he served as a republican member of the colorado house of representatives from douglas county from 1890 to 1896, serving as speaker from 1894 to 1896, and then, after becoming a democrat, served in the colorado state senate from 1898 to 1902. ammons publicly debated gifford pinchot, chief of the united states department of agriculture's division of forestry and head of the federal government's conservation movement, three times between 1901 and 1909.