Category Archives: Roadless

CEC Goes to Washington DC

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Colorado’s Senator Bennet was honored at the GO Week Congressional Reception along with many other legislators from across the country. At the reception he joined the Colorado Crew for a picture.

I recently had the privilege of traveling to Washington DC for Great Outdoors America Week. It was a great trip! We both furthered our goals for protecting public lands in Colorado and it was a fun time! Great Outdoors America week (GO Week) is organized by the Wilderness Society and brings all different kinds of outdoor related organizations, businesses, elected leaders etc from all over the country to our nation’s capitol to collaborate and meet with members of Congress. In addition to groups advocating for wilderness protections like CEC, there were outdoor education people, mountain biking advocates, veterans for the outdoors and many others. The big tent approach is very effective, imagine hundreds of GO Week participants flooding the halls of Congress, it was hard to miss the passion for the outdoors and public lands!

The Colorado crew was impressive. There were over thirty of us meeting with our delegation members about current wilderness legislation, such as San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act and the Eagle and Summit County Wilderness Preservation Act; and upcoming pieces of legislation (we hope!) like Senator Udall’s Browns Canyon and the Central Mountains Outdoor Heritage proposal and Senator Bennet’s Hermosa Creek Wilderness Proposal. We also updated our delegation about our progress in the Dolores Basin and efforts on Wild and Scenic Rivers efforts. The Colorado Crew included county commissioners, town council members, business leaders and outdoor industry representatives all promoting public land protection. See, Impressive! One of the Congressional staffers pulled me aside after a meeting and said ‘that was really refreshing!’ I guess not all of the meetings they have are so much fun!

Speaking of fun, GO Week pulls in people from all over the country that are passionate about wilderness and the outdoors. So there are plenty of folks to get to know and lots of old friends from past GO Weeks to catch up with. If you plan your day right you can take some time to take in DC’s rich history and culture.

Check out the Op-Ed submitted by our impressive Colorado crew: http://www.postindependent.com/ARTICLE/20120709/VALLEYNEWS/120709899/-1/RSS

Kurt Kunkle
Wilderness Campaigns Coordinator

Some tangible evidence

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About to head out for a staff/board hike led by Kurt. (Anne Pogoriler)

I’ve been interning at CEC for the last 9 months and although I’ve been invited on several exciting outings with the organization, I’ve yet to make it on a trip (I know what you’re thinking – what the heck is wrong with me!). Well, this past weekend I finally got to take part in their annual board and staff retreat down in beautiful Marble, CO at the Beaver Lake Retreat. We met everyone bright and early in Morrison, loaded up our gear and car pooled through the spectacular I-70 corridor up towards Glenwood Springs. After feeding the troops, we delved into an extensive and informative staff meeting. CEC works on a wide array of environmental issues in Colorado, and each staff member brings a particular expertise to these issues. During the meeting, I obtained a deeper understanding of how impassioned and dedicated these individuals are about protecting and preserving our incredible state. It really reverberated the sense of excitement I feel about getting to work with an organization that makes such a resounding impact on our communities. We concluded the day with an amazing dinner fit for kings and some great conversation with some of Colorado’s finest.

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A new way for you to get involved with CEC!

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Tired of watching mediocre baseball? Come to GreenScene. Guaranteed victory!

Everyone in Colorado seems to know at least one person who came to Colorado only planning to stay for a short while and never left. Maybe you are one of these people. Either way, it is evident that Colorado seems to have a special special draw that many of us have experienced  first-hand. Sure, we are a nice people, us Coloradans, but it’s really all about the beauty of this state.

The environmental community’s biggest recruiting tool is nature, and Colorado is blessed with some of the most beautiful scenery in the country. We think that when people see firsthand the beauty of a proposed wilderness area, they are much more likely to get involved to help protect that area.

To help accomplish this, CEC is proud to announce a new way for you to learn, get involved, and meet other conservation-minded folks. GreenScene will be focused on education and getting out and exploring Colorado, and will provide opportunities for our members and activists to get out and enjoy our great state, all while learning the ins-and-outs of of some of Colorado’s most important environmental issues, and — most importantly — what you can do to help.

At our first GreenScene event, Kurt Kunkle, our Wilderness Campaign Coordinator, will talk how Colorado’s most beautiful — and threatened — areas become designated wilderness, focusing on the proposed Hidden Gems Wilderness Area. Then, two weeks later, we will carpool up to one of the Hidden Gems areas in Summit County, where Kurt will guide a hike and highlight what makes that area truly special and why it needs to be protected.

The first event will take place on July 26th at Breckenridge Brewery and BBQ and will start at 7pm. If you are interested in what makes an area “wilderness” and how CEC and others fight to give areas that designation and all the protection that comes with it, come on down. Kurt’s an expert at this stuff, so if you have any questions or thoughts on the issue, this is a great opportunity to share those. It’s going to be a great, laid-back, time and I hope to see you there.

A good time to be in DC!

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Kurt and other wilderness activists from Colorado with Rep. Jared Polis and the new bill!

Kurt and other wilderness activists from Colorado with Rep. Jared Polis and the new bill!

Wilderness Week – a joint program put on by the Campaign for America’s Wilderenss and The Wilderness Society – brings wilderness advocates from all over the country came to DC to share wilderness campaign stories, learn about how to work with congress and of course walk the halls of congress to further our wilderness campaigns.

I really enjoy going to DC to experience that part of our great nation. To walk the halls of congress and meet with members of Congress and their staff is a testament to our process of government and its availability. I’ll readily admit that I know very little about what happens in those buildings, but to have some access to Congress and play a part in shaping its agenda is pretty cool!

Meeting other wilderness activists from across the country was also a treat. I got so see some old friends who I rarely get to see and meet new people who bring new energy to the wilderness movement.

But the biggest treat of all was getting to watch Congressman Polis introduce the Eagle and Summit County Wilderness Preservation Act. Mr. Polis invited everyone from Colorado that was in DC for Wilderness Week to join him as he introduced the Bill. We met him at his office, where he excitedly showed us the Bill and took a photo with us. Then we all walked over to the Capital (in the tunnel system that only Members of Congress and their staff can use!). He got us all situated in the Gallery above the House Floor. As he walked down the aisle below us,, he looked back to make sure we were watching and then gave the bill to the House Clerk, who assigned a number to the bill on the spot. That was it. A very simple act, but loaded with meaning for someone like me who has spent years falling in love with places and has worked for their protection. It was huge!!

It was a good time to be in DC!

A good time to be in DC!

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Kurt and other wilderness activists from Colorado with Rep. Jared Polis and the new bill!

Kurt and other wilderness activists from Colorado with Rep. Jared Polis and the new bill!

Wilderness Week – a joint program put on by the Campaign for America’s Wilderenss and The Wilderness Society – brings wilderness advocates from all over the country came to DC to share wilderness campaign stories, learn about how to work with congress and of course walk the halls of congress to further our wilderness campaigns.

I really enjoy going to DC to experience that part of our great nation. To walk the halls of congress and meet with members of Congress and their staff is a testament to our process of government and its availability. I’ll readily admit that I know very little about what happens in those buildings, but to have some access to Congress and play a part in shaping its agenda is pretty cool!

Meeting other wilderness activists from across the country was also a treat. I got so see some old friends who I rarely get to see and meet new people who bring new energy to the wilderness movement.

But the biggest treat of all was getting to watch Congressman Polis introduce the Eagle and Summit County Wilderness Preservation Act. Mr. Polis invited everyone from Colorado that was in DC for Wilderness Week to join him as he introduced the Bill. We met him at his office, where he excitedly showed us the Bill and took a photo with us. Then we all walked over to the Capital (in the tunnel system that only Members of Congress and their staff can use!). He got us all situated in the Gallery above the House Floor. As he walked down the aisle below us,, he looked back to make sure we were watching and then gave the bill to the House Clerk, who assigned a number to the bill on the spot. That was it. A very simple act, but loaded with meaning for someone like me who has spent years falling in love with places and has worked for their protection. It was huge!!

It was a good time to be in DC!

Roadless Reprieve

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HD Mountains Roadless Area

HD Mountains Roadless Area

Happy Holidays to Colorado! Our state’s roadless national forests got a last-minute reprieve on Friday thanks to Governor Ritter, who asked the Bush Administration to put the brakes on the Forest Service’s rush to write a lousy roadless rule for Colorado before Bush leaves town in January. Specifically, Mike King, the Deputy Director of Colorado’s Department of Natural Resources, gets credit for staring down Mark Rey, who oversees things at the Forest Service, and making sure Colorado’s best interests were being put ahead of the current administration’s desire to fast-track even more 11th hour anti-environmental policies. The result is that President-elect Obama and not President Bush will now be penning the rule affecting the fate of more than four million acres of pristine, road-free national forests in Colorado – some of the best wildlife habitat and backcountry recreation areas anywhere in the West! While most conservationists, hunters and anglers believe that Colorado would be better off with one national rule covering all of America’s roadless forests rather than a separate rule for Colorado, there is no disagreement about whether our state’s forests will do better under the new Administration.

End of the line for roadless forests?

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Protections for Colorado’s roadless backcountry are coming down to the wire as our government transitions from the Bush to the Obama Administration.

The Clinton Roadless Rule set the standard for protecting roadless areas, and on-again, off-again rulings in federal courts have taken the Clinton Rule on the roller coaster ride of its eight-year life. The current administration has tried to make it go away by trying to delete and rewrite it, but the 2001 rule is still the gold standard for protecting our roadless areas.

Now the current administration is issuing a bunch of last minute orders; among these are the rules that will decide the fate of Colorado’s roadless areas. The Bush roadless rule, which could go into effect immediately before the Obama administration takes office, will gut protections for our forests, leaving them vulnerable to development. Read the latest about the Colorado Roadless rule and how it will affect wildlife.

The right thing for President Bush to do is sit the rest of this roadless roller coaster ride out and let the next administration take to the tracks and give our roadless backcountry the protection it deserves.