Reps. Markey and Polis to Introduce Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness Bill

Press Release

REPS. MARKEY AND POLIS TO INTRODUCE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK WILDERNESS BILL

Today, U.S. Representatives Betsy Markey (CO-4) and Jared Polis (CO-2) will introduce legislation to designate nearly 250,000 acres of Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) as wilderness. In short, the Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness and Indian Peaks Wilderness Expansion Act will:

· Designate 249,339 acres in RMNP as wilderness;
· Guarantee that the backcountry of RMNP will be managed so that future generations will experience the park as we know it today
· Allow for the National Park Service to continue bark beetle and fire mitigation efforts as well as emergency response actions;
· Ensure wilderness designation will not affect water rights connected to the Colorado Big Thompson Project or the Grand River Ditch;
· Allow possible construction of a bike trail near Grand Lake.

"Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the nation's most beautiful and most visited parks," said Rep. Markey. "This measure will help Colorado tourism, which is a huge economic driver for our state. This bill reflects the hard work and commitment of so many stakeholders, including Sen. Ken Salazar, Sen. Mark Udall and former Sen. Wayne Allard. This is a consensus bill that I believe we can pass through Congress on behalf of all Coloradans."

"Coloradans are famous for their love of the environment and the Rocky Mountain National Park, one of our greatest treasures, is no exception,"said Rep. Polis. "I am honored to cosponsor this bill as one of my first acts in Congress, which recognizes our state's long history of good stewardship and will protect and preserve one of our nation's few remaining wilderness areas for generations to come."

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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