KVNF's Brody Wilson interviewed Kirstin Copeland at Studio M in Montrose.
Copeland will be on the Montrose County Election ballot this November. Copeland appears on the ballot due to the recall effort of current Montrose County Commissioner Scott Mijares.
Below is a full transcript of their conversation:
Brody Wilson
Kristen Copeland, candidate for the Montrose County Board of County Commissioners, thank you so much for joining us in Studio M this morning to talk with kvnf.
Kirstin Copeland
Thank you for having me, Brody.
Brody Wilson
It's a pleasure. Can you please just tell us a little bit about your professional background? What experience do you have that makes you think you would make an effective county commissioner?
Kirstin Copeland
You know, I think most folks are aware that this wasn't something that was on my plan initially, but when approached, and especially being approached by some of the most strong community focused leaders in the Montrose county area, I really had an opportunity to take a look at my professional background in that context and realize there is a lot of direct overlap and some good things that I can pull from going back a little ways. Before I moved to the Montrose area, I worked as a dispatch records supervisor at the police department at Colorado State University. That was kind of one of my big first jobs out of school. And so I had an opportunity to be in charge of some pretty important critical response systems and take on scheduling, supervision and those kind of things.
And then my true calling in life was to be a park ranger. So I did get hired at Ridgeway State Park. I moved over here in January of 98 and in 2006 I was able to promote to the park manager position. And so for on almost 17 years I ran Ridgeway State Park.
And I think one thing that folks may not be aware of is that a large recreation site or park area is like a small town because we have utilities, we have roads, we have potable and wastewater we're responsible for. And so we work directly with providers like San Miguel Power and things like that. But ultimately it is our responsibility to make sure that those basic services are provided. And so I learned a lot of things about construction and about utilities and road repair and things like that.
I also of course was in charge of a budget and had to make sure that I stayed within that. And you know, one of the things that again people may not be aware of is even before the merger, but obviously since Colorado Parks and Wildlife is a non tax supported entity, when I first hired on there was a little bit of tax funding, but that was removed many, many years ago. And so we really were user fee and grant supported. And so we had to operate at a very high efficiency, low cost model.
And I'm really proud of what we were able to accomplish. The mission delivery that we did with the budget and we are one of the most successful. I still highly associate with it because I love that park, but it is one of the Most highly successful parks in the state, One of the top five and the only one on the Western Slope that is at that level.
Brody Wilson
Wow, that's great. And are you still involved with state park systems, or what are you today?
Kirstin Copeland
I am. So I am on the board now of the Friends of Ridgeway State park, and so I still get to be a contributor there, and there's a lot of good mission that the board does. Some of my other things that I've done since retirement, I did a couple of little kind of moves into things and then realized, nope, that isn't where I'm headed. I trained a search dog successfully, and that was a great experience, and I'm glad I did it.
Ultimately, we did not continue, and then I also worked at the airport. But my main focus has been that I've been on the Friends of Youth and Nature Board, and I specifically am running a portion called Try Together for Resilient Youth. So we bring all of the kind of groups that deal with the highest risk kids and families in the area. Haven House for the Homeless, the Hilltop casa, all of those groups, Boys and Girls Partners.
And we provide the resources to get those kids and families outside because we know that that contributes to mental health and physical health. And then I'm also on the sheriff's posse, the Montrose County Sheriff's Posse, and then on the Friends of Ridgeway board. So I've been able to keep some of my background in EMT and public safety, being a former officer and. And I'm not currently certified, but some of that experience now allows me to kind of continue with the posse and and do those kind of things so well.
Brody Wilson
Well, thanks for that. So did you come to the Uncampagre Valley for the parks job or what brought you to the Western Slope?
Kirstin Copeland
Yeah, I was given some choices about where I could go, and of course, Ridgeway was high on my list. I don't think there's a better park in the state. And it's at the base of the San Juan Mountains. It's surrounded by these fantastic, vibrant communities.
It has an agricultural background, as do I. And so I really felt a strong tie to coming to this area and then ended up meeting my husband and raising my family here, so.
Brody Wilson
So some deep roots. Yeah. You mentioned some background in ag. I'd like to ask you about that.
As a potential county commissioner, one of the main roles that county commissioners do is making land use decisions and approves approving proposed developments. And when you look back at our county commissioner agendas, there is a lot of approval of subdivisions. And often those are subdivisions of current agricultural land that's being turned into housing. And housing is expensive here.
We need housing, and many of us live here because we love this agricultural and outdoor centered way of life. How do you think about the balance between preserving this valley's agricultural heritage and our need for more affordable housing or just the general economic development of the county?
Kirstin Copeland
That's a really important question. And I think it's one that's on a lot of people's radar. And specifically, I think a lot of the reason that people want to be in this area is because of the environment. Not only the public lands, but the agricultural community that's here.
And so I do think that continuing to support and have a culture that is very ag focused is an important part of Montrose County. The Fair and 4H, the FFA chapters and things like that. I think that the realities for farmers are that there is not as many second and third generation folks going into it.
So it's not realistic for them to keep it in ag land. And the price that they can get for selling to a developer is the way that they can support themselves in retirement. So I think we need to be realistic about the pressures that farmers are in sometimes. And I think there's other ways that we can support that community in terms of making sure that there's as much economic support for what they're doing, that there's a lot of local purchasing and things like that, but also that maybe we can zone the county in a way that moves development into places where ag land is not as valuable.
And as you know, the soil type is not as conducive to that, but still could be very well developed for more municipal and subdivision purposes. So I think looking at those kind of supports and zoning opportunities to try and preserve the community that many of us came here for and want to stay here.
Brody Wilson
Let's jump from there and thinking about especially agricultural, but land use in that way to what we would like this county to look like for the kids of today. What, what would you. What is your vision for what Montrose county might look like when somebody who is in elementary school now is running to be a county commissioner in 30 years?
Kirstin Copeland
That's a great way to look at it. I have read through the strategic plan that was done last year and I feel like there is a lot of good things in there that they are trying to be forward facing and forward looking in terms of zoning, where the urban rural interfaces are, where some of the more difficult development choices are going to be around Solar and gravel and things like that. So I do think that the strategic plan is a starting point, but I think also what we need to do is we need to be making sure that we're listening and talking to the residents, both the. As private citizens and also economies, the different industrial and other economic drivers in the area, to make sure that for the county commissioners 20 years from now, that we've really made sure to incorporate what is important to the residents as well.
And I think that we need to be very intentional in the leadership of how we do that, in terms of not being passive, but being very specific in zoning in future ordinance and regulation and things like that, and also relationships with adjacent counties and things like that will also make sure that we are maintaining that kind of valley culture that I think is a part of what makes Montrose as, you know, successful and why people love being here. We're not just an isolated entity.
Brody Wilson
I'm just curious if I can push you on this just a little bit more to paint the picture of what you think that looks like this 30 years from now. Is Montrose a significantly bigger place? Is the economy booming? Is it centered around tourism?
Do you feel like agriculture is a bigger part of our economy? I'm just kind of curious, like, vision. What do you. What do you want this valley to actually look like?
Kirstin Copeland
No, that's a good. A good point. I think that it is clear that there are going to be people moving into the area. And even for the people that live here, there is a real housing shortage.
So I think the reality is that there is going to be more private home necessity and development. And the way that that is done, again through the county zoning laws and things like that is very important where that gets put so that we can keep some of our ag land and our public lands still in that very open and unique setting that we have here. I think that we are going to have population increases, but we don't have to lose the culture of the community with that. And so I also believe that we need to make sure that we are staying ahead of and current on all kinds of technology and economies that are coming down the pike.
It could be some of the people moving into this county are working off of the Internet, remotely, working in social media professions, all those things that we need to make sure that we're providing infrastructure that will support that so that we do not put the county behind the curve of any of those kind of important drivers. At the same time of saying we're still supporting 4H FFA and all of the agricultural Culture that I think people really value here.
Brody Wilson
I'll admit, when I move home here, I would not have been able to do my job were it not for high speed fiber, Internet.
Kirstin Copeland
Right, right.
Brody Wilson
That was essential for my job at the time. You've mentioned public lands a couple of times so far already. And I'm curious about what role you feel the county should play in public land decisions. For those lands that are within our county and even surrounding, even outside of Montrose County.
There have been some contentious debates recently. Where do you stand? Tell me what you think the county's role is.
Kirstin Copeland
My background is in public land management. That's what one of my degrees is in. And I have spent a career surrounded by it. And I the kind of community and culture that I grew up in regarding public lands is multiple use.
That you are going to have people who are earning some of their actual income on public lands, be it special use permits, be it mining and gas or grazing, any of those things, Hunting, all of those things. There's people who actually make their living tied to public lands. And I think that's an important part of it. Along with that, you need those public lands to stay in as good condition, both resource and aesthetically as possible, so that all of those things can continue.
So I think that those balances are something that public land managers are already very aware of. But as a local community, we need to be ready to, in addition to having good communication relationship with those public land managers, so that we're always in the room when things are being brought up and discussed. I think that we also need to be ready to advocate very clearly. We have one of the only lumber mills in the Western U.S. and I think that's a unique economic resource that we want to make sure is represented when public land discussions are happening.
So multiple uses. In my background, I believe in it strongly and I believe it can be done wisely. And you need to make sure that you are communicating, have those relationships, but also that you're advocating and taking strong stands.
Brody Wilson
The county recently passed a resolution opposing the GORP Act. Can I get you on the record about where you stand on that resolution?
Kirstin Copeland
I do have concerns about the GORP act in terms of some of the access for things like timber and other economics. I think that my tendency would always be to try and have relationships and communication with not only the public land managers, but also with adjacent counties and make sure that we are having some collective discussions and representation. Because I think many of the counties surrounding GORP areas have similar pressures and interests. And so if we can be of community in that representation.
I think that that could be a very strong stance and we could represent the interests that we want to make sure are being heard in that planning process.
Brody Wilson
Kirsten Copeland, candidate for the Montrose Board of County Commissioners thank you so much for joining us. Is there anything else that you'd like to close with, any points that you haven't got to mention that you'd like our listeners to know about?
Kirstin Copeland
I think that just if people aren't familiar with me personally just a little bit, I have an agriculture background. My parents are both from farms in Kansas and then moved to the US or to Colorado, where I was born. And then my husband and I have been around public safety our whole lives and have four adult kids and we have one in college, one in the Marines and two in the workforce. So I think we're very tied into the community.
And so we just while I wasn't seeking this, it is very important to me that community service is a part of what I am able to provide here.
Brody Wilson
Wonderful. Thanks for joining us.
Kirstin Copeland
Thank you.
