Congressman John Salazar has posted the draft San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act on his website, where you will also find a summary of what’s in the bill and maps of each area to be designated.  This means the bill will likely be introduced soon.  To make sure that happens…

We need to send a really strong message of support for the legislation to the Congressman!  Comments are due by August 16th – Write a letter today!

Send your letter to:

• Mail: Honorable John T. Salazar, 813 Main Ave., Suite 300
  Durango, CO 81301
• Fax: 970-259-9467(Durango), 202-226-9669(DC)
• Email: john.whitney@mail.house.gov
• Phone: 970-259-1012 (Durango), 202-225-4761(DC)
• Or go to http://www.house.gov/salazar/contact.shtml to send a comment directly from the Congressman’s Contact webpage.  (You will have to enter your name, address, etc., and when it asks for a topic, enter ‘environment’).   Comments at this link will only be accepted from CO residents in the 3rd CD, so if you live elsewhere, please use one of the other methods listed above.

Sample Comment Letter – use only as a guide

Honorable John T. Salazar
813 Main Ave., Suite 300
Durango, CO 81301

Re: San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act

Dear Congressman:

Thank you for proposing legislation to protect wilderness and other key lands in the San Juan Mountains! I strongly support this legislation and encourage you to introduce it very soon.

I appreciate all the time and effort that you and your staff have obviously spent on the proposed legislation, and I support the areas included in the Draft Bill. The Dolores River Canyon is truly one of the treasures of Southwest Colorado and I urge you to also include the Proposed Snaggletooth Wilderness Area in San Miguel County in the bill.  I also urge you to include designation for the entire McKenna Peak WSA, as well as a mineral withdrawal for Perins Peak in La Plata County.

The areas in your draft bill and the other areas mentioned above contain acres of pristine public lands under growing pressure from development and resource extraction. The areas included in this proposal qualify for the highest level of protection available for public lands and deserve designation.

[Also add any personal connections you have to the areas or other comments.]

This is a very exciting proposal. I look forward to its prompt introduction in Congress and to its final approval very soon after that.

Sincerely,
[Name]
[Address]

Wilderness Area designations under the proposed legislation:

• 3,374 acres will be added to the existing Lizard Head Wilderness Area by the Blackface, Sunshine and Wilson additions.
• 9,086 acres will be added to the existing Mt. Sneffels Wilderness Area by the Liberty Bell and Last Dollar additions.
• 13,224 acres will be added to the existing Mt. Sneffels Wilderness Area by the Whitehouse addition.
• 8,614 acres of the McKenna Peak Wilderness Study Area will be designated as Wilderness (this is the northern half of the WSA which lies in San Miguel County).

Additional designations:

• 22,582 acres will be designated as the Sheep Mountain Special Management Area. Existing uses including heliisking will be allowed to continue, but no new roads or other development will be permitted.
• 6,595 acres will be withdrawn from eligibility for mineral leasing in Naturita Canyon. No other uses in the canyon will be impacted.

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To learn more or get involved contact Mark Schofield at (970) 256-7650.

Whitehouse Peak