The Bureau of Land Management has pushed 180,000
acres of Colorado outback a step closer to becoming wilderness
study areas. The agency recently labeled the areas “roadless’ after
completing new surveys. The surveys were prompted by the Colorado
Environmental Coalition, which said the areas should have been
included in the BLM’s 1980 survey of potential wilderness. “This is
a fight to protect these lands in the interim until we can get
Congress to act,” says Suzanne Jones of the Wilderness Society. The
six areas include the Vermillion Basin; the Yampa River west of
Craig; South Shale Ridge and Bangs Canyon near Grand Junction;
Pinyon Ridge near Rangely and Castle Peak near
Eagle.
The next step, according to BLM wilderness
program leader Eric Finstick, is to determine whether to amend each
area’s current land-use plan to protect wilderness values, such as
scenic beauty and the opportunity for backcountry camping. The BLM
begins accepting written public comments on the plans this month,
he said, and will make a final decision by the end of 1998. Many of
the areas currently have oil and gas leases which can be developed.
But, Finstick said, no new leases will be issued “until we go
through this process.” Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo.,
has called for a Senate hearing on the BLM action, acknowledging
that several western Colorado counties accuse the agency of trying
to create a wilderness area without enough public and industry
input.
To register your opinion on the issue,
contact the following field offices: For the Yampa and Vermillion
roadless areas, write Little Snake Resource Area, 1280 Industrial
Ave., Craig, CO 81625 (970/824-4441); for the Pinyon Ridge area,
contact the White River Resource Area, 73544 Hwy. 64, Meeker, CO
81641 (970/878-3601); for Bangs Canyon and South Shale Ridge,
contact the Grand Junction Resource Area, 2815 H Road, Grand
Junction, CO 81506 (970/244-3000); and for the Castle Peak roadless
area, contact the Glenwood Springs Resource Area, P.O. Box 1009,
Glenwood Springs, CO 81602
(970/947-2806).
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Another wild opportunity.
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