Tuesday, 01 November 2011 07:19
The Pitkin County Commissioners hold weekly work sessions on Tuesdays and bi-monthly public hearings on Wednesdays in the Plaza One building (next to the Courthouse) in Aspen. Both meetings are televised live and repeated on locater CG12 TV. They are also streamed live and available on the County website. Agendas are posted in the Aspen/Glenwood newspapers and on-line at www.aspenpitkin.com. In this column, your District 5 Commissioner, George Newman offers his take on current matters. You can reach him at
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MR SMITH (AKA NEWMAN) GOES TO WASHINGTON
In September I was invited by the Wilderness Society to attend the Great America Outdoors conference in Washington, DC. Attendees included conservation advocates, sportsmen, youth leaders and others whose goals were to build support for the protection of America’s great outdoors through increased funding for public lands conservation, access for hunting and fishing. It was an opportunity for participants to visit with their Congressional delegates and other leaders in these areas. For me, it was also an opportunity to arrange a series of meetings to discuss issues of concern in Pitkin County with our Congressional delegates as well as high level staff at the Department of Agriculture (USFS) and Department of Interior (BLM).
Over the course of 3 days, I met with Senator Mark Udall, Senator Michael Bennet, Congressman Scott Tipton and their staffs, as well as with Congresswoman Diana DeGette’s staff. In addition, I met with Robert Bonnie, senior advisor to the Secretary of Agriculture; and William Falsey, Deputy Chief of Staff (BLM) at the Department of the Interior as well as Neil Kornze, senior advisor to the office of the Director, (BLM) Department of the Interior .
I discussed in depth the County’s position on the Thompson Creek issue and the urgent need for Congressional and Administration leadership to deny SG Interests’ request for the unitization of 18 leases encompassing 32,000 acres, based on public benefit and resource conservation. I requested they at least postpone the permitting until the issue of gap leases (13 of those 18 being gap leases) has been addressed and the Thompson Divide Coalition has had the opportunity to sit down with SG Interests to discuss options and opportunities for the protection of this unique area. On October 12, Senator Bennet and Senator Udall sent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar requesting this delay. I am very pleased by their quick action and support. I encourage you to send our Senators thank you letters and ask them to introduce legislation to protect this unique area from future oil and gas exploration and also send letters supporting the request to delay the unitization to Secretary’s Vilsack and Salazar.
As part and parcel of these discussions, I also reiterated Pitkin County’s position on the new proposed Colorado Roadless Rule: specifically, that it is imperative that the new rule remain at least as protective as the 2001 rule. We have asked for the highest tier protection allowed, but agree that areas designated for habitat restoration, may be designated with a lower tier protection. In addition, we have asked that under the White River National Forest draft of their revised oil and gas leasing EIS that they impose the “no leasing alternative” on all roadless areas moving forward. Again, I felt my message was well received by Robert Bonnie at the Department of Agriculture. Congresswoman Diana DeGette has also indicated strong support for our position
Another public land issue that is currently up for comment is the proposed low altitude training flights out of Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico. This would allow up to 3 training flights at night at elevations as low as 300’ above the ground. Due to pressure from urban areas and Front Range communities, the flight paths have been reduced from those areas, thus concentrating more flights over rural, mountain terrain including wilderness areas. Our concerns include impacts to wildlife, potential loss of future special lands designation, possible increased avalanche danger for backcountry users, and the general philosophy/expectations of the public re: wilderness.
Overall, I believe it was a worthwhile trip. It is not unusual for Pitkin County Commissioners to travel outside the County to discuss regional, state and national issues on behalf of our Citizens. Although we continue to correspond in writing with our Congressional delegates on issues of local concern, these face to face meetings not only reinforce our position but continue to forge relationships enabling us to have open and frank discussions with policy makers and their staffs.
