Legislation Advances to Protect Colorado’s Browns Canyon

This month, The Browns Canyon National Monument and Wilderness Act -- sponsored by U.S. Sen. Mark Udall -- was approved by the Senate National Parks Subcommittee.

The bill, which Sen. Udall proposed last year, highlights what Coloradans see as an important priority -- maintaining the legacy and beauty of our natural spaces so they may be enjoyed well into the future. The bill would protect existing legal uses of the land and ban future mining on the riverbeds, thereby protecting the river’s water supply.

Another step closer to earning National Monument recognition, the proposal would protect 22,000 acres of public land from future development and 10,500 acres of designated wilderness. The bill now moves on to the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

A recent poll by Conservation Colorado indicates that 77 percent of Colorado residents support the monument designation proposition. Summit Daily reports that conservationists, locals in Chaffee County, and business owners are enthusiastic about the environmental, economic, and recreational opportunities for Browns Canyon posed by this bill. In a piece for the Denver Post, Joseito Velasquez and Rigo Magaña -- representing Hispanic and religious communities in Colorado -- praised the bill and called upon the Senate to keep “encouraging stewardship of our outdoor and cultural heritage.”