Montezuma County has been urging Republican Congressman Scott Tipton to sponsor a bill that would drop the wilderness study area designations in the county.<\/p>\n
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Congresswoman Diana DeGette, D-Denver, will visit Cortez for the first time Monday to discuss her proposed<\/p>\n
DeGette will host a community forum from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Aug. 26 at Cortez City Hall 123 E. Roger Smith Ave.<\/p>\n
Local support for the bill \u2013 which includes designating new wilderness areas in Montezuma, Dolores and San Miguel Counties \u2013 is mixed.<\/p>\n
The Montezuma County commission has been lobbying against it, and the Cortez City Council voted 4-3 to support it.<\/p>\n
At the forum, updates on the bill will be provided and questions will be taken from the audience.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re available, and in the area, I hope you will join us for this event,\u201d says DeGette in a news release. \u201cPlease feel free to pass this information along to any of your family and friends who may be interested in attending as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
A big crowd is expected, and seating will be on a first-come, first-serve basis because space is limited.<\/p>\n
The bill seeks to designate 740,000 acres in 31 areas as wilderness areas, which include additional land protection.<\/p>\n
The areas in Montezuma County proposed for wilderness in the bill are the Bureau of Land Management wilderness study areas of Weber Mountain, Menefee Mountain and Cross Canyon. In Dolores County the bill proposes to make the Snaggletooth stretch of the lower Dolores River Canyon a wilderness area.<\/p>\n
Cahone Canyon, and Squaw and Papoose Canyon are the other wilderness study areas within the county but are not part of the bill.<\/p>\n
DeGette has introduced the Colorado Wilderness Act in every Congress since 1999. But this is the first time that DeGette has received assurances from congressional leaders that her bill will receive a hearing in the House Natural Resources Committee, which it has never received before and is a critical first step in moving the bill forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis bill was designed to protect some our state\u2019s most unique areas,\u201d DeGette said, \u201cfrom the desert slopes of the Bookcliffs, to the highest peaks of the San Juan Mountains.\u201d<\/p>\n
Montezuma County has been urging Republican Congressman Scott Tipton to sponsor a bill that would drop the wilderness study area designations in the county.<\/p>\n