State Honor Award
At Colorado Preservation, Inc.’s 32nd Annual Dana Crawford & State Honor Awards event held on Thursday, June 9, 2022, B. Travis Wright, MPS of Preserve Rollins Pass was recognized and celebrated with a State Honor Award for excellence in historic preservation and preservation leadership for over a decade of work on Rollins Pass in Colorado.
The story of Travis’ efforts on Rollins Pass for his State Honor Award were shared by Holly Kathryn Norton, PhD, State Archaeologist and Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) as well as by Garrett W. Briggs, a Southern Ute tribal member and Colorado’s first Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO). The video shown at the awards ceremony is below:
Preserve Rollins Pass strives to fulfill a Native American adage: “In every deliberation, consider the impact of decisions on the next seven generations.” Through partnerships with state and federal representatives, Native American tribes, special interest groups across the nation, archaeologists, and university professors, Preserve Rollins Pass applies strategic pressures to protect the integrity of this national historic district. Credited for their professional facilitation, negotiation best practices, and ability to deliver a “master class on how to make a point,” Preserve Rollins Pass makes the case for preservation, delivered through breathtaking videography and photography presentations, modern marketing, and technology. These efforts—combined with active volunteer and public outreach and education—have culminated in the collapse of significant threats to the area, including a proposed federal land exchange involving Rollins Pass. Co-founder, B. Travis Wright, MPS is President of the Grand County Historical Association, Vice Chair of the Gilpin County Historic Preservation Commission, and has written multiple books about Rollins Pass and the Moffat Tunnel. After graduating summa cum laude from the University of Denver, Travis received a master’s degree with a concentration in alternative dispute resolution to better facilitate deliberative engagement methods designed to elevate community decision making processes.
CPI’s Dana Crawford Awards Dinner is Colorado’s premier statewide preservation awards event, honoring individuals and organizations that make significant contributions toward preserving Colorado’s built and archaeological history as well as saving working landscapes. The evening’s namesake is Dana Crawford, a preservation pioneer who proved that saving historic buildings makes economic sense. She embodies the dedication to preservation that CPI celebrates each year at this event. CPI is grateful to Dana for her leadership and her work saving important landmarks statewide.