After having the opportunity to review Sen. Ken Salazar’s recent legislative proposal to make the current Dominguez-Escalante Wilderness Study Areas into a National Conservation Area, I am left wondering why it was necessary to include an obscure three-paragraph provision in the 21-pages of proposed legislation that would make another 12,500 acres of land north of the national conservation area into a “special management area” that in effect creates another wilderness area, excluding bicycles, ATVs, Jeeps, timber interests and such from an area long used by locals?

If I am looking at the map of the proposed special management area correctly, it means almost everything to my left as I enter Unaweep Canyon from Whitewater will be off limts to bicycles and motorized vehicles, clear up to the Cactus Park entrance at the top of Nine Mile Hill. Unless of course I am able to walk it, borrow a horse to ride it or rent a helicopter to fly over it to enjoy the beauty of MY public lands.

Sen. Ken Salazar should be ashamed for allowing his staff to include and bury this kind of special-interest provision in legislation that has at least some popular support. Trying to sneak this “Greenie, lock them all out” language into any land-use legislation attacks the credibility of someone who I once voted for because of his perceived ability to represent all of his constituents.

BILL GASKILL
Grand Junction

This entry was posted on Monday, April 14th, 2008 at 12:49 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.