Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness Bill Sponsors Speak In Support of Consensus Bill At First Hearing

Press Release

Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness Bill Sponsors Speak in Support of Consensus Bill at First Hearing

Today, S. 1380, the consensus Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness legislation received its first hearing in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Senator Ken Salazar, who sits on the committee, Senator Wayne Allard, Congressman Mark Udall (CO-2) and Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave (CO-4) all testified in support of their legislation to designate nearly 250,000 acres of Rocky Mountain National Park as wilderness.

The sponsors of the bill also thanked Judy Burke, Mayor of the Town of Grand Lake, and Dennis Harmon, from the Water Supply and Storage Company in Fort Collins, Colorado, for testifying in support of the legislation. The bill enjoys very broad support ranging from the Park's surrounding communities, elected officials, businesses, residents and Colorado's environmental community.

Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave (CO-4) - "I proudly support this legislation because this Wilderness designation has gone through a thorough process and all interested parties have been brought to the table to be a part of the discussion and negotiation," said Musgrave. "This bill is a compromise that Senator Allard, Senator Salazar, Congressman Udall and I have worked closely to craft. It is a bill that will preserve Rocky Mountain National Park and family farms in Larimer and Weld County."

Senator Wayne Allard: "Today's hearing is a significant milestone in our effort to designate Rocky Mountain National Park as a wilderness area. This carefully crafted bipartisan legislation will protect the Grand Ditch while ensuring one of America's national treasures is preserved for the enjoyment of future generations."

Energy and Natural Resources Committee member, Senator Ken Salazar: "Congress' job of protecting the wild character of Rocky Mountain National Park is not complete until we designate the 249,339 acres within the Park outlined in our bill as wilderness. Our bill does not affect private land owners, existing development, or water rights. And our bill provides consistency for the Grand Ditch that runs through the park to operate and provide our farmers, ranchers and communities on the Eastern Plains the water they need. I appreciate my colleagues' appearance before the Committee today and for speaking with one voice in support of the Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness Act and am hopeful we can pass it soon to protect the legacy and majesty of Rocky Mountain National Park."

Congressman Udall (CO-2) - "Protecting the park has been a consistent goal of mine since I first introduced wilderness legislation in 1999. Why is this so important? Because nearby land development has accelerated in recent years, and the pristine nature of the park's backcountry has become an increasingly rare feature of Colorado's landscape. The park's popularity demands definitive and permanent protection for wild areas against possible pressures for development within the park. While only about one tenth the size of Yellowstone National Park, Rocky Mountain sees nearly the same number of visitors and that is expected to grow even more. Designating carefully selected portions of Rocky Mountain National Park as wilderness will also make other areas, now restricted under interim wilderness protection management, available for overdue improvements to park roads and visitor facilities."

A brief recap of S. 1380:
• Designates 249,339 acres in RMNP as wilderness;
• Guarantees that the backcountry of RMNP will be managed so that future generations will experience the park as we know it today
• Allows for the National Park Service to continue bark beetle and fire mitigation efforts as well as emergency response actions;
• Ensures wilderness designation will not affect water rights connected to the Colorado Big Thompson Project or the Grand River Ditch; and
• Allows possible construction of a bike trail near Grand Lake.

The full text of the bill is available by clicking here and a map showing the RMNP lands that are proposed for wilderness designation is available by clicking here.

Today's hearing is a first step for the bill, the bill will next have a ‘mark-up' hearing in the full Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

According to Section 2(c) in the 1964 Wilderness Act, the definition of Wilderness is an, "area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions and which (1) generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man's work substantially unnoticeable; (2) has outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation; (3) has at least five thousand acres of land or is of sufficient size as to make practicable its preservation and use in an unimpaired condition; and (4) may also contain ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value."

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