Colorado wilderness plan cut to 625 square miles

Samantha Abernathy

Conservationists trying to designate about 625 square miles of public land in central Colorado as wilderness areas are still whittling down the plan to address opposition from recreationists and the Colorado Army National Guard.

Four years ago, the Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign's proposal included about 650,000 acres in Pitkin, Eagle, Gunnison and Summit counties. The proposal is now at nearly 400,000 acres and could continue to shrink, the group said.

The Wilderness Act of 1964 aims to create lands "untrammeled by man." It allows for non-motorized recreation, livestock grazing and scientific research. Mineral development, logging, ATVs and mountain bikes are forbidden.

The organization has to push a bill through Congress to achieve its goal, and hopes to get Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Polis on board first.

The wilderness campaign still wants to find alternative ways to prevent oil and gas development in the lands being removed from the proposal, such as through buying mineral companies out of their stakes on the land.

The key barrier to the Hidden Gems campaign is that some of the land is an important military training site for High-Altitude Army Aviation Training. The Rocky Mountains are similar to the terrain of Afghanistan, so the area is especially important, said Darin Overstreet, public information officer for the Colorado Army National Guard.

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Source: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2010/03/04/business-financial-impact-us-colorado-wilderness-controversy_7408717.html

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