On Thursday, two Colorado legislators introduced last-minute Rocky Mountain National Park legislation that would provide "fake" wilderness protection for Colorado's most popular national park and would actually undo existing park protections.

The new bill, introduced at the eleventh hour by Senator Wayne Allard and Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave as Congress is preparing to adjourn for elections, threatens to derail the widely supported wilderness legislation introduced last year by Senator Salazar and Congressman Mark Udall (S. 1510/H.R. 4935), which has been carefully revised since and is moving through Congress.

"This is not a wilderness bill," said Steve Smith, Assistant Regional Director for The Wilderness Society.  "It does not add the spectacular wild lands of Rocky Mountain National Park to the National Wilderness Preservation System or give the park the established protections of The Wilderness Act. This second rate designation does not protect or honor the wilderness values at the park, and it is not acceptable."

Although the bill purports to designate the majority of the national park as wilderness, it does not reference The Wilderness Act, which provides management direction for all wilderness areas in the country, nor does it add the park lands to the National Wilderness Preservation System. Instead, the Park would be managed at the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior by whatever standards he or she deems appropriate.

In addition, the new Allard-Musgrave bill would actually undo existing protections that Rocky Mountain National Park currently enjoys via its National Park status. Specifically, the new legislation would open the park to mining exploration and to the construction of new water projects, activities that are prohibited in national parks across the country.

"The Allard-Musgrave bill, despite its title, has little to do with protecting wilderness, or providing additional protection for our beloved national park," stated Vera Smith, Conservation Director for the Colorado Mountain Club.  "In fact, the proposed bill actually unravels basic protections that Rocky Mountain National Park currently enjoys as part of the National Park System."

In contrast, the revised Salazar-Udall legislation pending before Congress would protect Rocky Mountain National Park's backcountry as true wilderness, and reflects a compromise crafted after long and hard negotiations among local interests, including local governments, recreation organizations, and conservation groups.

The Salazar-Udall compromise package has been widely endorsed by all of the local gateway communities to the park, including Estes Park, Grand Lake, and Winter Park, as well as the adjacent counties of Grand, Larimer, and Boulder. In addition, the Udall-Salazar legislation has been endorsed by numerous local and state civic, recreation, and conservation groups - from the League of Women Voters of Estes Park to the International Mountain Bicycling Association and Colorado Trout Unlimited - as well as by every state and local newspaper covering the park.

"The widely-supported, carefully-crafted Udall-Salazar package reflects a compromise that has already been widely endorsed by all of the affected local towns and counties and unanimously supported by local and statewide newspapers," stated Jeff Widen, Conservation Director for the Colorado Environmental Coalition.  "We strongly urge our legislators to move that package forward without further delay and without further changes."

Added Steve Smith, "We are hopeful that our congressional delegation will heed the overwhelming and unanimous local support for the pending Udall-Salazar legislation and move expeditiously this session to give Rocky Mountain National Park the protection it deserves."
 
Get more information about the Udall-Salazar legislation, including a list of endorsers.