Chaffee County Commissioner Keith Baker joined nearly 400 county leaders and partners for the National Association of Counties (NACo) Western Interstate Region (WIR) Conference May 17-19 in Washington County, Utah. Attendees toured county projects, interacted with federal, state, and regional policymakers, participated in educational sessions, and took home tools to address challenges faced by Western counties.
“Interacting with other Western commissioners and senior staff and administration officials is always beneficial,” said Baker. “Learning innovative methods that we can employ in Chaffee County to enhance the lives of our residents makes these trips worthwhile.”
Chaffee County Commissioner Keith Baker was MC for the groundbreaking for the new Chaffee Public Safety North Campus in Buena Vista in April 2023. Photo by Jan Wondra
In addition to NACo and WIR business meetings, attendees participated in sessions on topics including wildfire and other disaster resilience, energy development, technology and agriculture, federal public lands management, and building a strong county workforce.
Commissioner Baker joined in site visits to Zion National Park, Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, and the Red Hills Desert Garden, a Xeriscaping and waterwise landscaping demonstration garden. “Mayor Chris Hart of Ivins, a suburb of St. George, sat with me on the bus to Red Cliffs and the Desert Garden, so I picked his brain on their water conservation and landscaping policies,” said Baker.
“A session called ‘weathering the weather whiplash,’ about the consequences of climate change, another on emerging practices for forest thinning and other wildfire mitigation, and one on the upcoming Farm Bill renewal were among the better indoor meetings,” added Baker. “They and others offered ideas we can put to immediate use in Chaffee County.”
Featured speakers joining this year’s WIR conference included U.S. Department of the Interior Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management, and Budget Joan Mooney; U.S. Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent, Yuma Sector Patricia McGurk-Daniel; and U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Xochitl Torres Small.
“The WIR Conference is a forum for Western counties to connect on the issues most relevant to our communities,” said WIR President Dan Joyce. “Our goal is to connect county leaders with one another – and with resources from the local, state, and federal levels – so that every attendee walks away with fresh opportunities and ideas to strengthen our counties.”
“Fifteen Western states comprise the Western Interstate Region. Its focus is to promote Western interests within NACo, including public lands issues, community stability and economic development, and promoting the many facets of the Western way of life. Chaffee County has earned our seat at the table in Denver, in WIR, and in Washington, DC. We’re working to keep it,” added Baker.
The Western Interstate Region is affiliated with the National Association of Counties (NACo). Its membership consists of counties in 15 Western states: Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, North Dakota, and South Dakota. For more details about the 2023 WIR Conference, click here.
According to its website, NACo covers nearly 40,000 county elected officials and 3.6 million county employees. Founded in 1935, NACo unites county officials to advocate for county government priorities in federal policymaking; promote exemplary county policies and practices; nurture leadership skills and expand knowledge networks; optimize county and taxpayer resources and cost savings; and enrich the public’s understanding of county government.
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