Gibbs rose quickly to chair the Colorado Senate's Transportation Committee, but announced that he would seek election to a Summit County Commissioner seat in 2010 rather than run for another term in the legislature.
[4] Gibbs has worked in the timber industry,[4] as a manager with a whitewater rafting company in Lake Luzerne, New York, and as an outdoor adventure guide in Gunnison, Colorado.
[7] An athlete and outdoorsman, Gibbs has competed in marathon and ultramarathon running races (including the Leadville Trail 100[8]) and helped coach the Battle Mountain High School cross-country skiing team.
[17][18] In the legislature, Gibbs sponsored legislation which established the Colorado Community Forest Restoration grant program, setting aside $1 million for projects to reduce fire risks.
[29] In later years, Gibbs and state officials attributed decreases in accidents and tickets issued for violating the chain law to the passage of the bill.
[48][49] With Rep. Scanlan, Gibbs was a prominent opponent of several proposals to charge tolls along the I-70 mountain corridor within his district;[42][50][51] he later cited this as his most significant accomplishment of the session.
Bill Ritter signed an executive order in February 2008 creating the Colorado Forest Health Advisory Council;[52] Gibbs was named to the 24-member panel shortly after its creation.
[60] Gibbs cited his track record of passing legislation and his connections and experience at the state capitol as part of his case for re-election,[41][61] and named wildfire and business concerns as his major priorities for a continued term in the Colorado Senate.
[71] Gibbs missed some of the opening ceremonies of the 2009 General Assembly after being called to help fight a wildfire near Boulder, Colorado; his absence was cited by Gov.
[72][73] With Rep. Christine Scanlan, Gibbs travelled to Washington DC in February and in June to lobby for resources to deal with Colorado's mountain pine beetle epidemic.
[86][87] Other legislation sponsored by Gibbs included bills to extend Colorado's habitat stamp program,[88][89] to create a specialty license plate for skiing and snowboarding,[90][91] to overhaul regulations on oil and gas drilling operations,[92] and to facilitate local planning and fundraising for fighting wildfires.
[93] Gibbs was also viewed as one of the crucial swing votes on a measure to repeal the death penalty in Colorado and use the resulting savings to fund a statewide cold case unit.
[94] In January 2009, Gibbs was named one of the Western Colorado Conservation Corps' Legislators of the Year,[97] and in May 2009, he was the keynote speaker at Summit High School's graduation.
[99][100] In 2014, Gibbs discussed his preference for local politics: “At the state level, it’s much more about whether you are a Republican or a Democrat and winning and losing, rather than making decisions that are good for Colorado.
[103] He resigned as county commissioner in January 2019[2] and was confirmed by the state senate and sworn in as Department of Natural Resources executive director on February 5, 2019.