Issues

We work to advance conservation issues that the National Sierra Club and the Colorado Sierra Club advocate, as well as our own regional issues. Here are some current ones, followed by more information and links for them below:

* H.R.764-118th 2023-2024 "Trust the Science Act"

 * The Kane Creek Development near Moab, Utah.

 * Voluntary Grazing Permit Retirement Act - HR6314,   need to write your congresspeople!

* Protect the Dolores River

* Oppose the Energy Permitting Reform act of 2024

* Toxic chemicals on our farmlands


 

* HR 764-118th 2023-2024  "Trust the Science" bill

Congresswoman Lauren Boebert introduced this bill, it has passed the House. It is an Act to require the Secretary of the Interior to issue regulations removing the gray wolf from the list of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.

Historically wolves  were native to Colorado. Presently there are just 7 adult and 4 pups in the state. Wolves are considered a keystone species in an ecosystem because they play a crucial role in regulating prey populations, which in turn impacts vegetation and the overall health of the environment by preventing overgrazing and allowing other plant and animal species to thrive.

There are 7.8 million acres of public lands used for cattle grazing in Colorado.

Write to: Senator Bennet, Senator Hickenlooper and

Colorado Parks and Wildlife: Jeff Davis, Executive Management Team

                                                           6060 Broadway

                                                           Denver, CO 80216

(303) 297-1192

 

 

* Stop the Kane Creek Development!

We just launched our first Crowdfunding Campaign

Over 10,000 people have signed so far!

Help STOP the Kane Creek Development

Kane Creek Preservation and Development LLC is in the process of leveling and back-filling in180 acres of riparian area in the King’s Bottom floodplain. Located two miles from Moab along Kane Creek Road, this site was formerly a rustic campground and open space along the Colorado river. 

The developers Craig Weston, Trent Arnold, and Tom Gottleib have taken advantage of a loop hole in Moab’s zoning and have used back door politicking to initiate plans to construct 500+ luxury homes in addition to commercial and industrial areas. 

This area is a National Park worthy scenic landscape and important habitat for migrating birds and resident wildlife. It is a gateway to residents’ and visitors’ favorite trails, canyons, and cliffs as well as noteworthy archeological sites. 

(Kings Bottom Credit Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune)

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Development Site
Development Site

Current Status

Grading and filling of the floodplain by Salt Lake Excavation has begun following approval of the sewage treatment facility. We can STOP this. Please consider donating to help cover our legal fees.




 

* Voluntary Grazing Permit Retirement Act - HR 6314

Bill to authorize the permanent retirement of grazing permits. We need to write our Congresspeople about this. Here are some points to help :

Positive Impacts

*Gives ranchers a chance to retire. Offspring not wanting to carry on.

*Would help native vegetation and sensitive ecosystems a chance to regenerate & heal.

*Would cut down on the spreading of invasive plant species.

*Would help streams recover from degradation and pollution.

*Quality recreation experiences.

*Protect sage grouse.

* A tool for ranchers & conservation.

 

 

* Protect the Dolores River

 
 

 

 

We need your help! Take two minutes today to tell Mesa and Montrose counties that you support the Dolores Canyons National Monument.

 

You may have heard that the counties put forward a national conservation area proposal to conserve lands in the Dolores River Canyon Country. Their proposal would protect under 8% of the public lands included in the more comprehensive draft national monument, leaving the remaining 92% unprotected and open to new mining and industrial development.

 

While we’re glad to see the counties come together to find a path forward, this particular proposal wholly fails to protect many of the landscape’s most important places and values, including rich ecosystems, cultural sites, historic places, and abundant recreational opportunities.

The counties have launched a public comment process to hear from Coloradans interested in the future of the Dolores River Canyon Country. Please take two minutes today to let them know that you support the Dolores Canyons National Monument!

 

There’s a sample comment below. Or, if you prefer to draft your own comment, please feel free to draw on this list of important places and values excluded from the counties’ proposal.

 

SAMPLE COMMENT:

I support the proposed Dolores Canyons National Monument, for the health of our public lands and the Dolores River, for the preservation of culturally-significant places, and for the benefit of future generations of Coloradans. I encourage our elected Colorado leaders to work with the Biden administration to permanently protect these public lands as a national monument.

 

If you have questions about Mesa and Montrose counties’ proposal and how it stacks up to the national monument, please send them our way by replying to this email.

 

Thank you for supporting the winding canyon country we all love!

 

— Protect the Dolores

A coalition of community members, local businesses, and conservation organizations

 
 

* Oppose the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024

Western Environmental Law Center
  ACTION ALERT: call or email your congressional representatives to urge them to oppose the energy permitting reform act of 2024 today
   
   
   
 
 

 

Fossil fuel interests are attempting to gut bedrock environmental and community protections, primarily the National Environmental Policy Act, with a bill called the Energy Permitting Reform Act (S.4753).

It has already passed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, with support from some Democrats who are usually climate champions even though 680 climate and community organizations oppose the bill.

The bill is a fossil fuel industry wish list including the exact recommendation for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports in Project 2025. It will harm communities by permitting more oil and gas development and rolling back common-sense reforms finalized by the Biden administration in exchange for scant renewable energy provisions.

This bill is a Trojan horse, which I describe in great detail in a column available here for the policy wonks.

Please take action today by calling or emailing your representatives in the Senate and House of Representatives to urge them to oppose the bill. Here is a resource to find your Congressional representatives' contact information. It has not yet been scheduled yet for a full vote in either chamber, but the time to act is now.

Join the fight,

Erik Schlenker-Goodrich

Executive Director

The Western Environmental Law Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to defending West.

Donations are tax-deductible as allowable by law. WELC does not rent, sell, or trade your contact information.

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* Keep Toxic Chemicals out of our Food!

Tell your governor: Keep toxic chemicals out of our food

Toxic sewage fertilizer is contaminating farmland across America.

This sludge often contains toxic PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals," that are linked to cancer, reproductive disorders, and a host of other illnesses. These chemicals shouldn't be allowed anywhere near our food.

Tell your governor to ban the use of toxic sewage sludge on farmland.

For years, America's farmers have used sewage sludge, a byproduct of wastewater treatment, as a cheap fertilizer. But here's the problem: Surveys have found that this sewage sludge can contain PFAS levels high enough to make the farm's produce unsafe to eat.1

The Environmental Protection Agency says that no amount of PFAS exposure can be considered safe. Even in the tiniest quantities, PFAS are linked to cancer, birth defects, thyroid disease, and a host of other problems.2

We shouldn't let these toxic chemicals anywhere near us, let alone in the farms that grow our food. But increasingly, farms have discovered that crops and animals raised on land fertilized by sewage sludge are also contaminated with PFAS.

A Maine study found that 68% of farms using sewage sludge fertilizers were contaminated with PFAS. That's a scary statistic, especially considering that as many as 70 million acres of U.S. farmland use sewage sludge fertilizer.3 Maine, Michigan and Connecticut have already banned the use of PFAS-contaminated sewage sludge as fertilizer.

Toxic PFAS sludge has turned up in Texas, Tennessee, New York, and numerous other states. We're only scratching the surface of the problem.

Tell your governor to ban the use of PFAS-contaminated fertilizers and keep toxic chemicals off our plates.

How did it come to this?

Industries started using PFAS decades ago without examining the health effects of the chemicals. Now they appear in everything from clothes to water bottles to breast milk. We leapt before we looked, and now we're paying the price.4

And here's the scariest part: PFAS aren't going away. They're called "forever chemicals" because they can take thousands of years to break down. Any PFAS that we release into our farms or homes are there to stay.

There's no reason to spread "forever chemicals" on thl where we grow our food. Let's end this source of contamination so we can stop worrying about our food being grown in toxic soil.

Send a message to your governor: Let's stop growing our food in soil fertilized with toxic PFAS.