurd on the Future of the Western Slope

Congressman Jeff Hurd opens the conference with insights on the challenges and opportunities shaping Western Colorado’s future at this pivotal moment.

• Budgeting at the Crossroads: Getting Colorado’s Finances Back on Track-JBC members explore how state budget decisions intersect with rural infrastructure, healthcare, education, and economic resilience on the Western Slope.

• Western Colorado: Where Pathways Converge- Common Sense Institute- Exploring how the economic, environmental, and policy crossroads across Western Colorado are interconnected—showing how decisions in water, energy, housing, and land use ripple across every community in the region.

  DJ Summers, Dir. of Communications and Research, Common Sense Institute- Click HERE for slide deck

• Building at the Crossroads: What It Takes to Deliver Housing in Western Colorado- Local developers and builders share the real-world barriers—and the solutions—they need to meet the demand for attainable housing across the Western Slope.

  Panelists: Clark Craig, Mayor of Ignacio- Click HERE for Slide Deck, Click HERE for Video ; Jerilynn Francis, CHFA- ; Emilee Powell, Housing Resources- Click HERE for slide deck

• Water Rights at a Confluence: Defending Colorado’s Water and Securing Our Future- Attorney General Phil Weiser examines Colorado’s water law strategies—from defending interstate compact rights to safeguarding Western Slope communities—while highlighting the pivotal choices that will define the state’s water future. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser.

• Keynote Address | Balancing Multiple Use: BLM’s Vision for Western Colorado’s Path Forward – Addressing how the Bureau of Land Management is navigating the complex intersections of energy development, grazing, wild horse management, adaptive management, and recreation on Western Colorado’s public lands—sharing the agency’s vision for collaboration, access, and stewardship in a time of change.

  Brenda Younkin, BLM’s Senior Advisor.

• Plowing Ahead: Economic Realities and Opportunities for Agriculture-

  Examining the agricultural economies of communities across Western Colorado—highlighting the unique challenges they face, the economic contributions they make, and the opportunities that lie ahead as the region navigates critical crossroads in water, markets, and land use.

  Ruben Pacheco, Colorado Department of Ag and Cristina Dominquez, Department of Labor and Employment- Click HERE for Slide Deck

• TABOR at a Turning Point: History and What’s Next for Colorado’s Fiscal Future?- Exploring the history of Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, how it has shaped state and local budgets, and what potential changes could mean for the fiscal future of Western Colorado and the state as a whole.

  Dalton Kelley, Attorney Butler Snow LLP - Click HERE for Slide Deck