[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 111 (Friday, August 7, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1567]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E1567]]



        THE NORTHERN COLORADO HEADWATERS WILDERNESS ACT OF 1998

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                          HON. DAVID E. SKAGGS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 6, 1998

  Mr. SKAGGS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce today The Northern 
Colorado Headwaters Wilderness Act of 1998.
  This bill is inspired by the dramatic mountain beauty of Colorado. 
Its provisions have been tempered and refined by a process of review 
and comments by hundreds of Colorado citizens and local officials, and 
crafted to fit into the tapestry of Colorado wilderness legislation.
  In Colorado we are experiencing one of the highest growth rates in 
the country. That growth brings with it ever greater demand for outdoor 
recreation, as well as more stress on our supplies of water and other 
resources. As we face that growth and those pressures, it is especially 
timely and important that we deliberately and carefully set aside some 
special places to remain forever wild.
  As a very thoughtful and pragmatic county commissioner from my 
district describes it, we now are putting, and will continue to put, 
demands on our natural-resources checking account. As we try to 
accommodate those demands, it is important that we make some deposits 
in the savings account of our wildland heritage. That's what this bill 
would do.
  The areas this bill would protect include sweeping alpine tundra 
along the great Continental Divide; rich, deep old growth forests of 
fir, spruce, pine, and aspen; and crisp, sparkling mountain streams 
that flow from the edge of perennial snowfields and from deep mountain 
lakes.
  They are places where you can witness the primeval naturalness of the 
world and watch weather moving through one hundred miles of sky.
  Their designation as wilderness will permanently protect them as 
habitat for elk, big horn sheep, mountain goats, native greenback 
cutthroat trout, bear, bobcat, and eagles.
  As wilderness, these remarkable places will remain as refuges for our 
own sanity and inspiration, either because we visit them, or just 
because we take comfort in knowing that such places are there, and 
remain unspoiled.
  Among the wilderness lands included in this legislation is the James 
Peak area, certainly the key single area in the proposal, comprising 
about half the bill's total wilderness acreage. James Peak is a broad 
expanse of alpine terrain, about two-thirds above timberline. Roadless 
and virtually untouched by the century and a half of human activity and 
settlements around its flanks, James Peak offers unique backcountry 
recreational opportunities and the reassurance that a part of our 
natural heritage, near the homes of two million people, endures as it 
has since the last ice age.
  Although this bill includes only half the James Peak roadless area 
suitable for wilderness designation--that portion east of the divide in 
the Congressional District that I am proud to represent--it is 
important to protect that portion now. Its designation will reflect the 
will of a majority of people who have contacted me about James Peak and 
the resolutions of support received from three counties and many 
communities near the area.
  Discussions will continue on the ultimate level of protection for the 
portion of James Peak to the west, outside the scope of this bill. I 
hope these discussions will conclude in a compromise agreement on 
boundaries and designations that will keep a significant portion in 
wild condition, free from motors and permanent habitations.
  The other areas included in this bill are additions to existing 
wilderness areas, at Comanche Peak, Indian Peaks, and Mount Evans. 
Their addition will not only expand the terrain protected as 
wilderness, but also enhance the values and features that led to the 
original designations.
  It's important to note that this bill, at 30,030 acres, includes only 
one tenth of the roadless areas in the Arapahoe and Roosevelt National 
Forests that were recently studied by the U.S. Forest Service. And 
while the bill would designate as wilderness more than the Forest 
Service recommended, it still is a very small part of the lands that 
qualify. We should protect this much, on which we have much agreement, 
now, while we can, leaving discussions about additional areas to 
another day.
  I realize that this bill is introduced very late in this Congress, at 
a time when many other issues are seeking attention and time on the 
legislative calendar. Its timing, however, reflects the extensive 
discussions that I have had with so many knowledgeable and concerned 
citizens and officials at home.
  Because of that time invested, this is a bill that reflects the 
broadest consensus of those who know and care about the issues. As 
such, it deserves prompt approval in the weeks remaining before 
adjournment.

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