Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument Legislation Passes Committee

Press Release

The Natural Resources Committee passed H.R. 835. Introduced by Representative Doug Lamborn (CO-05), it revises the title, number, and date of the map depicting the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in Colorado and increases from 6,000 to 6,300 the maximum number of acres that may be made available for inclusion in the Monument. The bill has bipartisan support from the Colorado delegation: Rep. Jared Polis (CO-02) and Rep. Scott Tipton (CO-03) are cosponsors, and Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) sponsored the Senate's legislation with Sen. Jared Bennett (D-CO) as cosponsor.

Rep. Lamborn issued the following statement: "Expanding this monument is beneficial for several reasons that I'm happy to support. First, the park service can trim away more underbrush that could potentially fuel wildfires. Second, the expansion is done at zero cost to our taxpayers. Third, tourists and locals alike will enjoy even more that Colorado's lands can offer. The stakeholders in this situation, whether they be at the county or federal level, have all agreed that this is a good decision for our state. Taking Congressional action to accomplish the will of the people is how these things should be done, and that's exactly what we did on the Natural Resources Committee."

Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop said, "On Mr. Lamborn's bill, we have a piece of legislation right now that has been agreed by all of the Members of the Colorado Delegation, both in the House and the Senate, by the Governor and Legislature. So for me, there is another principal that's at stake right there."

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