[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 11, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1181-E1182]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  SPANISH PEAKS WILDERNESS ACT OF 1997

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DAVID E. SKAGGS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 11, 1997

  Mr. SKAGGS. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing a bill to give 
permanent protection as wilderness to the heart of the Spanish Peaks 
area in Colorado.
  The bill is cosponsored by my colleague from Colorado, Mr. McInnis. I 
greatly appreciate his assistance and support.
  The mountains now usually known as the Spanish Peaks are two volcanic 
peaks in Las Animas and Huerfano Counties whose Native America name is 
Wayatoya. The eastern peak rises to 12,683 feet above sea level, while 
the summit of the western peak reaches 13,626 feet. The two served as 
landmarks not only for native Americans but also for some of Colorado's 
other early settlers and for travelers along the trail between Bent's 
Old Fort on the Arkansas River and Taos, NM.
  With this history, it's not surprising that the Spanish Peaks portion 
of the San Isabel National Forest was included in 1977 on the National 
Registry of Natural Landmarks.
  The Spanish Peaks area has outstanding scenic, geologic, and 
wilderness values, including a spectacular system of over 250 free 
standing dikes and ramps of volcanic materials radiating from the 
peaks. The State of Colorado has designated the Spanish Peaks as a 
natural area, and they are a popular destination for hikers seeking an 
opportunity to enjoy an unmatched vista of southeastern Colorado's 
mountains and plains.
  The Forest Service reviewed the Spanish Peaks area for possible 
wilderness designation as part of its second roadless area review and 
evaluation--known as RARE II--and in 1979 recommended designation as 
wilderness of 19,570 acres. Concerns about private land inholdings in 
the area prompted Congress, in the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1980, to 
instead provide for its continued management as a wilderness study 
area.
  A decade later, the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 included 
provisions for long-term management of all the other wilderness study 
areas in our State's national forests, but meanwhile questions about 
the land-ownership pattern in the Spanish Peaks area had prompted the 
Forest Service to change its mind about designating it as wilderness. 
That, in turn, led to inclusion in the 1993 wilderness bill of a 
requirement for its continued management of that area as a wilderness 
study area for 3 years--until August 13, 1996. The 1993 bill also 
required the Forest Service to report to Congress concerning the extent 
of non-Federal holdings in the likelihood of acquisition of those 
holdings by the United States with the owners' consent.

  The required report was submitted in 1995. It indicated that within 
the wilderness study area, there were about 825 acres where the United 
States owned neither the surface nor the mineral rights, and about 440 
acres more where the United States owned the surface but not the 
minerals. Since then, through voluntary sales, the United States has 
acquired most of the inholdings. Today only 188 acres of inholdings 
remain, and 80 of those acres are held by the Wilderness Land Trust, 
which plans to transfer them to the Forest Service. So the way is now 
clear for Congress to finish the job of protecting this outstanding 
area by designating it as part of the National Wilderness Preservation 
System.
  The bill I am introducing today would designate as wilderness about 
18,000 acres of the San Isabel National Forest, including both of the 
Spanish Peaks as well as the slopes below and between them. This 
includes most of the lands originally recommended for wilderness by the 
Forest Service, but with boundary revisions that will exclude some 
private lands.
  The lands covered by this bill are not only striking for their beauty 
and value for primitive

[[Page E1182]]

recreation, but also for attributes that create unique conditions for 
endemic plant communities. They fully merit--and need--the protection 
that will come from their designation as wilderness.
  The bill itself is very simple. It would just add the Spanish Peaks 
area to the list of areas designated as wilderness by the Colorado 
Wilderness Act of 1993. As a result, all the provisions of the act--
including the provisions related to water--would apply to the Spanish 
Peaks area just as they do to the other areas on that list. Like all 
the areas now on that list, the Spanish Peaks area covered by this bill 
is a headwaters area, which for all practical purposes eliminates the 
possibility of water conflicts. There are no water diversions within 
the area.
  Mr. Speaker, enactment of this Spanish Peaks bill will not finish the 
job of protecting the Federal lands in Colorado that need the 
protection that comes with designation as wilderness. We need to 
provide that protection for lands in Rocky Mountain National Park, as 
would be done by my bill--H.R. 302--now pending before the Committee on 
Resources, and also for other areas of our State, including many 
managed by the Bureau of Land Management. I will continue to work to 
achieve the protection of these areas. But in the meantime, we should 
act without delay to pass this important measure for the Spanish Peaks 
area.

                          ____________________