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Wilderness advocates lobby Colorado senators

Aspen Times staff report
Aspen, CO Colorado

DENVER – Supporters of three proposals for Wilderness, including the Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign, submitted about 13,500 comments in support of their plan to U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and Mark Udall on Tuesday.

The advocates held a rally named “A Call to Action” in Denver as part of their effort to get Wilderness designation added to nearly 1.9 million acres of public lands in Colorado. The Hidden Gems proposal would add about 400,000 acres of Wilderness in the White River National Forest. The plan has spurred intense debate in Pitkin, Eagle, Garfield, Gunnison and Summit counties.

The other proposals are the San Juan Wilderness Act and the Colorado Canyon Country Wilderness proposal. The San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act is part of a bill sponsored in the U.S. House by Rep. John Salazar.



A coalition of environmental organizations called the Colorado Wilderness Network is promoting the plan.