SUMMIT COUNTY – The Colorado Conservation Voters Action Fund, a nonprofit group that says it aims to make protecting the environment a top priority for the state’s voters, backs Democrat Bill Ritter for the state’s top political spot.At the same time it announced the endorsement, the group joined the League of Conservation Voters in placing Ritter’s Republican opponent, Bob Beauprez, on its “Dirty Dozen” list.”Congressman Beauprez’s voting record places the priorities of the oil and gas industry ahead of the needs of Colorado communities,” said Carrie Doyle, director of the Colorado Conservation Voters Action Fund. “By voting to fast track energy development and weaken clean water protections, the congressman has shown that he just doesn’t get it when it comes to the impacts of energy development on Colorado communities.”Rep. Beauprez holds a lifetime score of 5 percent with the League of Conservation Voters. He was the thirteenth politician to be added to the list this year. According to the group, the “Dirty Dozen” list holds elected officials accountable for their votes and actions by highlighting some of the worst environmental records in Congress.Beauprez campaign manager John Marshall denounced Doyle’s comments and the group’s actions as a partisan political ploy.”The only criteria for making that list is being a Republican and being in a competitive district,” Marshall said. “These are poor political acts. The League of Conservation Voters cares nothing about the environment – they care about promoting a Democrat’s campaign.”The group repeatedly claims to be nonpartisan.Beauprez was elected to the U.S. Congress two years ago. He grew up on a farm, where he says he developed a connection to the land. He makes a campaign commitment that “Colorado’s air, land, water and wildlife will be left in better condition than we found it” if he is elected.”The environment is not a partisan issue,” Marshall added. “Especially in Colorado … Colorado will only be a special place as long as we keep it this way.”On their websites, both candidates claim to support renewable energy and mitigating the impacts of extracting fossil fuels, which they acknowledge will continue at a fast pace in Colorado’s near future.Beauprez’s Colorado Habitat Initiative would create a fund from severance taxes imposed on the extraction industry to pay for enhanced wildlife habitat. The taxes were designed to alleviate impacts of fossil fuel collection, and Beauprez proposes to use the money to create new habitat for animals.”If drilling rigs are disturbing an area traditionally utilized as big game winter range, we’ll ask our wildlife biologists to determine an off-site piece of ground where we can create a comparable habitat, acre-for-acre,” the candidate says on his website.The proposal did not excite the state conservation group.”Asking elk to change migration patterns is not a sound idea,” Doyle said, “and certainly points to Bob Beauprez’s willingness to bend the laws of nature in an effort to further serve special interests.”Beauprez responded that the idea was formulated by a wildlife biologist.The Colorado Division of Wildlife endorses the idea of off-site mitigation, Marshall added.Ritter, a former Denver district attorney, is endorsed by the conservation group for his renewable energy plan, policies on water issues and advocacy for the state’s roadless areas. The group said it made the decision after discussions with both candidates, examining their public records and reviewing written responses to a questionnaire.Ritter’s New Energy Economy aims to create jobs through incentives for renewable energy investments. He wants to give farmers opportunity to switch to energy crops and plans to “offset” carbon dioxide emissions through a market-based program. He said the program would address predictions that the state’s ski areas will see 50 percent less snow by the year 2050 if warming trends are not reversed.The candidates’ positions diverge on the issue of water storage. While Beauprez said he recognizes the need to develop more storage, Ritter supports more dams only after existing storage facilities are expanded and improved.”Many of our best water-project sites have been developed, our rivers are over-appropriated … we must be more strategic and selective as we consider future storage projects,” Ritter says on his website.Both men support water conservation and reuse in addressing future needs. Ritter supports the Colorado Water Conservation Board’s minimum in-stream flow program, which aims to protect fisheries and local economies by acquiring water rights for the state’s rivers and streams.While the majority of Summit County’s registered voters are Democrat, nearly one-quarter are registered independent, and many vote based on environmental issues.A recent poll by The Denver Post put Ritter ahead of Beauprez in the race, which will be decided Nov. 7.