Colorado Wilderness Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arkansas for yielding. I thank Mr. Stauber for working with me on several amendments that protect Colorado's Third Congressional District. All 11 of my amendments to give voice to the people in my district were denied.

Mr. Speaker, this bill targets my district and would lock up more than 550,000 acres of it with new wilderness designations. The Mesa County Commissioners, Montezuma County Commissioners, Dolores County Commissioners, the Archuleta County Commissioners, White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts, the Colorado Farm Bureau, and numerous other constituencies in Colorado strongly oppose this bill because of the damage they know that it will cause and activities it will prevent.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record several of those letters of opposition. Colorado Snowmobile Association, COHVCO, Trails Preservation Alliance, February 23, 2021. Re 2021 Omnibus Wilderness & Amendments. Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, Att: Jeff Smalls & Ashley Higgins, Washington DC.

Dear Jeff and Ashley: Please accept this correspondence as the comments of the above referenced Organizations vigorously opposing the CORE Wilderness Proposal (HR 803) and the Colorado Wilderness Act (HR577) hereinafter referred to as ``the Proposal''. After a detailed review of the Proposal, the Organizations have concluded that every area expanded or created in the Proposal would result in significant lost recreational opportunities for the overwhelming portion of visitors to the Proposal area, both currently and in the future. While there are significant lost opportunities, there is also no additional protections for multiple use routes that might remain outside the Wilderness areas and no new areas are designated or released for multiple use recreational opportunities.

The Organizations have spent many years trying to hammer out something that works for everyone around these proposals, and have simply been stonewalled at every turn by the sponsors of this legislation in both Houses of Congress. This is despite the fact our groups were thanked by outgoing Senator Mark Udall for our collaboration and efforts around the development of the Hermosa Creek Watershed Management legislation signed into law on December 19, 2014 as Section 3062 in the Carl Levin and Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (PL 113-291). This legislation released a WSA and specifically protected motorized usage in the area moving forward, designated a large special management area where multiple uses were protected and designated Wilderness in areas where that management was appropriate. We had hoped this collaboration was a roadmap for resolving many of the ongoing challenges we encounter around Wilderness designation and releases. Unfortunately, we were incorrect as exemplified by the efforts around HR 577 and HR 803 as phone calls are not returned, meetings are continued and ideological trench warfare has returned around these Proposals.

It is worth noting, the Colorado Wilderness Act would heavily impact many recently developed trail networks that have enjoyed strong bi-partisan and community support or historical trail networks that serve a wide range of interests. Examples of these types of losses would include:

1. Bangs Canyon area, which developed an extensive multiple use trail network after a complete NEPA review and analysis and almost a million dollars in direct funding from users for the project. The Bangs Canyon SMA area is now to be designated as Wilderness.

2. Delores Canyon--this area has a large network of trails serving a wide range of interests that has existed for an extended period of time without controversy.

While the list above is far from exhaustive, these are examples of impacts we are seeing all too frequently. a. Our position on Specific Amendments

Please note that while we do not specifically address every Amendment, several of these are unrelated to recreational usages and outside our expertise to discuss in a meaningful manner. While we are not opposed to any of the Amendments on the list, we are not taking a position.

1. Rep. Boebert 30x30 Program Nullification Amendment #18:

Vigorously support. This Executive Order is a direct conflict with multiple mandates that have managed public lands successfully for decades. Not only does this EO conflict with these mandates, the application of these concepts to private property rights and interests is even more troubling.

2. Rep. Boebert--BLM headquarters--Amendment #16:

Vigorously support. Moving BLM national headquarters closer to lands owned and managed by BLM has greatly increased the responsiveness of the BLM to a wide range of issues. This amendment has garnered strong bipartisan support.

3. Rep. Boebert Native Americans, Other Minorities and Women Jobs Protection Act-- Amendment #60:

No position.

4. Rep. Boebert CO, AZ, CA, WA Wilderness Study Act Amendment #56:

Vigorously support. The lingering designations around the Wilderness process create significant management challenges moving forward in areas that have never been suitable for designation as Wilderness. The loss of historical recreational opportunities due to the lingering designation of the West Needles WSA was a major issue driving the Hermosa Creek legislation. ____ Board of County Commissioners, Archuleta County, Colorado, Pagosa Springs, CO, February 24, 2021.

To Whom It May Concern: The Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners is opposed to H.R. 803, the ``Protecting America's Wilderness and Public Lands Act''. This bill would lock-up nearly 1.5 million acres with new wilderness designations. We agree with Congressman Doug Lamborn's statements that the American people deserve to access our nation's public lands--not to be locked out of them and that a wilderness designation does not guarantee the protection of these lands.

We support Congresswoman Lauren Boebert's amendments to the bill and ask that the House allow local governments to make the right decisions for their communities, especially when it comes to managing our beautiful outdoors.

Please feel free to contact us if you want to discuss this matter further. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely yours, Alvin Schaaf, Chairman, Board of County Commissioners. ____ Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce, February 24, 2021. Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, Washington, DC.

Dear Congresswoman Boebert: On behalf of the 900 small businesses employing 37,000 people that the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce represents, I am writing to encourage you to oppose H.R. 803, a bill that would lock up public lands in Mesa County and negatively impact our local economy. Our community's economy is still reliant in part on the business activity generated by our legacy industries of agriculture and energy. This bill if passed will negatively impact our already fragile economy and jeopardize our economic recovery.

These are lands that are literally in our backyard in Mesa County yet Congresswoman DeGette continues to ignore us, does not meet with us, and does not even consider the consequences of her bill on the hardworking families of our areas.

In addition to opposing H.R. 803 our organization supports the various amendments you are proposing be added to the bill that include keeping the BLM Headquarters in Grand Junction, Colorado, requiring that affected counties must approve the Wilderness Designation and protects grazing and water rights.

We appreciate your efforts to help retain jobs and the diversity of our local economy by opposing H.R. 803 and offering amendments to help preserve the livelihood of our families and our way of life. Sincerely, Diane Schwenke, President/CEO. ____ San Juan Trail Riders, Durango, CO, Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, Attn: Jeff Smalls & Ashley Higgins, Washington, DC. Re 2021 Omnibus Wilderness & Amendments.

Dear Jeff and Ashley: Please accept this correspondence as support of comments submitted by Trails Preservation Alliance (``TPA''), Colorado Off Highway Vehicle Coalition (``COHVCO''), and Colorado Snowmobile Association (``CSA'') in their vigorously opposing the CORE Wilderness Proposal (H.R. 803) and the Colorado Wilderness Act (H.R. 577).

San Juan Trail Riders (``SJTR'') is a single-track motorized trail user group that has a membership of nearly 400 members within the Four Corners Area, California and Texas. These members provide significant positive economic impacts to a broad range of businesses and communities in cities and towns throughout the region. The organization has for over 30 years provided significant support to agencies like the BLM and USFS for recreational single-track motorized trail construction, maintenance and repair. Additionally, this agency is responsible for helping to establish special grant applications from existing state OHV Funds. SJTR has headquarters in Durango, CO. Submitted by, Deric Hook, Board Member, San Juan Trail Riders. ____ Mesa County, Board of Commissioners, Grand Junction, CO, February 25, 2021. Re Colorado Wilderness Act of 2021, H.R. 803. Hon. Diana DeGette, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Representative DeGette: As the Board of County Commissioners (``Board'') for Mesa County, Colorado, we are again writing in strong opposition to the Colorado Wilderness Act of 2021, H.R. 803 (``the Act''). Mesa County's opposition to additional Wilderness designation within Mesa County is clearly documented in ``A Resolution of the Board Of County Commissioners of Mesa County, Colorado Opposing the Colorado Wilderness Act of 2015 (H.R. 3336) and Calling on Congress to Release All Wilderness Study Areas in Colorado'' (attached) passed and adopted on September 21, 2015, and the letter of opposition to the Colorado Wilderness Act of 2019, dated June 24, 2019 (attached).

Wilderness designations are the most restrictive land management tool available and are in direct conflict with the multiple use mandate of our federally managed lands. As federally managed lands, these areas are subject to customized protections through various designations identified in area resource management plans, including prohibition of grazing, seasonal travel limitations and closures, and oil and gas lease stipulations.

Mesa County supports less restrictive federal designations that involve appropriate, special management protections determined through responsible land use planning that allow stakeholders to work together to identify and address issues with local solutions for each unique area, rather than a broad-brush approach that ends multiple use of these lands in perpetuity.

The Colorado Wilderness Act of 2021 egregiously fails to take into account several important considerations concerning necessary access, such as:

1. Three of the five proposed Wilderness areas in Mesa County have experienced wildfires over the past two decades. Lack of access for wildfire mitigation, proper extinguishment, and post-fire restoration increases the probability and severity of devastating wildfires. Lack of access also compounds the potential for life-safety emergencies as responding personnel will be obstructed when answering time-sensitive calls.

2. Based on the mapping provided by the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission, the proposed Little Book Cliffs Wilderness polygon includes the Laramie Energy, LLC Winter Flats well and the Maralex Resources, Inc. USA-610S98W well. These wells will need ongoing maintenance and monitoring. Should access be denied for these wells and the leases within the proposed Wilderness areas, the lessee should be fairly compensated.

3. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), as the agency responsible for the health and well being of the wild horses of the Little Book Cliffs Wild Horse Area and their habitat, must access to this area to ``sustain a healthy viable wild horse population while maintaining a thriving natural ecological balance of resources and uses.'' The BLM utilizes vehicles, and at times helicopters, for set-up and take down of traps and transportation of gathered horses, and to perform fertility control measures. Loss of access for these events could lead to serious consequences for the wild horses, area habitat, and surrounding property owners.

4. More than 850 acres of Gunnison Sage-Grouse Habitat are included in the proposed South Bangs Canyon Proposed Wilderness area and The Palisade Proposed Wilderness area which could limit management activities, lek counting, and habitat restoration activities by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

5. Non-motorized trail based recreation is critical for our region's quality of life and economy. The potential for exclusion of mechanized travel, e.g. bicycles, from thousands of acres of public lands in western Colorado is not supported by the Board. Of particular concern is the North and South Bangs Canyon Proposed Wilderness areas. Given the proximity to and importance of the Tabeguache Trail, the region is of interest to local trail groups for future trail based recreation growth.

6. The Act eliminates ``development for any new irrigation and pumping facility, reservoir, water conservation work, aqueduct, canal, ditch, pipeline, well, hydropower project, transmission, other ancillary facility or other water, diversion, storage, or carriage structure'' in the Wilderness designation. As Colorado's water resources require more astute management, eliminating the option to create and expand necessary water storage and delivery systems and the ability to improve critical drainages and watersheds indefinitely is imprudent.

In addition to ending critical access and multiple use of public lands, the Board believes Wilderness designations also:

1. unfairly discriminates against those that are unable to walk or ride horseback, including those with disabilities and the elderly;

2. creates additional hardships on adjacent property owners, lessees, and other nonrecreation users who face restricted travel; and,

3. abolishes future productive uses of all resources within the designated area, including those that enrich residents and visitors' lives, in perpetuity.

Mesa County is comprised of more than 72% public lands. Our economy and way of life are deeply reliant on these lands, and ensuring the proper management of them is of the highest concern for all who live here. To suggest that anyone in Mesa County would wish these lands destroyed is false and offensive. However, with more than 100,000 acres of designated Wilderness and more than 80,000 acres held in perpetual Wilderness Study Area limbo, residents of Mesa County do not want to see more of their public lands made inaccessible. Further, with the possible passage of the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act (``CORE Act''), Colorado will see varying levels of conservation in counties that desire such protections.

We invite you to visit Mesa County and speak with those directly affected by the proposed legislation. Our door is always open, and we welcome the opportunity to discuss further this critical matter that can drastically change our residents' lives. Sincerely, Janet Rowland,

Chair, Board of County Commissioners. Cody Davis,

Commissioner. Scott McInnis,

Commissioner. ____ February 25, 2021. The Honorable, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Representative: On behalf of the nearly six million Farm Bureau member families across the United States, we write in strong opposition to H.R. 803, the Protecting America's Wilderness and Public Lands Act. Collectively this package of bills impacts lands in California, Colorado, Arizona and Washington by creating nearly 1.5 million acres of new wilderness, the most restrictive federal land use classification. Additionally, it would designate 1,200 miles of wild and scenic rivers and create 110,000 acres of National Monument expansion. Further, many of the wilderness and wild and scenic river designations contained in this bill are not suitable for these restrictive designations. To declare areas that do not possess these characteristics undermines the integrity of the Wilderness Act and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act as well as the lands that possess those features.

Farmers and ranchers rely on federal forests and rangelands for economic and recreational opportunities. Livestock grazing on federal lands forms an integral part of ranching operations across the United States, especially in the West. But farmers also use national forests and rangelands throughout the United States in a variety of other ways. Federal lands throughout the country are important components of our nation's watersheds that provide water to a large number of Americans. Active land management practices such as timber production and livestock grazing are critical to protect against wildland fires which devastate range resources, damage watersheds, threaten wildlife and put rural communities at great risk.

American farmers and ranchers have a genuine interest in healthy and productive federal forest and rangelands. At the same time, we have a genuine interest in seeing lands managed in an environmentally sound manner. Farmers and ranchers understand and appreciate that active management of our federal lands is critical to the long-term viability of the ecosystem, the resource, and the communities they support. Designations included in H.R. 803 threaten multiple use areas by prohibiting the employment of motorized tools and mechanized vehicles in watershed management, trail maintenance, soil treatment, noxious weed control, waste management and fire protection.

Our nation's federal forests are facing serious threats from fires, insects and disease due to a lack of active forest management. The poor health of our federal forests also threatens wildlife populations and neighboring non- federal lands, as well as the vitality of rural, forested communities across the country. A vibrant livestock and forest products industry helps diversify rural economies in ways that compliment ranching and agricultural operations. Wilderness and National Monument designations eliminate federal land management agencies ability to effectively protect against the threat of catastrophic wildland fire.

Farmers, landowners, and grazing permitees should be fully involved as affected partners in any process to execute federal land use designations which restrict public use and access. Federal land use designations that lack local stakeholder input from agricultural and resource management professionals often generates significant controversy and economic hardship at the local level. The detrimental effects of a federal land use designation frequently causes residents, elected state and county officials, and local stakeholders significant reductions in economic activity and the loss of jobs in rural communities. Past designations have also affected water rights, public lands grazing and access to State and private lands.

Farm Bureau supports the multiple-use concept of federal lands, recognizing that definable land areas have dominant- use capability, which should be recognized with the concept of multiple uses without the total exclusion of other uses. The Protecting America's Wilderness and Public Lands Act stands in clear violation of AFBF policy. Additionally, the California, Colorado, Arizona and Washington Farm Bureau's oppose passage of this legislation.

Farm Bureau urges you to oppose passage of H.R. 803, the Protecting America's Wilderness and Public Lands Act. Sincerely,

American Farm Bureau Federation, Arizona Farm Bureau, California Farm Bureau, Colorado Farm Bureau, Washington Farm Bureau.

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Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Speaker, Democrats have ignored our local communities and their needs with this land grab.

In their letter of opposition, Mesa County points out three of the five wilderness areas in Mesa County in this bill that have had large fires in recent years, and that wilderness designations harm active management and wildfire activities.

I hope that when Members visit my district on horseback, they are telling people that this land will soon burn, because if we do not actively manage our forest, Mother Nature will continue to manage it for us.

Mr. Speaker, the amendments that are offered today would protect energy production, local grazing rights, water rights, access to our public lands, and allow wildfire mitigation. Perhaps, and most importantly, these amendments give the people of my district a voice, ensuring local officials have a seat at the table when land use is changed in their respective counties.

The victory in my election showed the will of the people in Colorado's Third District. They want to keep their land open for public use.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Member for his thoughtful amendments, and I strongly encourage support on these amendments today.

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