Coloradans to Pres. Obama: Protect Western Lands
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
DURANGO, Colo. - Coloradans and other Westerners are asking President Obama to sidestep Congress and act directly to protect some important places in the Mountain West.
This comes as critics have called the current Congress the most environmentally-unfriendly ever. No new federal lands have been designated, and a number of bills threaten currently-protected lands.
Brian O'Donnell, executive director of the Conservation Lands Foundation in Durango, met the President last week at a White House conference on conservation, asking him to use the Antiquities Act to protect key habitats and historical sites in Colorado and across the west.
"We can't take public lands for granted. We're seeing a whole lot of lands in the Western United States that are being sold, that are being leased for oil and gas drilling, and we want to make sure the best of the best are set aside for future generations."
O'Donnell says two areas in Colorado are on his list for increased protections. One is Brown's Canyon in Chaffee County, which Senator Mark Udall has proposed be named a National Wilderness. The other is to make Chimney Rock in southwestern Colorado a National Monument. That proposal has bi-partisan sponsorship from Colorado's Democratic Senator Michael Bennet and Republican Congressman Scott Tipton. O'Donnell says there's strong local support for protecting those areas.
Deborah Gangloff, the chief archeologist at the Crow Canyon Cultural Center in Cortez near Chimney Rock, says that site needs protection.
"The Forest Service needs some help in designating and making sure that those lands are well-cared-for. We would really like to see this added designation to bring public attention to Chimney Rock."
Gangloff says much of the infrastructure is already in place, so the Monument wouldn't cost much to establish, but the designation could help boost the region's tourism economy.
"If only eight percent of those annual visitors stay an extra day to go up to Chimney Rock and see it, another $3.8 million would be added to the local economy in terms of tourism."
Supporters say the protections have another value: keeping the treasures found at sites like Chimney Rock from looters and preserving them for future generations.
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