DENVER (May 22, 2008) - Today, Colorado citizen groups herald introduction of legislation in both the House and Senate to protect Dominguez Canyon Wilderness and a surrounding national conservation area. Thanks to legislation introduced today by members of Colorado’s congressional delegation, the spectacular redrock bends and alcoves of the Dominguez and Escalante canyons south of Grand Junction are a step closer to being permanently protected.
“We are thrilled,” said Joe Neuhof, Western Slope Field Director for the Colorado Environmental Coalition. “This new legislation captures the strong momentum that has long been building to protect this marvelous landscape.”
The legislation introduced today in Washington D.C is sponsored by Senator Ken Salazar in the Senate and Rep. John Salazar in the House.
“We are delighted with leadership provided by Senator Ken Salazar and Congressman John Salazar in protecting this beautiful area,” Wilderness Society Assistant Regional Director Steve Smith said. “Senator Wayne Allard has also been an active and helpful participant in the negotiations, and we hope to see him joining the legislation in the near future.”
"The citizens of western Colorado have been recreating in this spectacular area for decades" said Clare Bastable of the Colorado Mountain Club. "We are proud of our senators for having taken this important step to ensure outstanding recreational opportunities for generations to come.”
Once passed, the bill will create the approximately 200,000-acre Dominguez-Escalante Canyons National Conservation Area. The conservation area will preserve the land’s current variety of uses and will include the approximately 75,000-acre Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area. The wilderness area is formally recommended by the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for protection and is part of Colorado’s Canyon Country Wilderness Proposal, a statewide collection of areas endorsed by the Colorado Wilderness Network, local governments, businesses, and civic organizations.
Known for their herds of desert bighorn sheep, true solitude and ancient rock art illustrating a cultural history stretching back hundreds of years, the new conservation area includes serpentine redrock sandstone canyons that slice deeply into some of the wildest quarters of the Uncompahgre Plateau. The national conservation area – Colorado’s third – will protect the natural features and recreation opportunities in Escalante Canyon, Cactus Park, and nearby mesas, surrounding the new wilderness, protected forever along Big Dominguez and Little Dominguez creeks.
“This is great news, and we thank the senators for acting,” said Andy Whipple of the Western Colorado Congress in Grand Junction. “This bill is a good start toward protecting all the deserving lands, wildlife habitat, and other stunning canyons in the vicinity—including places like Roubideau Canyon, Kelso Mesa, Black Point, and Dominguez North."
A vital component of good landscape management, wilderness preserves wildlife habitat and cultural resources while providing people looking for quiet recreation with a chance to find solitude in some of the Western Slope’s most dramatic canyon country. Grazing will be permitted throughout the proposed conservation area, while off-road vehicles will be able to use trails open to them outside the wilderness. A new BLM management plan for the conservation area will ultimately determine which trails will remain open to specific uses.
Members of the Colorado Wilderness Network, including Colorado Environmental Coalition, Colorado Mountain Club, Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society, and Western Colorado Congress, have been working since 1986 to protect the Dominguez and Escalante canyons. In addition to thanking Colorado’s congressional delegation, the groups thank local BLM staff and Mesa, Montrose and Delta county commissioners for collaborating on this important bill and helping protect one of western Colorado’s most beautiful landscapes while preserving some of the region’s traditional uses.
