Historic Preservation
B. Travis Wright, MPS has a passion for history and is an active advocate for historic preservation throughout Colorado.
B. Travis Wright, MPS is “an extraordinary champion of the entire Rollins Pass region.”
“East Portal Cabins—history didn’t end when the tunnel opened” The Mountain Ear · June 8, 2023 · p. 17
HOW HISTORIC PRESERVATION DIFFERS FROM THE PRESERVATION OF HISTORY
The preservation of history is primarily about documenting, interpreting, and sharing what happened, why it mattered, and how the past should be understood. Historic preservation is related, but more specific: it uses that historical knowledge to identify the buildings, sites, structures, landscapes, objects, and other physical resources that embody that history, then considers how those resources can be protected, managed, or thoughtfully changed so they continue to convey their significance. Put simply, preserving history keeps the story; historic preservation helps keep the places and physical evidence that make the story tangible.
STATE HONOR AWARD
B. Travis Wright, MPS, is a 2022 Colorado Preservation Inc. State Honor Award recipient for his advocacy of Rollins Pass.
The Colorado Preservation, Inc. board unanimously voted to award B. Travis Wright, MPS, with a State Honor Award at the 2022 Dana Crawford Awards “for the incredible work you have done over the years for Rollins Pass.” Colorado Preservation, Inc.’s annual Dana Crawford & State Honor Awards honors individuals, organizations, public agencies, and businesses from across the state, whose work demonstrates excellence in historic preservation.
“It was immediately apparent not just how much passion Travis had for Rollins Pass but also how much knowledge he had about its history, about its cultural importance, but also about how historic preservation worked.”
—Colorado State Archaeologist and the Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer at History Colorado
PARTNER OF THE YEAR AWARD (2023), HEADWATERS TRAILS ALLIANCE
“The Rollins Pass project was by far, our biggest boots on the ground project of the season. We built 860-feet of buck and rail [fencing] up on Rollins and we couldn’t have done it without these two people [Travis and Kate Wright]. We partnered with them to do all the planning, get all the logistics for where we were going to place the fence, and Travis [delivered the keynote address] at our Trails Symposium in September.” —Sean Burke, Field Manager at Headwaters Trails Alliance, November 10, 2023
REGIONAL COUNCIL, COLORADO’S MOST ENDANGERED PLACES PROGRAM (EPP)
The Regional Council works with organizations to identify threatened historic resources, provides advice for competitive EPP nominations, assists individual preservation projects on a limited basis, builds partnerships at the local and regional level, publicizes and shares successful project efforts with other EPP sites, and otherwise assists the director with program implementation.
EAST PORTAL CAMP CABINS
Built in 1923 as part of the carefully planned company town supporting construction of the Moffat Tunnel, the five surviving East Portal Camp Cabins are the only remaining buildings from either the East Portal or West Portal construction camp and provide a tangible connection to the workers, families, and daily life behind one of Colorado’s defining engineering achievements. Originally part of an eleven cottage residential area, the cabins survived long after the surrounding shops, bunkhouses, community facilities, and other structures disappeared, but decades of exposure and neglect placed their future at risk. Colorado Preservation, Inc. recognized that threat by naming the cabins to Colorado’s Most Endangered Places in 2020, while public history work, documentary participation, and continued advocacy helped build awareness of both their condition and their potential for careful rehabilitation and interpretation. In 2023, B. Travis Wright, then Vice Chair of the Gilpin County Historic Preservation Commission, prepared and filed the local historic landmark nomination, presented the case through public hearings before the commission and the Gilpin County Board of County Commissioners, and helped secure unanimous approval at both levels. The resulting Gilpin County Historic Landmark designation protects an irreplaceable part of the county’s history, strengthens eligibility for preservation funding, and creates a foundation for future stewardship and compatible reuse.
PUBLIC LAW 107-216 AND ROLLINS PASS
Historic preservation depends on understanding the laws, maps, administrative records, and agency processes that shape what may happen to a historic landscape. Our analysis of Public Law 107-216 and Rollins Pass examines what Congress authorized, what it conditioned, and what it left unresolved, because durable preservation decisions must rest on the full record rather than assumptions about what the law requires. The page is intended to clarify the legal and procedural framework surrounding Rollins Pass while preserving room for multiple lawful outcomes supported by evidence, consultation, and a defensible administrative record.
PRESERVATION IN PRACTICE ACROSS THREE COLORADO COUNTIES
GILPIN COUNTY, COLORADO
Travis is a preservation commissioner and Chair of the Gilpin County Historic Preservation Commission.
Advocate for the preservation of historic structures throughout Gilpin County, twice appointed unanimously by the Board of County Commissioners. Negotiate and resolve conflicts during public meetings to ensure preservation issues, programs, policies, landmark designations, and stay-of-demolition reviews adhere to criteria defined by county ordinance and set by the National Historic Preservation Act and Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Archaeology and Historic Preservation.
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:
- As Vice Chair of the Gilpin County Historic Preservation Commission, B. Travis Wright nominated the five remaining cabins at the East Portal of the Moffat Tunnel as a Gilpin County Historic Landmark. The Board of County Commissioners approved this Local Landmark Designation on June 13, 2023, by a vote of 3-0. The cabins are now eligible for grant funding.
- Saved multiple historic structures and established county landmarks by strategizing innovative resolutions with property owners requesting demolition permits, including multibillion-dollar corporations.
“[Travis has] outstanding qualifications and will be [an] excellent addition[] to the commission.”
—Gilpin County Historic Preservation Commission
GRAND COUNTY, COLORADO
Travis is President of the Board of Directors of the Grand County Historical Association.
Drive preservation of history, artifacts, and buildings in Grand County through the use of technology, advocacy, commercial aerial photography, board member recruitment, partnerships with Colorado State University Extension internships, grant writing, and fundraising efforts. Lead as board of governance with strategic oversight of operations and budgets of 4 museums, including $500-600K endowment fund.
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:
- Implemented county-wide master plan to define vision and framework for future growth and physical development of 4 campuses, securing competitive and non-competitive grants including $67K grant recently received from State Historical Fund.
- Guided historical association, its museums, staff, and board members through multiple crises in 2020 including revenue loss due to COVID-19 and multiple wildfires that threatened structures/artifacts.
Travis is Vice Chair of the Grand County Historic Preservation Board.
In August 2026, Travis was appointed by the Town of Fraser to represent Fraser on the countywide Grand County Historic Preservation Board, serving on historic preservation matters throughout Grand County, with unanimous approval from the Mayor and Board of Trustees and the Grand County Board of County Commissioners, for a three year term. Unanimously elected by fellow Board members to serve as Vice Chair.
BOULDER COUNTY, COLORADO
For their 2018 publication, Rollins Pass, both Kate and Travis received an Archaeology and Historic Preservation Award for contributions to local history and historic preservation on Rollins Pass in Boulder County given by the Boulder Heritage Roundtable and Historic Boulder in 2018.
“Historic preservation is a conversation with the past about our future.” —National Park Service
The primary purpose of our work is to inform the public.
