The Eagle and Summit County Wilderness Preservation Act (pdf), sponsored by U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, who represents Eagle and Summit counties in Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District, would create more than 88,000 acres of new wilderness.

The San Juans Mountains Wilderness Act, sponsored in the House by Democratic Congressman John Salazar, who represents the 3rd Congressional District, and in the U.S. Senate by Democrats Mark Udall and Michael Bennet, would create more 33,000 acres of new wilderness in Southwest Colorado.

The Access Fund, which lobbies to “keep climbing areas open and conserve the climbing environment,” represents more than 2.3 million rock climbers, ice climbers, mountaineers and bouldering enthusiasts around the country.

“The Access Fund is happy to join with recreation and conservation groups across the state to support these public land conservation initiatives that preserve backcountry climbing and recreation opportunities,” Access Fund Executive Director Brady Robinson said on the group’s website.

“We support all types of climbing experiences, from the remote wilderness peaks to urban crags and bouldering areas. The opportunity to climb in protected wilderness areas is a key value that many climbers cherish. We hope our Colorado membership will contact their federal legislators in support of these proposals.”

The fund is urging its membership to contact their congressional representatives and voice their support for the two bills. Climbers can find their senators and representatives by entering their zip code at www.accessfund.org/elected_officials.

Sens Mark Udall and Michael Bennet

The act, if passed by both houses of Congress, would designate 33,383 acres as wilderness – mostly expanding existing wilderness areas – and 21,697 acres as a special management area. It would also take 6,596 acres of the Naturita Canyon area out consideration for mineral exploration or extraction.

Overall, more than 61,000 acres would be protected in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, San Juan and Gunnison national forests and the San Juan Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Resource Area in San Juan, Ouray and San Miguel counties.

Senate support is seen as critical to the passage of wilderness protection, and the San Juan bill is said to also have widespread local support, but before proponents of two other wilderness proposals in Colorado – Hidden Gems and Colorado’s Canyon Country Wilderness Area – get too excited, they should consider Udall’s support for recreation access.

Udall last spring introduced a bill that would make possible more activities on public lands leased by ski areas, where the current definition of what can take place under ski-area special use permits is pretty narrow. But environmentalists worry that opening the door to more mountain biking, concerts and alpine coasters could lead to the wholesale Disney-fication of public lands.

Off-road enthusiasts and mountain bikers are concerned they would be shut out of public lands, especially in the extremely popular White River National Forest, where Hidden Gems would designate up to 400,000 as wilderness and therefore block wheeled access. Backcountry conservationists argue the White River, home to the state’s most popular ski areas, is being used to death.

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