Tourism season essential to Colorado's economy

Tourism season essential to Colorado's economy

Oct. 30, 2001

Capitol Report
By State Senator Jim Isgar

This month has been filled with some potential dark clouds forming in our district — concerns about touri-sm, air and ground transportation is-sues and federal water use intentions in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

I attended a conference in Denver on Oct. 25, called by the governor to discuss potential looming problems with our state’s tourist industry. There were mixed feelings. Some felt that Colorado would be regarded as a very safe place to be during the holidays. Others felt that even though the perception is that Colorado is exceptionally safe, overall spending by businesses and individuals will be down and we should be more pro-active. I tend to fall into the latter group. Tourism is our mother-load of jobs, incomes and business activity. I will continue to stress these facts in meetings and will be open to suggestions from those in the private sector for what we can do to make sure that our tourist sector does not falter.

Transportation is, of course, is a vital link in Colorado tourism. DIA has a very poor image nationally. DIA has been slow to catch up on providing a smooth, quick flow of passengers through its new security apparatus. We need the security but we don’t need the negative press DIA is getting. For myself, I can say that the last few trips I have taken thorough DIA have been smoother with fewer lines at security checkpoints. We need to get the good DIA news out as quickly as possible.

Constituents in Montrose and Delta have been concerned with potential water problems that might flow from policies of the National Park Service related to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. As one with experience in water issues I also share the concerns of Delta and Montrose County citizens. I am on the Water Legislation Review Committee and we met yesterday (October 25th). We drafted a letter to Interior Secretary Norton requesting that the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Colorado Department of Natural Resources get together and solve this issue. We expect nothing less than all of Colorado’s compact water to be protected. We certainly expect the towns along the Gunnison to be protected as well. In fairness to Secretary Norton, this issue was left over by the previous administration in Washington.

And now for the good news! Ray Finney, Director of Colorado Housing Inc. in Pagosa Springs announced Tuesday, October 23rd, that his organization had received a grant of $650,000 from the USDA to help fund the creation of affordable housing in San Juan, Archuleta, La Plata and Montezuma counties. This is a great success. As I mentioned in earlier columns, affordable housing is not only humane and provides pride to Colorado resident owners, it also helps stimulate economic development. Three cheers for Ray Finney and his crew!!

The next few months will see our economy move into winter and the season of the skier. Let’s hope it’s a good one. Some good snow before the holidays could do more for tourism and agriculture than anything the legislature could do!

Jim Isgar, D-Hesperus, represents the 6th District, which includes Cortez, in the state senate. Reach him at the Capitol by phone, (303) 866-4884; by fax (303) 866-2012; or by e-mail at jimisgar@qwest.net .