Letter: Sens looking out for Thompson Divide

On Wednesday, I joined hundreds of my fellow residents gathered to voice our comments to the Bureau of Land Management, calling for the protection of this special place called Thompson Divide. I have always stated that I am not against oil and gas drilling per se, but I feel very strongly that it can and must be done properly and that there are some places where it should just not be done. Thompson Divide is one of these places.

I commented that the greatest act of government is to listen to the people, and I acknowledged the BLM for doing just that, albeit a bit tardy. Another example of our democracy at work was demonstrated by Sen. Mark Udall being present at the meeting, genuinely engaged: a demonstration of great leadership. I had the pleasure of giving the senator and Sen. Michael Bennet the aerial perspective of Thompson Divide last summer in my job at EcoFlight. Udall impressed me with his balanced approach, his ability to listen and overall his commitment to the health of our environment. On Wednesday night he joined with the residents at the meeting calling for the protection of this special place. He has listened to his constituents, what a concept! Both he and Bennet are to be congratulated for sponsoring legislation to permanently protect Thompson Divide.

Udall also mentioned that he will be introducing legislation for his Central Mountains Proposal next January, and along with his work in Browns Canyon and the San Juan Mountains, he is working to protect lands important to all Coloradoans for our future generations.

My thanks to Udall.

Bruce Gordon

Aspen