jimfoo
September 12th, 2007, 07:43 PM
From: Jerry Abboud
She's baaack! I have stated our position for the CO Springs Gazette. Hopefully I won't be misquoted. That is, it's time for something other than Wilderness.
Contact: Kristofer Eisenla, 202.225.4431 (o) | 202.225.3041 (c)
Chris Arend, 303-844-4988 (o) | 303-908-7910 (c)
DeGette Introduces Colorado Wilderness Act of 2007
Proposal protects 62 Areas designating 1.65 million acres of Colorado public land as Wilderness
DENVER ? As Colorado's remaining wild lands continue to be threatened by oil and gas drilling and encroaching development, Chief Deputy Whip Diana DeGette (D- CO) today reintroduced the Colorado Wilderness Act of 2007. Joining Rep. DeGette at her press conference was Tresi Houpt, Garfield County Commissioner and member of the State Oil and Gas Commission, David Getches, Dean of the University of Colorado School of Law, Paul D?Elia from Patagonia Denver, and representatives and citizens from the Colorado conservation community.
Below are U.S. Rep. DeGette?s remarks as prepared for delivery:
?I am proud to be before you today to announce the reintroduction of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 2007. Since 1999 I have had the privilege of introducing legislation to protect wilderness quality public land across Colorado. However, since that time, our state has seen many of our states special places and wilderness areas put under pressure and in threat of being lost forever.
?That is why I am proud to announce my intention today to reintroduce an updated, revamped, and sweeping proposal to protect 62 separate areas across Colorado making up nearly 1.65 million acres of Coloradans? public land as wilderness.
?I am pleased to be here with many advocates of wilderness in Colorado, including Garfield County Commissioner Tresi Houpt, David Getches, Dean of the University of Colorado School of Law and Raphael J. Moses Professor of Natural Resources Law, Paul D?Elia of the Patagonia Corporation, as well as a number of conservation groups from across Colorado under the umbrella of the Colorado Wilderness Network, who for years have been the backbone and on the frontlines of defending wilderness in Colorado. Thank you for joining me today.
?We are gathered here to put protecting our public land literally back on the map. Colorado?s tremendous beauty and landscapes are always in the forefront of every Coloradan. It comes as no surprise then that in a recent poll 70 % of Coloradans supported more wilderness and wildlands in Colorado. Indeed Democrats, Republicans, Western Slope and Front Range residents alike support protecting our public lands.
?The poll showed that Coloradans support balance in our public lands management but we also want to protect the special areas of this State. Most of all, we want to leave what is special about Colorado for future generations.
?Colorado and our wilderness are at crossroads. In the last 7 years our State?s public lands have faced an onslaught like it has never seen from the Bush Administration, particularly on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Over 85,000 acres of wilderness quality public lands have already been leased for oil and gas drilling in Colorado and more are offered up every day.
?Drilling rigs, new roads, pipelines, more well pads, more noise, and more dust has tarnished our landscapes, impacted our communities, and disrupted sensitive wildlife.
?While there is room for energy development and leasing on our public lands, with over 80% of land available for oil and gas leasing, I think some of our most beautiful and sensitive areas should be off limits. This development is being allowed to encroach into our wildlands - removing from consideration many areas deserving of wilderness protection.
?I cannot stand by as a fourth generation Coloradan and let every last acre of our state be sold to the highest bidder in the latest lease sale.
?It is time to stand up for what makes Colorado special, for what brings thousands of tourists here year round providing consistent and long term benefits to our economy and communities. It is time to protect the sanctuaries our wildlife and endangered species depend on and to preserve for our children the Colorado we see and love today for future generations. It is time to protect the wild places of our state once and for all.
?I recognize the Colorado Wilderness Act is an ambitious proposal. However, it is my view that piece-mealing wilderness in this State, acre by acre, is a limited proposition and one which could delay the preservation of thousands of acres of public lands for an interminable amount of time.
?While individual areas may be easier to pass in the short term, the Colorado Wilderness Act in its totality is not as formidable as may seem - at 1.65 million acres the Colorado Wilderness Act makes up 1/8 of total Bureau of Land Management public land and only seven percent of total public land in our State. It consists of over 800,000 acres already managed by the BLM as wilderness study areas. Furthermore, the Colorado Wilderness Act of 2007 is a carefully researched proposal with its wilderness qualities and boundaries established using sophisticated geographic information systems and double checked on the ground by dedicated citizen volunteers.
?I also understand that wilderness and our public lands do not remain in an unchanging vacuum. I have made several changes to this legislation including adjusting boundaries for ongoing energy development and activities, but also adding several thousand acres of new areas which have been discovered and advocated by citizen volunteers since my original introduction in 1999.
?I am also happy to announce a significant compromise in this legislation. In Colorado we have a saying, ?Whisky is for drinking and water is for fighting.? For too long the issue of water rights has been an unnecessary impediment to wilderness preservation in Colorado. In recognition of the importance of water and water rights in our state and in light of our recent drought and increased demands on water supplies, I have rewritten the water language in this bill to ensure the federal government plays by the State of Colorado?s water laws and regulations.
?Professor Getches will expound on this later. But this major change to my bill shows that I am committed to listening to all sides interested in public lands and wilderness issues in Colorado and open to reasonable changes and adjustments. As the wilderness debate moves forward, my promise to listen to all sides will stand and I look forward to an ongoing dialogue about wilderness in Colorado.
?Preserving wilderness in Colorado has always been hard - it brings a clash of interests and different philosophical views to a head. However, as President Kennedy, in our quest to land on the moon stated we choose to do such things ?not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our skills and talents.?
?In our State?s history whenever we have chosen to preserve our limited special places, the process was always hard, but we rarely looked back in regret and often wondered why we did not do it sooner. More often then not it, establishing wilderness brought out the best in our leaders and the citizens of our great State.
?In closing I would like to leave you with a quote from one of the true wilderness leaders, former Senator Frank Church of Idaho who in talking about the Wilderness Act stated:
?The great purpose is to set aside a reasonable part of the vanishing wilderness, to make certain that generations of Americans yet unborn will know what it is to experience life on undeveloped, unoccupied land in the same form and character as the Creator fashioned it... It is a great spiritual experience. I never knew a man who took a bedroll into an Idaho mountainside and slept there under a star-studded summer sky who felt self-important that next morning. Unless we preserve some opportunity for future generations to have the same experience, we shall have dishonored our trust.?
?It is my goal and for those standing with me today, to preserve a small part of Colorado to honor the trust of future generations and to let our children?s children experience the Colorado we love and cherish today.?
She's baaack! I have stated our position for the CO Springs Gazette. Hopefully I won't be misquoted. That is, it's time for something other than Wilderness.
Contact: Kristofer Eisenla, 202.225.4431 (o) | 202.225.3041 (c)
Chris Arend, 303-844-4988 (o) | 303-908-7910 (c)
DeGette Introduces Colorado Wilderness Act of 2007
Proposal protects 62 Areas designating 1.65 million acres of Colorado public land as Wilderness
DENVER ? As Colorado's remaining wild lands continue to be threatened by oil and gas drilling and encroaching development, Chief Deputy Whip Diana DeGette (D- CO) today reintroduced the Colorado Wilderness Act of 2007. Joining Rep. DeGette at her press conference was Tresi Houpt, Garfield County Commissioner and member of the State Oil and Gas Commission, David Getches, Dean of the University of Colorado School of Law, Paul D?Elia from Patagonia Denver, and representatives and citizens from the Colorado conservation community.
Below are U.S. Rep. DeGette?s remarks as prepared for delivery:
?I am proud to be before you today to announce the reintroduction of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 2007. Since 1999 I have had the privilege of introducing legislation to protect wilderness quality public land across Colorado. However, since that time, our state has seen many of our states special places and wilderness areas put under pressure and in threat of being lost forever.
?That is why I am proud to announce my intention today to reintroduce an updated, revamped, and sweeping proposal to protect 62 separate areas across Colorado making up nearly 1.65 million acres of Coloradans? public land as wilderness.
?I am pleased to be here with many advocates of wilderness in Colorado, including Garfield County Commissioner Tresi Houpt, David Getches, Dean of the University of Colorado School of Law and Raphael J. Moses Professor of Natural Resources Law, Paul D?Elia of the Patagonia Corporation, as well as a number of conservation groups from across Colorado under the umbrella of the Colorado Wilderness Network, who for years have been the backbone and on the frontlines of defending wilderness in Colorado. Thank you for joining me today.
?We are gathered here to put protecting our public land literally back on the map. Colorado?s tremendous beauty and landscapes are always in the forefront of every Coloradan. It comes as no surprise then that in a recent poll 70 % of Coloradans supported more wilderness and wildlands in Colorado. Indeed Democrats, Republicans, Western Slope and Front Range residents alike support protecting our public lands.
?The poll showed that Coloradans support balance in our public lands management but we also want to protect the special areas of this State. Most of all, we want to leave what is special about Colorado for future generations.
?Colorado and our wilderness are at crossroads. In the last 7 years our State?s public lands have faced an onslaught like it has never seen from the Bush Administration, particularly on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Over 85,000 acres of wilderness quality public lands have already been leased for oil and gas drilling in Colorado and more are offered up every day.
?Drilling rigs, new roads, pipelines, more well pads, more noise, and more dust has tarnished our landscapes, impacted our communities, and disrupted sensitive wildlife.
?While there is room for energy development and leasing on our public lands, with over 80% of land available for oil and gas leasing, I think some of our most beautiful and sensitive areas should be off limits. This development is being allowed to encroach into our wildlands - removing from consideration many areas deserving of wilderness protection.
?I cannot stand by as a fourth generation Coloradan and let every last acre of our state be sold to the highest bidder in the latest lease sale.
?It is time to stand up for what makes Colorado special, for what brings thousands of tourists here year round providing consistent and long term benefits to our economy and communities. It is time to protect the sanctuaries our wildlife and endangered species depend on and to preserve for our children the Colorado we see and love today for future generations. It is time to protect the wild places of our state once and for all.
?I recognize the Colorado Wilderness Act is an ambitious proposal. However, it is my view that piece-mealing wilderness in this State, acre by acre, is a limited proposition and one which could delay the preservation of thousands of acres of public lands for an interminable amount of time.
?While individual areas may be easier to pass in the short term, the Colorado Wilderness Act in its totality is not as formidable as may seem - at 1.65 million acres the Colorado Wilderness Act makes up 1/8 of total Bureau of Land Management public land and only seven percent of total public land in our State. It consists of over 800,000 acres already managed by the BLM as wilderness study areas. Furthermore, the Colorado Wilderness Act of 2007 is a carefully researched proposal with its wilderness qualities and boundaries established using sophisticated geographic information systems and double checked on the ground by dedicated citizen volunteers.
?I also understand that wilderness and our public lands do not remain in an unchanging vacuum. I have made several changes to this legislation including adjusting boundaries for ongoing energy development and activities, but also adding several thousand acres of new areas which have been discovered and advocated by citizen volunteers since my original introduction in 1999.
?I am also happy to announce a significant compromise in this legislation. In Colorado we have a saying, ?Whisky is for drinking and water is for fighting.? For too long the issue of water rights has been an unnecessary impediment to wilderness preservation in Colorado. In recognition of the importance of water and water rights in our state and in light of our recent drought and increased demands on water supplies, I have rewritten the water language in this bill to ensure the federal government plays by the State of Colorado?s water laws and regulations.
?Professor Getches will expound on this later. But this major change to my bill shows that I am committed to listening to all sides interested in public lands and wilderness issues in Colorado and open to reasonable changes and adjustments. As the wilderness debate moves forward, my promise to listen to all sides will stand and I look forward to an ongoing dialogue about wilderness in Colorado.
?Preserving wilderness in Colorado has always been hard - it brings a clash of interests and different philosophical views to a head. However, as President Kennedy, in our quest to land on the moon stated we choose to do such things ?not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our skills and talents.?
?In our State?s history whenever we have chosen to preserve our limited special places, the process was always hard, but we rarely looked back in regret and often wondered why we did not do it sooner. More often then not it, establishing wilderness brought out the best in our leaders and the citizens of our great State.
?In closing I would like to leave you with a quote from one of the true wilderness leaders, former Senator Frank Church of Idaho who in talking about the Wilderness Act stated:
?The great purpose is to set aside a reasonable part of the vanishing wilderness, to make certain that generations of Americans yet unborn will know what it is to experience life on undeveloped, unoccupied land in the same form and character as the Creator fashioned it... It is a great spiritual experience. I never knew a man who took a bedroll into an Idaho mountainside and slept there under a star-studded summer sky who felt self-important that next morning. Unless we preserve some opportunity for future generations to have the same experience, we shall have dishonored our trust.?
?It is my goal and for those standing with me today, to preserve a small part of Colorado to honor the trust of future generations and to let our children?s children experience the Colorado we love and cherish today.?