Wilderness bill protects parts of Rocky Mountain National Park
Excerpts:
The U.S. Senate, in a bipartisan 73-21 vote, moved Thursday to preserve 2 million acres in nine states as wilderness areas — including 315,000 acres in Colorado.
Among the areas in the largest expansion of the country's wilderness lands in 15 years are parts of Rocky Mountain National Park and Dominguez and Escalante canyons.
"This confers the highest level of protection on these lands," said Steve Smith, assistant regional director of the Wilderness Society.
"Everyone thinks it's a national park so it's protected, but this will keep 250,000 acres as untouched wilderness," Smith said.
The bill, which goes to the House of Representatives for a final vote, also creates a 210,000-acre national conservation area around Escalante and Dominguez canyons south of Grand Junction, including a 65,000-acre wilderness area.
About Ben Beach
A graduate of Harvard with a law degree from Catholic University, Ben worked for The Wilderness Society from May 1984 to November 2011, making him our longest-serving staff member. He edited Wilderness magazine and our newsletter. Ben was also... More about Ben Beach
