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The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a business meeting yesterday to consider several land protection bills, some of which have been considered many times in previous years but have repeatedly died due to gridlock and dysfunction in Congress. Notably, the committee voted to advance the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy (CORE) Act, which would protect 420,000 acres of public land in Colorado through new wilderness areas and recreation and conservation management areas. The committee also passed the Dolores River National Conservation Area and Special Management Area Act, which would designate 68,000 acres in the southern portion of the Dolores River corridor in Colorado as a National Conservation Area and Special Management Area. This legislation does not include the Dolores Canyons in Mesa and Montrose counties to the north, which is the most biodiverse contiguous swath of unprotected public lands in Colorado.
Over a dozen other public lands bills moved forward in the meeting, including several bills featured in the Center for Western Priorities' 2022 Languishing Lands report, which highlights 19 Western landscapes that have been proposed for protection through bills that have repeatedly failed to make it through Congress, despite receiving markup sessions. The report found that, as of one year ago, over 16 million acres of public land were unprotected due to inaction by Congress.
“In the face of continuing loss of land to development and a worsening climate crisis, it’s laudable that the Senate is once again spending time on thoughtfully-crafted and broadly-supported conservation bills,” said Center for Western Priorities Policy Director Rachael Hamby. “But we have to be realistic and acknowledge that most of these bills will never see the light of day again. The current Congress struggles to get any legislation over the finish line.”
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden continues to deliver conservation wins that help bring the nation closer to its goal of protecting 30 percent of lands and waters by 2030. The President has protected public lands by designating them as national monuments using his authority under the Antiquities Act. In this calendar year alone, Biden has protected over 1.4 million acres of public land through the creation of three national monuments: Avi Kwa Ame in Nevada; Castner Range in Texas (featured in Languishing Lands); and Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument in Arizona (featured in Languishing Lands).
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Even after floating a lot of the rivers in the western U.S., the Dolores had a specialness that I had not experienced before. It not only sustains our communities, farms, ranches, and businesses, it is a place to restore our connection to something greater than ourselves. It is a living entity that deserves recognition and protection.”
