State Sen. Ellen Roberts is totally right: Her district, which consists of eight counties across southwestern Colorado, includes a huge amount of public lands, including the San Juan Mountains, Phil’s World near Cortez, the Weminuche Wilderness, Lizard Head Pass, and countless other places that her constituents (including me) rely on for hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, and more.
What she doesn’t seem to get, though, is that those of us who oppose the land-grab movement sweeping through western states aren’t “partisan hellhounds.” We are voters that just want to see our public lands stay that way: accessible and open to us all. So I have some questions for Sen. Roberts: First, I keep reading that these land-transfer bills – be they in support of a study or otherwise – are being pushed by the American Lands Council, a group funded by corporate interests in Utah that’s being investigated for fraud. Why is Roberts taking notes from them, rather from us? Second, four county commissions in Roberts’ district have passed resolutions opposing land transfers, so who are these commissioners in the Southwest that are vehemently supporting this effort? And third, if Roberts loves our national parks and understands the difficulties of working for that agency, why would she endorse a movement to strip those land managers from their posts, rather than continue to work with them to find solutions?
I understand that politics is a thorny and complicated business, but all we want here in Colorado is to do what we do best: Enjoy the outdoors. Let’s all get on the same page again this summer, and hope these land transfer issues disappear from the policy plate before next spring.
Kendra Keene
Durango
