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A citizen proposal to add more wilderness lands in Colorado could move forward in Congress after summer recess.
By Summit Voice
A map showing proposed wilderness additions in Summit County and the surrounding area.
SUMMIT COUNTY — Four major Colorado environmental groups are urging residents throughout the state to rally behind a proposal to protect 170,000 acres of public lands in Eagle and Summit counties with formal wilderness designation under the Hidden Gems banner.
The groups would like to see the wilderness bill introduced in Congress and passed before the November election, especially with the potential for Republicans to regain control of the House. But it’s not clear whether that’s realistic, as the election season starts to ramp up in the weeks after Labor Day.
It’s been somewhat slow going for the wilderness advocates, who faced vocal minority opposition from motorized users, as well as painstaking negotiations with mountain bikers and other key stakeholders.
“Congressman Polis has worked hard to gather citizen input and craft a wilderness proposal,” said Steve Smith, assistant director of The Wilderness Society in Colorado. “He deserves credit for his willingness to take the desires of his constituents into account and create a proposal that is ready to be moved through Congress.”
The Wilderness Society and the three other groups that comprise the Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign are urging their members and the public at large to support the Polis proposal. Those groups include Golden-based Colorado Mountain Club, Carbondale-based Wilderness Workshop and the Colorado Environmental Coalition, based in Denver.
Polis recently issued a draft version of the Eagle and Summit County Wilderness Preservation Act, which includes significant additions to the Eagles Nest, Ptarmigan and Holy Cross Wilderness Areas in Eagle and Summit Counties.
Some areas included in the original citizen proposal were removed after objections from motorized users. Other areas will be protected under companion designations that allow mountain biking.
The wilderness bill will also protect a number of new stand-alone areas either with wilderness designation or, in the cases where military helicopter training occurs, special management status with wilderness quality land protection that ensures training can continue.
“As Colorado’s population increases and pressure on our backcountry grows, common-sense proposals like this one from Congressman Polis will ensure wild places remain available to the public,” said Bryan Martin, director of conservation at the Golden-based Colorado Mountain Club, one of the state’s oldest and largest conservation groups. “Outdoor enthusiasts should applaud this effort,” he added.
The Polis draft legislation is built on two pillars – areas in and around the White River National Forest identified by federal agencies as appropriate for wilderness designation, and additional roadless lands identified by conservationists as wilderness-quality.
Hidden Gems advocates are particularly excited with the prospect of securing protection for places like Castle Peak north of Eagle, Red Table between Gypsum and the Fryingpan River and Spraddle Creek outside Vail.
“Congressman Polis’ proposal would ensure that these wilderness quality lands are left just as they are today for future generations,” said Kurt Kunkle, public lands organizer for the Colorado Environmental Coalition.
“We urge all members of Colorado’s congressional delegation to quickly get behind this effort and work for prompt passage of this legislation,” he said.
The draft bill will be reviewed by the state’s congressional delegation when Congress returns from its summer recess in September.
“While we believe that additional areas deserve protection as wilderness, and look forward to working with the congressman in the near future to secure that protection for those areas, it is important that people support this proposal by Congressman Polis,” said Sloan Shoemaker, executive director of the Wilderness Workshop.
Filed under: Environment, forests, public lands, Summit County Colorado, US Forest Service, White River National Forest Tagged: | conservation, Forest Service, Hidden Gems, public lands, Summit County Colorado, Summit County News, wilderness
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Colorado Environmental Coalition is all for expansion on Breckenridge’s Peak 6 but opposed to using recreation friendly Companion Designations? Such duplicity!
The Companion Designations being put into place by Polis were not his idea or any of the clubs mentioned. Nor are they a representation of what was actually negotiated. In fact, Wilderness Workshop, Colorado Environmental Coalition, & The Wilderness Society are opposed to Companion Designations. Why would an environmental club oppose ANY level of natural resource protection? These alternatives are acts of Congress, much like Wilderness, and would require an act of Congress to reverse. Companion designations can be tailored to include/exclude any number of activities, especially the real enemy: extractive industries (logging, mining, development, drilling, etc), while still allowing quiet, non-motorized forms of recreation like mountain biking.
The Companion Designations solution was brought forth by VOLUNTEERS, not paid staff like Mr. Kunkle, Mr. Reed, Mr. Shoemaker, or Mr. Martin. These volunteers came up with areas that would add to the total acreage of protected lands, but the Congressman listened to the Wilderness advocates and did not include these lands in the proposal. The west flanks of the Tenmile Range, from Quandary to Pk 1 could have been protected under the Companion Designation, but instead, it will receive NO protection. Why is that? Polis had a chance to do something quite special, but chose to ignore the requests of the folks tat actually live here and decided to only take the advice of Wilderness advocates from Denver, Golden, and Carbondale. It seems to me that this action speaks volumes.
It’s obvious, this proposal is NOT about protection our natural resources, it is about sticking feathers in the caps of the Wilderness advocates & the Congressman. Election time is soon coming Mr. Polis, your actions will be remembered by many.