Mesa County Wilderness Coalition Website
 sponsored by the
Uncompahgre Group
Rocky Mountain Chapter, Sierra Club
 

Fact and Fiction about Wilderness

MYTH Wilderness ``locks up" our public lands.

FACT The conservationists' proposal for wilderness on Colorado's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands is very reasonable.  If all the areas on these lands which conservationists want to see as wilderness become so, nearly 90% of Colorado's BLM lands will remain open to motorized recreation, resource extraction and other non-wilderness uses.  Saving 13% of our BLM lands as wilderness is not extreme.  Many people—of all ages and incomes—enjoy wilderness areas on a regular basis.  People need places to escape motors, oil rigs and roads.  So does wildlife.

MYTH Wilderness isn't multiple use.

FACT Wilderness is not a ``use" but a management designation supporting multiple uses and values.  Uses for wilderness include: wildlife habitat, scenic-viewing, hiking, back-packing, boating, camping, hunting, fishing, and livestock grazing.  Values which wilderness supports include: clean air & water, genetic diversity, archeological and paleontological resource protection, open space, and healthy, inexpensive, family-oriented recreation.

MYTH BLM is out of order in looking at  BLM lands for wilderness  and is catering to environmental extremists.

FACT The US 10^th Circuit  Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of the BLM's authority to inventory their lands for all types of values including wilderness potential.  Many Coloradans were concerned about the arbitrary exclusion of wilderness quality BLM lands in the initial inventory.  They protested and BLM is looking at some of these areas again as is their lawful responsibility.

MYTH BLM has other options to protect these lands.  Wilderness is not needed.

FACT Wilderness is the only mechanism adequate to protect wilderness quality lands.  While BLM has administrative options to manage lands, only wilderness carries the weight of congressional law.

MYTH Wilderness can only be enjoyed by the wealthy.

FACT Enjoying wilderness is a very inexpensive way to visit Colorado's amazing lands.  While motorized recreation can cost tens of thousands of dollars, folks from all walks of life can visit wilderness for the cost of a small day pack and a picnic lunch.

MYTH Wilderness is bad for the economy.

FACT Wilderness is good for the economy.  The economies of rural areas near wilderness continue to grow while many others are stagnating.  While the portion of the economy which resource industries represent remains flat, other sectors—including recreation and tourism—are booming.  People are moving to Colorado because of our amazing wild lands.  Some should be preserved in their natural state.

Return to Mesa County Wilderness Home page!