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<br />I, .)~) <br />,111_'. . <br />~edne.day, February 1 999 <br /> <br />~enver Rocky Mountain News <br /> <br /> <br />s...-' ~w...--._ <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />t~ <br /><.".,.,..- <br />...,..... <br /><c-_ <br />....""""" <br />7.SkulCt.- <br />.......- <br />.-- <br />lo.EMd<"""WnJot~ <br />1l.OISvng~ <br />ll.o.n.r..~ <br />lS.Rowl~ <br />1.4._c..,.on <br />I5.S~RIOoit <br />1"l.Alle~ <br />17.IlIKI<Al'Qe~ <br />11.8lrlQlCaP,oon <br />It.G<w1olIIIo- <br />"..- <br />t1.~ <br />..._""""" <br />............. <br />24.AOotle~ <br />..........."""" <br />...-..- <br />n.~AM.c.nyon <br />2&.:;'~ <br />2t.__~ <br />.. -...... <br />11.Cn:luCat1von <br />...--- <br />>>-W_~Mln. <br />...--- <br />...-- <br />..._c- <br />S7.IoWoon~ <br />..._c- <br />K.FlldTOI>>_ <br />.....- <br />.1.c-PW< <br />...,..-.. <br />..........""""" <br />"'_c- <br />.......,..- <br />..__c- <br />O.SarlL.J..-" <br />4I.RooGtw'ltle <br />U. G<.Il Srdo..---.. <br /> <br />-, <br /> <br />111--. M Stall <br /> <br />DeGette bill enlarges wilderness in state <br /> <br />8y Berny Morson <br />St_SJ4ffWnlff <br />Rep. Diana OeGette. 0-Co10., <br />will propose wilderness pro- <br />tection today for 1.4 million acres <br />of federal land. mostly on Colora- <br />do's Western Slope. <br />Among the 49 parcels are can- <br />yonlands on the western edge of <br />the state and 71,000 acres in <br />southwestern Colorado linking <br />the Weminuche 'Nildemess Area <br />with two smaller wildernesses to <br />create a swath of nearly unbroken <br />wildlife habitat. <br />DeGette's proposal is support- <br />ed by environmental groups. <br />which have sought wilderness <br />designation for the scenic lands. <br />But word of the proposal brought <br />sv.ift opposition from Sen. Wayne <br />Allard, R.Colo. <br />"It's just going to raise a fire- <br />storm on the West Slope:' Allard <br />said. <br />~fost of the parcels belong to <br />the Bureau of Land ~tanage. <br /> <br />ment, which has been studying <br />the areas for wilderness designa- <br />tion. But some West Slope resi- <br />dents, fearing restrictions on gas <br />and oil drilling, oppose the desig- <br />nation. <br />Oer~tte said her bill will not <br />wipe out mining claims or oil and <br />gas leases. "It's not a chain saw; <br />it's a scalpel," she said of the bill. <br />But Allard said OeGette is "an <br />outsider coming into the West <br />Slope telling people what to do," <br />He said OeGette should have <br />worked v.;th Rep. Scott ~IcInnis, <br />a Republican who represents the <br />Western Slope, <br />McInnis was out of the country <br />and unavailable for commenL <br />"My view is these lands don't <br />belong to Scott and they don't <br />belong to me. They belong to our <br />children and our children's chil. <br />dren." DeGette said, <br />She said that her family has <br />camped and fished in the moun- <br />tains for nearly a century and that <br />preservation is "the right thing to <br /> <br />do for Colorado right now." <br />She said most Coloradans want <br />to preserve natural areas, "No <br />one who lives here wants to <br />make this another Southern Cali. <br />fornia." <br />OeGette conceded that she <br />faces a battle in getting her bill <br />through Congress, where memo <br />bers traditionally defer to one <br />another on programs 'Nithin their <br />districts. That means McInnis <br />gets a veto on Western Slope <br />wilderness designation in the <br />House, while Allard and Sen, Ben <br />Nighthorse Campbell. R-Colo.. <br />v.ill call the shots in the Senate. <br />Campbell was critical of more <br />wilderness designation during <br />his re-election campaign last fall. <br />saying it hurts the Western Slope <br />economy, He could not be <br />reached for comment Tuesday. <br />OeGette said she plans to <br />bring members of Congress to <br />Colorado next summer to show <br />them the areas. <br />