Senior leaders from state, federal and Tribal agencies gathered in for the 2024 Western Regional Partnership’s (WRP) Principals’ Meeting in Beaver Creek, Colorado. This was the first WRP Principals’ Meeting in Colorado and was considered a great success.
WRP Co-Chairs Dr. Annalise Blum, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, DOI; Mr. Ron Tickle, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Environmental Management and Restoration); and Mr. Mike Mower, Senior Advisor, Utah Governor Spencer Cox, welcomed the 163 senior policy-level leaders and supporting staff in attendance. Colors were presented by Coolidge (AZ) High School’s Marine Corps JROTC. Colorado welcoming remarks were provided by the Honorable Dianne Primavera, Lieutenant Governor of Colorado.
“The 2024 WRP Principals’ Meeting was a fantastic opportunity to connect with other senior leaders, including those representing states, tribes, and other federal agencies,” said Dr. Annalise Blum, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, DOI and WRP Co-Chair. “Partnerships developed at these meetings will be essential to enhance our collaboration and build our resilience as we face complex natural resources challenges across the West.”
Throughout the meeting, Principals were updated on accomplishments detailed in the 2024 report on Enhancing Resilience to Avoid Cascading Disaster. The bulk of the meeting was focused on the WRP’s Deep-Dives through the following plenary sessions:
- Wildland Fire (Response/Prevention)
- Water Security/Resilience
- Aviation/Airspace Needs
The Aviation/Airspace Needs Plenary Session was moderated by Colonel (USAF) Geoffrey J. Roche, Senior Military Representative to the FAA, HAF/A3OJ, and included Mr. Arjuna “Tuna” Fields, AAM & UAS Integration, Commercial Space, & Contingencies, FAA, and Colonel (Ret.) Stephen “Lux” Luxion, Executive Director, ASSURE (Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence). Colonel Roche detailed the WRP Aviation/Airspace Needs Deep-Dive Teamefforts, which included three focus areas in the WRP Region to explore:
- Congested Electromagnetic Spectrum (EMS) as it Relates to Airspace
- Dynamically Managed Airspace – including the need for enhanced collaboration among all NAS users; better understanding of space operations (Space Ports, Rocket Launches, Commercial Space Vehicles) and locations in the west and potential impacts; and greater DOD Airspace Needs (Larger Volumes of Airspace, Greater Access, Long Range Airspace Corridors, etc.)
- Potential New Technologies/Entrants
The plenary session explored the latest policy and emerging issues impacting NAS users in the west.
Col (Ret) Stephen Luxion “Lux,” Executive Director, ASSURE FAA Center of Excellence for UAS, noted, ”it was a pleasure to participate with leaders across Federal, State, and Tribal agencies working difficult aerospace issues.” ASSURE presented the over 40 FAA and NASA projects its 29 research universities, and business/government partners are working to safely integrate uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) into the nation’s airspace for the commerce, public safety and benefit. The FAA Center of Excellence for UAS has also stood up ASSUREd Safe to educate, train, test, certify, and credential first responders’ use of UAS to reduce lose of life and damage to property.
Mr. Mike Mower, Senior Advisor for Utah Governor Spencer Cox, and WRP Co-Chair noted that the 2024 Western Regional Partnership Meeting brought together many of the best and brightest from the federal, state and tribal governments to focus on key challenges facing the West. “A lot of great discussion took place that should help address many challenges facing entities across the Southwest.”
