Issue Position: Protecting Colrado's Wilderness

Issue Position

From Carbondale to Colorado Springs, from Denver to Durango -- our state has a remarkable outdoor heritage with treasured landscapes and an abundance of natural resources. Without a doubt, our quality of life and the strength of our state is enhanced tremendously from our state's magnificent public lands.

As a fourth-generation Coloradoan, I know how central the outdoors is to our lifestyle and how essential it is to our state's economy. That is why it is so important we protect our wild places.

For nearly 15 years, I have been working to protect Colorado's wilderness and have introduced legislation to do just that in every Congress since 1999. The most important part of that work has been talking with people in communities all across our great state about the impact and the importance of wilderness protection.

The Colorado Wilderness Act introduced in this Congress reflects that work and my outreach to communities across our state, to protect some of our most cherished lands. This bill proposes a balanced approach to protect 31 wilderness areas totaling approximately 750,000 acres across the state. This includes about 1% of the state's total area and would leave unaffected over 90% of BLM-managed lands, which would remain open to oil and gas drilling, mining, off-road vehicle use and other development.

Over the years, my proposal has received significant local support:

Endorsed by 350 businesses and organizations from across the state.

14 Colorado counties and municipalities have expressed their support for wilderness.

A few years ago, over 14,000 Colorado residents signed cards in support of the wilderness areas proposed in our bill.

Source