Entries Tagged 'Wilderness' ↓

At a meeting last night hosted by Eagle County about the Hidden Gems wilderness proposal, hundreds of snowmobilers and off-road vehicle riders turned out to show their opposition to the plan, the Vail Daily reports.

Aron Ralston, the first person to summit all of Colorado’s 14ers solo in winter, joined a local hunter and an avid mountain biker at a press conference in Avon yesterday to endorse the Hidden Gems wilderness proposal, the Vail Daily reports.

Rep. John Salazar (D-Colo.) introduced a bill yesterday that would protect more than 61,000 acres of public land on portions of the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, Gunnison and San Juan national forests, as well as Bureau of Land Management lands.

The acreage affected by the proposal includes portions of San Miguel, Ouray and San Juan counties. The county commissions of those counties, as well as several towns in the area, requested the designation.

Salazar said the bill would provide protection for some of Colorado’s most renowned views and mountains including the slopes of Mt. Sneffels and Wilson Peak — two of the state’s most famous “fourteeners.”

“This wilderness bill was built from the ground up bringing together all stakeholders to produce a final bill that has a broad base of support,” San Miguel County Commissioner Art Goodtimes said in a statement.

The legislation includes various levels of protection for 61,682 acres of public land.

Areas receiving designation as wilderness under the proposal include:

* 3,170 acres that would be added to the existing Lizard Head Wilderness Area;
* 21,606 acres that would be added to the existing Mt. Sneffels Wilderness Area; and
* 8,614 acres of the McKenna Peak Wilderness Study Area.

In addition, two other designations will be created by the proposed legislation:

* 21,697 acres in San Juan and San Miguel County, including Ice Lakes basin outside of Silverton and the high alpine peaks near Ophir, would be designated as the Sheep Mountain Special Management Area, which would allow existing uses including heliisking to continue indefinitely but prohibit new roads or other development; and
* 6,595 acres that would be withdrawn from eligibility for mineral leasing in Naturita Canyon.

The legislation also contains provisions that would allow other existing uses, include the Hardrock 100 Race and grazing, to continue.

“As a grazing permittee I know that it is critically important for the livestock community to have access to our unspoiled high country. That access is vital for our operations to stay in business. This bill preserves that access and protects our high country for future generations,” Liza Clarke, a grazing permit holder in Ouray County on lands that would be designated as wilderness by this bill, said in a statement.

Additionally, other language in the proposal would prohibit any federal water rights and guarantee access for water users to maintain and repair water facilities.

The U.S. Army said designating the lands included in the “Hidden Gems” wilderness proposal as wilderness would prohibit the military’s access to high-altitude landing zones used for training purposes, the Vail Daily reports.

Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) is considering introducing legislation that would designate 890,000 acres in 34 areas of Colorado as wilderness, including 40,000 acres on and around the top of the Roan Plateau that has been leased for oil and gas development, the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reports.

White River National Forest Supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams said only 82,000 acres of national forest lands included in the Hidden Gems wilderness proposal qualify for protection, the Aspen Times reports. Environmentalists are pushing to designate 400,000 acres on the forest and nearby Bureau of Land Management parcels.

Wilderness advocates gathered today along the Platte River, near the state’s largest outdoor recreation company, to call on Colorado’s congressional delegation to support new wilderness protections.

“We need to think big and be big when it comes to new wilderness protections,” Suzanne Jones, Central Rockies regional director of The Wilderness Society, said in a statement. “This is the most conservation-minded Congress we’ve had in decades. Our senators and representatives should join together and make new wilderness protection a priority for the sake of our state and future generations.”

Mountaineer Aron Ralston kicked off the “Call to Action,” drawing on his experience traveling the state and advocating for wilderness. Ralston is the first climber to traverse all of Colorado’s 14,000 foot peaks during the winter and has become a champion for new wilderness in the White River National Forest region, known as the “Hidden Gems” wilderness proposal.

“Spending time in Colorado’s wild lands inspires my life,” Ralston said in a statement. “We need our leaders to protect the ‘Hidden Gems’ of the White River region and lands throughout the state.”

Ralston was joined by other supporters at the event, including environmentalists, outdoor recreation businesses, sportsmen, and students. The group delivered more than 13,500 comments to the offices of Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.).

The “Call to Action” comes on the heels of a month-long campaign supporting new wilderness protections that includes internet organizing campaigns, paid advertisements, and meetings statewide with decision makers.

Advocates noted that wilderness protection can be a boon to local outdoor recreation and tourism economies. According to the Outdoor Industry Association, outdoor recreation contributes more than $10 billion to Colorado’s economy each year.

Bill Dvorak is a longtime conservation advocate, sportsman, and Colorado’s first commercial outfitter. His company operates rafting in several current wilderness areas such as the newly designated Dominguez Canyon National Recreation Area and new proposals such as the Dolores River Canyon and the popular Browns Canyon.

“Wilderness protection means Colorado’s great outdoors are open for business,” Dvorak said in a statement. “Wilderness attracts people from instate and across the nation to those landscapes. New wilderness protections mean new jobs and a growing outdoor recreation industry.”

A coalition of environmental organizations, the Colorado Wilderness Network, is supporting three wilderness proposals of more than 1,894,000 acres of wild lands, including Rep. John Salazar’s (D-Colo.) San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act, the Hidden Gems wilderness proposal, and Colorado’s Canyon Country wilderness proposal.

Over the last year, Environment Colorado activists traveled from Steamboat Springs to Durango to Denver to help gather the more than 13,700 comments delivered to Colorado’s senators today.

“While healthcare and energy are making the front page, there’s a growing grassroots movement to support new wilderness protection in Colorado,” Matt Garrington, advocate with Environment Colorado, said in a statement. “Coloradans want to see our public lands stay the way they are, and new wilderness protection is the best way to protect our land, water, and wildlife.”

More than ten organizations and businesses participated in the wilderness “Call to Action” event, including Colorado Environmental Coalition, Colorado Mountain Club, Dvorak Expeditions and Patagonia.

An effort by a coalition of environmental groups to designate as much as 450,000 acres as wilderness is facing some resistance from the Roaring Fork Mountain Bike Association, which would like to see the bulk of the lands in the Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign protected as national conservation area or national recreation area lands, a designation that would keep them open to mountain biking, the Vail Daily News reports.

Rep. John Salazar (D-Colo.) has introduced legislation that would designate 63,000 acres of land in San Juan, Ouray and San Miguel counties as wilderness or place restrictions on development there.

Under the proposed legislation, the following areas will receive Wilderness Area designations:

• 3,374 acres will be added to the existing Lizard Head Wilderness Area by the Blackface, Sunshine and Wilson additions.
• 9,086 acres will be added to the existing Mt. Sneffels Wilderness Area by the Liberty Bell and Last Dollar additions.
• 13,224 acres will be added to the existing Mt. Sneffels Wilderness Area by the Whitehouse addition.
• 8,614 acres of the McKenna Peak Wilderness Study Area will be designated as wilderness.

In addition, two other designations will be created by the proposed legislation:

• 22,582 acres will be designated as the Sheep Mountain Special Management Area. Currently, permitted uses including helisking will be allowed to continue indefinitely, but no new roads or other development will be permitted.
• 6,595 acres will be withdrawn from eligibility for mineral leasing in Naturita Canyon. No other uses in the canyon will be impacted.