An opportunity to keep Colo.’s wild lands wild

There’s a small, rapidly closing window of opportunity for pristine wilderness lands in southwestern Colorado to be protected, but it’ll take support from Republican lawmakers to slip the legislation through during this lame duck period following the midterms.

For years Colorado lawmakers have attempted to pass a version of the San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act. And as the Senate compiles a package of land bills to pass as omnibus legislation, there’s a chance it could finally get done.

The areas in question include important drinking water watersheds, animal habitats, peaks that soar above 14,000 feet and the type of unblemished wilderness that has itself become an endangered specimen.

Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet re-introduced legislation this year to designate several strategically selected parcels of land — that together total 61,000 acres in southwest Colorado — as wilderness. That designation is the greatest protection available for our public lands.

But in order for Bennet’s San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act to get absorbed into a package of land bills that are likely to pass in the next few weeks, Republican Sen. Cory Gardner needs to sign onto the legislation.

The bill is currently in the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and Gardner is a member of that committee. While that doesn’t guarantee the legislation will pass, Gardner’s support would go a long way.

Gardner’s office told us he supports the effort behind the bill but has concerns. Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, has concerns too, his office says. All of the public lands in question are in Tipton’s congressional district.

We certainly don’t want to make light of those concerns, but this is a rare opportunity to pass a very good bill, that has made significant strides toward becoming perfect.

Concerns about water rights in the area have been completely addressed according to the Colorado River District.

The last remaining opposition to reducing the uses allowed on these lands comes from three organizations: the Colorado OffHighway Vehicle Coalition, the Trail Preservation Alliance and the Colorado Snowmobile Association.

Scott Jones, president of the OHVC, says that while access to existing recreational trails used by motorized vehicles will be preserved, restrictions on trail maintenance will make it prohibitively difficult to manage the trails and keep them open for generations to come.

What’s the point in having wilderness areas if no one can enjoy them for recreation? (Jones also made some fair quips about the federal government’s problems keeping forests healthy).

But as population growth, tourist intrusions, and economic development pressures from oil and gas, mining and housing continue to mount, the West must get increasingly aggressive about protecting our remaining wild places.

These places are worthy of our protection: the soaring peaks north of Telluride in the Mount Sneffels Wilderness Area; the Sheep Mountain Special Management Area, which is the largest undeveloped roadless area that is not designated wilderness lands; the McKenna Peak Wilderness in Dolores County; and the Naturita Canyon in San Miguel County.

Now is the time to pass this legislation and preserve these crucial habitats for animals and protect these secluded public lands for recreational use. Members of The Denver Post’s editorial board are Megan Schrader, editor of the editorial pages; Lee Ann Colacioppo, editor; Justin Mock, CFO; Bill Reynolds, vice president of circulation and production; Bob Kinney, vice president of information technology; and TJ Hutchinson, systems editor.