U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet touted bipartisan success stories, in particular the recently passed Farm Bill, during a visit to Cortez.
At a community meeting Wednesday at the Dolores Water Conservancy office, he said ignoring the divisive rhetoric of the extremists on both ends of the political spectrum is key to finding solutions.
“I urge people to not get distracted by the left-right screaming match on TV,” he said. “That never solves problems.”
Bennet said he helped ensure Colorado priorities were in the final version of the Farm Bill, including a strengthened crop-insurance program, improved conservation easements, reauthorization of the livestock disaster program, important forestry measures for reducing the risk of wildfires and the continuation of Payments in Lieu of Taxes for Colorado counties.
Payments in Lieu of Taxes, or PILT, provides federal funds to counties with a substantial percentage of federal lands that decrease the property-tax base because they are exempt from property taxes.
The Farm Bill package is for five years and comes with $956 billion in funding. It cuts $23 billion in the budget “after Democrats and Republicans came together to force a consensus,” Bennet said.
While the Farm Bill is for five years – considered “a miracle” – the PILT funding is authorized for only one year, which is a problem, Bennet said. For 2014, Montezuma County’s share was $164,243, Dolores County collected $140,749 and La Plata County gained $607,959.
“These funds are essential because local counties provide services on federal lands, from fire, search and rescue, firefighting on forest lands by local departments and maintaining roads for forest access,” he said. “We will have to continue to fight for that funding next year, as well.”
Other highlights touched on by Bennet:
The bill reduces red tape and program duplication, as well, dropping from 23 programs to 13.
The Conservation Easement Program was changed so owners can count the value of the land, “allowing more farms to be passed on to the next generation,” Bennet said.
The bill reauthorizes stewardship programs between local forest managers and county governments to thin forests at urban interfaces and for wildfire mitigation.
Chuck McAfee of Lewis urged more flexibility with the Conservation Reserve Program to allow limited grazing, an issue Bennet has heard elsewhere in the state.
“I request that the CRP program adopt different options, like introducing grazing to make the land more healthy,” McAfee said.
