The Sultan stands tall in this view of its backside, near the eastern edge of the proposed Sheep Mountain Special Management Area. The 21,697-acre SMA is part of  the 62,000-acre San Juan Wilderness Bill, which is hanging int eh balance as congress winds down for the year and its main sponsor, Rep. John Salazar is leaving office./Photo by Stephen Eginoire

by Missy Votel

With the lame duck Congress under the gun, passage of the San Juan Wilderness Bill could be a long shot.

Introduced in October of 2009 by Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., the 61,000-acre wilderness protection bill gained wide support. Although it passed through the House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee in June, its companion bill, co-sponsored by Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennett, has yet to see action. And, with Salazar giving up his seat to Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Colo., in January, the fate of the bill is in question.

“The bill is widely supported and the only thing working against us, is passage of time,” Salazar Press Secretary Eric Wortman said Tuesday. “The Congressman is working around the clock to get his San Juan Wilderness Bill passed before Congress adjourns.”

When exactly the final Congressional whistle will blow is anyone’s guess. “As far as adjournment, we don’t know. Possibly two weeks? Possibly earlier or later depending on how things work out,” Wortman said.

Across the Capitol hall in Senate chambers, the companion bill is still awaiting a committee hearing. “The bill is still in committee,” Bennet’s Press Secretary Michael Amodeo said Tuesday from Denver. Nevertheless, he said the senators are also working to ensure the bill sees the light of day before year’s end. “There is only a short amount of time – with a crowded agenda of important issues – but Michael will continue to push hard to get bills like the San Juan Wilderness bill passed.”

The best chance right now for the bill to pass is as part of a larger omnibus lands bill. “As of Friday, there was still a chance for an omnibus lands bill, and we are confident the San Juan Wilderness Bill would be part of it,” Executive Director of the San Juan Citizens Alliance Megan Graham said Monday. The Citizens Alliance, along the Wilderness Society and the Sheep Mountain Alliance, out of Telluride, are all strong local supporters of the bill.

Passage of the monumental lands package, which would include multiple water, wildlife and natural resources bills, is less than certain, according to a recent report in the New York Times. Holding back the “potentially landmark” package is Congress’ already-lengthy to-do list not to mention buy-in from leadership in the House, where many of the lands bills have yet to even emerge from committee.

“The question is: will there be a larger package of public lands bills that moves? I know that Congressman Salazar has made this his priority as this Congress winds down,” said Wortman. “If a package of public lands bills moves this Congress, we feel confident about our chances of having the San Juans bill be a part of that, and we remain optimistic about passage.”

Rolling Mountain, seen here, would be protected under the proposed San Juan Wilderness Bill./Photo by Stephen Eginoire

Bennet is also pushing from his corner, Amodeo said. “He strongly supports efforts to move forward on a package of lands bill to be considered before the end of the Congress.”

The bill would protect 33,386 acres of high country in San Juan, San Miguel and Ouray counties as wilderness and would designate another 21,697 as a “Special Management Area.” It would expand the existing Mount Sneffels and Lizard Head Wilderness areas; establish a McKenna Peak Wilderness Area, east of Disappointment Valley; create the Sheep Mountain Special Management Area along the ridge between San Miguel and San Juan counties; and prohibit oil and gas development in Naturita Canyon.

The idea for the legislative protections was originally floated by the Sheep Mountain Alliance in 2007, with the Citizens Alliance, Wilderness Society and Salazar’s office quickly stepping aboard.

“All of the lands that would be protected are in our back yard,” said Graham, of the San Juan Citizens Alliance. “The bill would expand the wilderness base, which is so important to us.”

Without protection, these lands could be open to a host of threats, including development, resource extraction, road-building and off-road motorized use, Graham said. Furthermore, wilderness not only protects viewsheds for future generations but water, wildlife and habitat.

Graham said the bill is unique in that it incorporated input from a wide variety of stakeholders, from public lands managers and conservationists to ranchers and mountain bikers. “It represents a broad base of support, which is rare these days,” she said. “There’s not really any opposition.”

Neither Graham nor Amodeo, from Bennet’s office, would speculate on what would happen if the bill fails to pass before Salazar leaves office. It is possible it could be picked up by a new sponsor in the House. It is not known whether Rep. Tipton supports the bill, and his office did not return a request for comment as of press time.

Regardless of outcome, Graham said the process has proved that disparate interests can come together to reach a common goal. “It’s a good example of how lands protection can happen when everyone sits down at the table together,” she said. “The bottom line is, we’re still hopeful, and we’ll continue to have hope until we hear otherwise.” •