Letter to Secretary Ken Salazar
Letter
Today, Mark Udall responded to the Bureau of Land Management's announcement that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Disabled Sports USA to increase access to public lands for disabled users. Disabled veterans and others with disabilities had previously missed out on some special recreation permits because of limited permits or financial constraints that prevented non-profit organizations from competing with commercial outfitters. The MOU is designed to address that problem and open recreational public lands to disabled users and the outfitters who can provide services to them.
"Coloradans with disabilities, including our disabled veterans, should have the opportunity to enjoy our state's abundant natural resources, but the special equipment or instruction they need to do so often made getting recreational permits difficult," Udall said. "I'm pleased the Bureau of Land Management has started a process to allow disabled users to get increased access to recreate on public lands."
In 2009, Udall sent a letter, along with Senator Michael Bennet and then-Congressman John Salazar, to Secretary Ken Salazar urging a similar MOU to accommodate people with special needs and those who provide services to them on BLM lands. The text of the letter follows:
Dear Secretary Salazar:
We are writing to request that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) implement a pilot project in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will accommodate the needs of special populations and the outfitters capable of providing services to this population.
We are concerned that the current Special Recreation Permit (SRP) allocation process determined in BLM's Resource Management Plans (RMP) does not adequately meet the needs of special populations. Recently, Colorado Discover Ability (CDA), a non-profit organization that specializes in serving wounded warriors, was denied an SRP by BLM for the Gunnison Gorge Canyon and Westwater Canyon in Utah because all permits had already been allocated.
Moreover, we are concerned that non-profit organizations like CDA are often unable to compete for available commercial permits due to financial constraints. While some commercial outfitters are equipped to provide services for a portion of special needs populations, there remain individuals whose disability exceeds the ability of commercial outfitters to safely meet their needs.
While precedent to accommodate these special populations already exists within the Department of the Interior through The National Park Service (NPS) rules, the BLM does not currently have similar policies. In fact, the NPS accommodation for special populations is based on a pilot program dating back to 1979. A Memorandum of Understanding between the BLM and CDA could launch a comparable-and hopefully successful-pilot program.
This pilot project could provide the basis for the possible creation of a subclass or subcategory of "special population permits" in revised RMPs. With that in mind, should the pilot project be implemented, we ask that you consider including these types of permits in any RMP up for revision one year from now.
Thank you for all that you do to protect our national treasures and make sure all Americans have access to them.
Sincerely,
Mark E. Udall, Michael F. Bennet, John Salazar
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