I am a Colorado native, and spent almost the entire first half century of my life in the Centennial State, before moving to Wyoming. My favorite part of Colorado has always been that part of the south-central and southwestern part of the state that snuggles up to New Mexico--narrow gauge country. I fell in love with that area the first time that I saw it and I still love it. I don't differentiate what part of that gorgeous area is in New Mexico or Colorado when I gaze over the scenery.
Unfortunately, "political boundaries" do matter, and the Colorado/New Mexico boundary is no exception. One of the things that makes the C&TS so attractive is that it is located in one of the more remote, least populated areas of Colorado. Unfortunately, that also means that it is at a severe disadvantage in the Colorado political system when it comes to funding. Out of the 100 Colorado legislators, about 13 hail from rural Colorado. Time was when that numerical disadvantage was somewhat overcome by many of the legislative leadership positions being held by rural legislators. Those days are gone. Add to that Colorado's budget inflexibility imposed partly by TABOR, and it's not hard to see why securing Colorado funding for the C&TS is such a challenge. The Front Range effectively controls the budget--and will continue to do.
In New Mexico, it seems that political power is not totally dominated by the Albuquerque/Santa Fe urban conglomerate yet, and northern New Mexico still seems to hold some significant political power. The fact that the C&TS is in closer geogaphical proximity to Albuquerque and Santa Fe than it is to Colorado's Front Range doesn't hurt, either. So, C&TS funding from New Mexico seems to be consisently a little more "politically possible" than Colorado, at least for now.
I have to chuckle a little bit about the "Colorado Native/New Mexico" native rivalry that surfaced in the earlier postings. I see the same thing here in Wyoming, where Coloradans are referred to as "Greenies" (because of the license plate). Truth is, there are lot of Wyoming natives in Colorado and lot of Colorado natives in Wyoming--and families often straddle the border and have roots in both states (I do). And if I lived 10 miles south of where I do right now--I'd still be a Coloradan. I still think I'm the same person I was when I lived in Colorado . . . (though I confess that, having lived for 27 years in rural Colorado, I think that I have a lot more in common with Wyoming folks than many Front Range Colorado residents).
