Message from the
Director
Welcome to the March edition of the Conservation Chronicles,
the monthly e-newsletter of CMC Conservation. There is a lot happening that we
are excited to share with you. Our upcoming outdoor stewardship season is
packed with exciting volunteer opportunities. Senator Udall has begun a public
dialogue about wilderness for the Central Mountains and Browns Canyon – and
wants to hear from CMC members and the public. The Colorado legislature is in
full swing, and there are several bills we are tracking that impact the
interests of CMC members and hikers, climbers and other lovers of Colorado’s
beautiful backcountry.
CMC Conservation is working to help build a culture of
stewardship in Colorado. We believe that since we are recreational users of the
land, we have an obligation to be stewards as well – to give back. Stewardship
can take many forms, including practicing Leave No Trace when in the
backcountry, volunteering for outdoor trail work and restoration projects, as
well as advocacy work that holds policy makers accountable for decisions
affecting management of our backcountry.
I challenge all of us to become involved in stewardship in
Colorado. Working together, each in our own way, we can have a tremendous
impact for good. Given that Colorado’s population is projected to continue to
grow, the demands on our public lands will also increase; so the need for a
strong ethic of stewardship is both timely and critical to meet the challenges
of the coming decades.
For the Mountains,
Scott Braden
Director of Conservation & Education
Legislative Update
The Colorado General Assembly is in session until May 9, and
we’ve been following a series of bills that directly impact recreation and our
backcountry. Thank you to those who have already sent notes to your
representatives!
HB
1066 –
CMC Opposes – This bill would open about 40,000
miles of county roads and town streets across Colorado to off-highway vehicles
(OHV), as well as create a system to register and title these vehicles. While
there are legitimate connectivity problems for OHV users, CMC believes that
this legislation goes too far, could harm natural resources, disrupt other
recreational users, as well as strip counties and towns of their ability to
regulate OHV use in their jurisdictions. HB 1066 is close to a vote in the
House of Representatives. Right now, your state legislators need to hear from
their constituents before the final votes. Let’s try to stop this in its
tracks before it passes to the State Senate!
HB
1317 –
CMC Opposes – This bill merges the governing
commission of the newly merged Colorado Parks and Wildlife division. CMC
believes that it is critical that state parks and recreation are fairly
represented on the board. HB 1317, as amended, would be composed of 3
hunting/angler seats, 3 agriculture seats, 1 non-consumptive wildlife
organization, 1 outfitter and only 3 recreation seats, one of which is to have
motorized trails experience. This arrangement gives an outsized voice to land
owners and motorized recreation.
Colorado’s active recreation economy adds about $10 billion
per year to our state’s economy, according to a
report
by the Outdoor Industry Association. Please tell your state legislators,
especially in the State Senate, to make sure that the final bill fairly
represents the interests of hikers, climbers, paddlers and other active
recreation enthusiasts.
HB
1322 –
CMC Opposes – This bill would require the federal
government to sell off any public lands suitable for agricultural uses, which
would include logging and grazing, and return a portion of the proceeds to
Colorado to fund an education trust fund. Therefore, nearly all
federally-managed public lands would be on the auction block, including
designated wilderness. The bill is almost certainly unconstitutional, and if
successful would be devastating to recreation and wildlife in Colorado. See our
fact
sheet for more info.
This is part of a
wider
assault on public lands that is happening at the federal level and in
states around the west. The bill was supposed to be heard before the House
Education Committee last Monday, but was pulled from the calendar. Ask your
legislators to oppose this unwise legislation.
Find your legislators and contact information
here.
Wilderness Update
Did you know that Senator Mark Udall is leading a
public
listening process that will hopefully lead to a new national monument for
Colorado? We’ve already alerted members that Sen. Udall wants public
comment on potential wilderness for the Central Mountains of Summit, Eagle and
Pitkin counties, but he is also seeking input on a potential national monument
and wilderness area for Browns Canyon of the Arkansas River. Designation
of lands surrounding this popular whitewater river stretch could help the
economy of Chaffee County as well as protect this iconic and rugged area for
future generations. For maps and to comment on this proposal, see
Sen.
Udall’s website. Also check out the
Friends
of Browns Canyon.
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