DeGette Bill Aims to ‘Capture’ Colorado’s Remaining Wilderness
Thursday, September 13, 2007
New federal legislation from Colorado Representative Diana DeGette takes an inventory of Colorado's remaining wilderness and protects more than 1.6 million acres across the state. DeGette feels the state's special places need to be preserved in the face of increasing energy-related development.
"Even with my bill, 80 percent of our B.L.M. land would still be available for energy growth. It is important that we balance power expansion with wilderness preservation for future generations."
The areas suggested for federal protection in the bill include portions of the Front Range and spots along the Western Slope that have been targeted for oil and gas drilling. DeGette says she made certain to include the Roan Plateau.
"It's really an attempt to capture the rest of the remaining wilderness in Colorado and preserve it. This is an area of pristine wilderness which would be completely destroyed by drilling."
The act would protect 62 separate areas throughout the state, including 40,000 acres on the Roan Plateau and more than twice that amount in the Vermillion Basin, another area targeted for drilling.
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