Colorado was built by pioneers. That pioneering spirit still defines the rural communities that grow our food, produce our energy, protect our water and carry the transportation and natural resource backbone of this state.

These communities have never asked for special treatment. They have always done the hard work without complaint and have carried Colorado through every major challenge for generations.

Today, they are being asked to carry far more than their share.

A wave of overlapping state mandates, rising costs and policy decisions made on the Front Range is hitting rural Colorado all at once. These challenges are reshaping the economic landscape of the Western Slope and other rural regions. If Colorado’s leaders do not act quickly, the consequences will reach every household in this state.

Colorado is imposing multiple emissions and building-code mandates at the same moment rural communities are grappling with energy-transition losses, workforce shortages and housing strain. These mandates require expensive equipment changes, electrical upgrades, new certifications and contractor retraining all at once.

For many small HVAC businesses, the math simply does not work. When a contractor serving several counties warns that he may shut down because his customers cannot afford the required upgrades, that is a public-safety concern.

Add to this Colorado’s soaring housing and energy costs. According to the Common Sense Institute, energy is the No. 1 driver of inflation in Colorado. Electricity prices are projected to grow more than three times the rate of inflation. Older residents on fixed incomes are being priced out of their homes. Families are falling behind. Rural communities did not create these conditions, yet they are being hit the hardest.

The energy transition adds another layer. One coal mine is already in reclamation. Another will follow in 2026. Craig Station Unit 1 is expected to close by year’s end. The remaining units retire before 2028.

These losses represent real families and entire towns that powered Colorado’s economy for decades. Severance-tax revenues intended to support these communities through transition continue to be diverted for statewide budget balancing, leaving rural regions without the support they were promised.

Meanwhile, regulatory pressure is halting private investment. During GEMM Phase 2, a local company that produces about one-third of the world’s baking soda using a clean and responsible method paused expansion because of emissions rules that their Wyoming competitors will not face.

When the cleanest operators cannot expand in Colorado, the global environment loses. Colorado workers do not win. No one wins.

Water is the lifeblood of rural Colorado, but the future of our communities is uncertain. On the Western Slope, shrinking snowpack, dropping reservoir levels, and ongoing questions about how much water we can count on from year to year are putting real pressure on agriculture and business. At the same time, more water is diverted east through longstanding agreements, leaving us with less to support farms, ranches and Main Street employers.

Colorado’s obligations under the Colorado River Compact and other agreements mean that if flows keep falling, rural communities and agriculture will feel the impact first through mandatory cutbacks and higher costs.

When water is scarce or expensive, the consequences go far beyond crop yields and irrigation. Jobs, food production, business expansion, housing and local investment all take a hit. Water challenges multiply the difficulty of meeting every other state mandate, from building codes to energy regulations to the rising cost of living.

Rural water security is not just an ag issue or a Western Slope issue; it is a statewide economic imperative. When Colorado’s rural water supply becomes less reliable or less affordable, the entire state pays the price.

These water issues are made worse by the growing threat of wildfire. The Western Slope is seeing longer, more severe fire seasons that destroy forests, threaten homes and ranches and destabilize entire watersheds. After a major fire, runoff and erosion contaminate drinking water, fill reservoirs with silt and wipe out irrigation systems.

Rural communities bear the long-term costs: higher insurance rates; lost grazing land; lost crops; and expensive infrastructure repairs. Wildfires compound the damage from drought, strain our water supply even further and add more uncertainty for agriculture and local businesses. When state policy adds regulatory burdens on top of these disasters, recovery gets harder, and costs go up for everyone.

Then there is the wolf issue. The state moved forward with wolf releases over clear objections from rural communities, and the consequences were exactly what those communities warned about.

Depredation events, emergency-response challenges and federal-coordination problems are piling up faster than the state can manage. Ranchers and rural counties are carrying the financial and emotional burden of a program they never supported. Trust in Colorado Parks and Wildlife, once strong, is gone. These are widening cracks in the relationship between rural Colorado and the entire state government.

These issues compound each other. Rising household costs, business closures, workforce loss, regulatory burdens, land-use pressures and wildlife conflicts all lead to the same point. Rural Colorado is being pushed to a breaking point.

If rural Colorado collapses, the entire state will feel it. Every Coloradan depends on the energy, food, materials, water and transportation systems that come from the Western Slope and other rural regions. Colorado cannot thrive if its foundational communities are allowed to weaken.

But here’s the thing: These communities are resilient. They do not give up. They still carry the same pioneering spirit that built this state from the ground up. What they need now is not a rescue. What they need is a partner.

Colorado needs a balanced policy. Colorado needs timelines and tools that work in small and rural communities. Colorado needs leaders who understand that rural voices are not obstacles to progress. They are essential partners in shaping Colorado’s future.

At the Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado, we champion the pioneers who keep this state strong. We stand ready to work with every level of leadership, including the next governor, to repair systems that are no longer functioning and to build a future that includes every community, not just those closest to the Front Range.

Colorado’s future depends on its pioneers. It is time for the state to stand with them.

Tiffany Dickenson is executive director of the Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado, which serves as the Council of Governments for Garfield, Mesa, Moffat and Rio Blanco counties.