Joe Neguse

As U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse walked the short distance from Estes Park Town Hall to Bond Park for his Congress on the Corner event Monday afternoon, his eyes lit up at the sight of dozens of elk grazing and resting on the park’s lush green grass.

Smiling, Neguse took the surprise in stride as he walked around the park greeting constituents, and stopping for photos and conversations before making his way to the southwest corner of the park where the event was scheduled.

The congressman was in Estes Park on Monday to highlight a $1 million federal Community Project Funding award he helped secure for the town’s new police department facility, which is being designed to serve as a shared, multi-jurisdictional operations center in the event of a disaster in the Estes Valley.

The new facility is intended to strengthen emergency communications, improve coordination among agencies and enhance public safety during large-scale incidents.

Wildfire preparedness was the topic during an interview with the Trail-Gazette in Bond Park, where Neguse said memories of the Cameron Peak Fire and other recent Colorado wildfires continue to shape his priorities in Congress.

“As someone who remembers well the Alexander Mountain Fire, and of course the Cameron Peak Fire, and was here on the ground in Estes Park six years ago … it’s something I take very seriously,” Neguse said.

Neguse, who co-chairs the bipartisan House Wildfire Caucus, said he has spent the past several months pressing the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior to increase the number of aerial firefighting resources available to respond to new fires more quickly.

“Our hearts go out to our neighbors to the south … who’ve been battling a series of fires just in the last several months,” he said. I think there’s more that needs to be done, in terms of not just aerial assets, but also some technical resources that can be deployed to some of our local fire departments and to the state.”

Neguse said both he and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (both Democrats) have been in direct contact with federal agencies to advocate for additional firefighting resources.

At the same time, he criticized what he described as reductions in long-term federal investments aimed at preventing catastrophic wildfires.

“I’ve been very disappointed and frustrated by the federal government’s inability to see the forest for the trees and understand the long-term investments that we ought to be making,” Neguse said.

He said programs supporting wildfire mitigation work in national forests have been reduced and expressed concern over staffing cuts affecting the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management and other public lands agencies.

“We have been fighting tooth and nail the ways in which the federal government has cut the workforces of our public lands agencies,” he said.

Neguse also said he remains committed to securing additional funding for the Estes Park Public Safety Campus beyond the initial $1 million appropriation.

“We’re proud that we were able to get the million dollars across the finish line for that project,” he said. “Now we’re working for the next tranche of funding.”

Later Monday afternoon, Neguse traveled to Dannels Fire Station, where he spoke before the swearing-in ceremony for new Estes Valley Fire Protection District Chief Kevin Nunn.

Addressing firefighters, law enforcement officers, emergency responders and community leaders, Neguse praised the dedication of the Estes Valley’s public safety agencies, recalling his visits during the Cameron Peak Fire.

“Every time that I’m here in Estes Valley, I’m reminded of the tenacity and the grit and determination of the public safety community here,” he said.