Colorado Wilderness Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, I am so proud to rise in support of H.R. 803, and I am so proud to be the primary sponsor of this beautiful legislation, Protecting America's Wilderness and Public Lands Act.

The bill seeks to protect some of our Nation's most treasured public lands. Not only will it help protect the air we breathe and the water we drink but also the wildlife that call these untouched areas home and the world-class recreation opportunities they provide.

In all, this legislation preserves almost 3 million acres of public land across Colorado, California, Arizona, and Washington State. It designates 1.49 million acres of public land as wilderness, giving these areas the permanent protection that they deserve. It also protects an additional 1.2 million vulnerable acres from the threat of future uranium mining claims in Arizona, and it adds a thousand miles of river to the National Wild and Scenic River System.

Preserving our Nation's public lands is about more than just protecting our environment. It is about protecting our economy and our way of life as well. In my home State of Colorado alone, our public lands support a $12 billion--that is a b--a $12 billion outdoor recreation economy and hundreds of thousands of jobs across the whole State.

Perhaps most importantly, what this bill will do is to jump-start our commitment to protecting 30 percent of our Nation's lands by 2030 to help combat the climate crisis.

This package includes eight separate public lands bills, as you heard from Mr. Neguse. All of those bills were heard in committee, marked up, and passed by this Chamber two times last year.

I know that each of the individual bill sponsors plans to say a few words, so I would like to talk about title I of the legislation, which contains my bill, the Colorado Wilderness Act.

This is legislation I have been working on for more than two decades to permanently protect about 660,000 acres of wilderness in 36 unique areas in Colorado. Most of these areas are low-lying canyon country, BLM areas that have been managed as wilderness study areas for almost 40 years now.

As a fourth-generation Coloradan, I know how important these lands are to the people of my State, from the dramatic ridgeline of Grand Hogback to the sprawling plateaus of Little Book Cliffs, from the stunning red cliffs of the Dolores River Canyon to the winding riverways of Browns Canyon, the areas in this bill are some of the most beautiful and irreplaceable landscapes that our State has to offer. It is why the bill has received such unbelievable support from residents, businesses, and groups across the State.

You heard from Mr. Neguse about the support. More than 14,000 people have written letters of support, and over 350 businesses. Now, I personally have visited most of the areas in the bill. I have gone on foot, and I have gone on horseback. I even went on raft to see them for myself.

I met with landowners and ranchers and business owners to get their feedback. And when necessary, I adjusted the boundaries to address their concerns.

As I said, the Colorado Wilderness Act is just one of eight bills in this legislation included in the package, and I want to thank each of my colleagues who are here today--Representatives Huffman, Carbajal, Chu, Schiff, Kilmer, Neguse, and also, of course, Chairman Grijalva-- for their unwavering support and for all the work that they have done to get this package to the floor. I want to thank all the staff from the Natural Resources Committee and our personal staffs, too.

I just want to say that we have worked tirelessly on this legislation. It is so important not just for us but for the future generations who will come to these very special places, who will see the petroglyphs that I saw the last time I went out, who will see the Book Cliffs and the beautiful canyons.

I think that protecting our untouched wilderness is so important. It is my number one priority in this Congress, and I know all my cosponsors feel the same way. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote ``yes'' on this important legislation.

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