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0' .~ 7 tI; ~~-~..~3-.~J~...;.. z:/~/??L COLORADO & THE Steve Campbl:lI, Slate/Region Edltor . 892. Conservationists cite ups, downs Death of Two Forks, OK of wilderness bill were biggest victories By Gary Gerhardt R(>("lty Mouodalll Ntld StallU'riu, Colorado conservationists praise passage of the wilderness bill, the Denver Water Board's decision not to pursue Two Forks dam and legislation to designate the Rocky Mountain Arsenal a wildlife preserve as major vic- tories in 1991. Conversely, they cite a lack of designated water rights in the wil- derness bill, inability to stop log- ging at Sand Bench near Pagosa Springs and refusal of the legisla- ture to consider the Great Out. door Colorado excise tax bill among the year's biggest set. backs. "We certainly won more than we lost," said Darrell Knuffke, re- gional director of the Wilderness Society. "The wilderness bill may not be the bill of our dreams, but it represents important progress." Kelly Drake, director of the Col- orado Wildlife Federation, says the appointment of a task force to study opening state trust lands to public access is a major accom. plishment. "We also were successful in an effort to keep the state Division of Wildlife from giving ....ildlife to pri. vate parties." Drake said_ Another accomplishment. he said. was adoption of a state fisher- ies management plan to consider habitat as the key to overall fIsh- ery stability rather than rel}-ing on the hatchery-based system. Drake thinks the Wildlife Com- mission's decision to phase down the spring black-bear hunting sea- son was a failure, "The federation put a lot of rime and resources in helping to draft a bear management plan. but it nev- er was funded adequ:ltely and we didn't have the information needed to make proper decisions when the time came, "Rather. the commission baf.ed its decision on ethics and public attitudes - which makes sound wildlife management impossible," He said the failure of the legisla. ture to consider the Great Out- doors Colorado excise tax to fund wildlife projects. especially non- game projects, and the federal court's decision to augment flows on the Arkansas River as addition- aldefeats. The Nature Conservancy. often called the "real estate arm" of the em'ironmental movement. listed the purchase of four properties in Colorado last year among major accomplishments, They were: . The $4.5 million Piedra Valley Ranch v.;th 2 miles of Piedra River frontage between Pagosa Springs and Durango, . A cooperative effort with the Bureau of Land Management to acquire and protect 829 acres on the lake Fork of the Gunnison River. . A 99-year Ieaf.e with the state Land Board to protect more than 900 acres of high-quality foothills ecosystem in Aiken Canyon, . Purchase of the High Creek Fen. 1.000 acres in South Park, which supports more rare plants than any other Colorado wetland. Although Tom Lustig of the Na- tional Wildlife Federation agrees with the accomplishments, he's more concerned with threats that must be faced in 1992. "A lot of the threats haven't yet come to roost in Colorado. bul they're headed this way." Lustig said, "Chief among them is the reo newed activism of the old Sage- brush rebel types who are stirring up issues we're going to be facinR here soon," iiio:..I':......; ;:I)' >F" .. . ,,~ J:, ' .... Backcountry bounty SOllie oi Colurado's high-profilt ~ sufft'r1ng from a lack of fre, aoss,cuulllry skiers can find pier !ht, h.1Ck~'oul1try. This skier was r