U.S. Senator Ken Salazar

Member: Agriculture, Energy, Veterans' Affairs, Ethics and Aging Committees

 

2300 15th Street, Suite 450 Denver, CO 80202 | 702 Hart Senate Building, Washington, D.C. 20510

 

 

For Immediate Release

December 5, 2006

CONTACT:    Cody Wertz – Comm. Director

                        303-455-7600

Andrew Nannis  – Press Secretary

                        202-224-5852


  Sen. Salazar Continues Commitment to Permanent Protection of Brown’s Canyon Wilderness

Denver, CO – Today, Unites States Senator Ken Salazar submitted a statement for the Congressional Record to urge the prompt passage of the Brown’s Canyon Wilderness Act. Senator Salazar continues his commitment to protecting Brown’s Canyon Wilderness and working with his colleagues in the United State Senate to ensure passage of the bill.

Senator Salazar’s statement is included below.

MR. SALAZAR: Mr. President, I today reiterate my support for the permanent protection of one of our nation’s most spectacular sections of canyon country. Browns Canyon, Colorado, along the Arkansas River, is a beloved stretch of wilderness that is deserving of permanent protection under the 1964 Wilderness Act.

The 20,000 acres of wilderness in Browns Canyon are pristine, dramatic, and worthy of wilderness designation. My colleague from Colorado, Representative Joel Hefley, has done heroic work over the last several years to craft a wilderness bill that protects these lands and meets the needs of the local communities. Thanks to his diligent work, they are eager to see Congress pass the Browns Canyon Wilderness Act as soon as possible.

Over the last several months, I have been working hard to pass this bill. I have worked with Representative Hefley to adjust the bill’s water rights language and, should we take the Senate version of this bill up, I will work to include language that will bring it in line with an updated House version, which includes the agreed-to water rights language.

With only a few days left in this session, it is high time we act on this bill. The Browns Canyon Wilderness Act is a great example of Representative Hefley’s sensible, pragmatic work, and we should make this wilderness designation a part of his legacy.

Mr. President, for the sake of our retiring colleague, and for the benefit of Colorado’s wild places, I hope we can get this bill to the President’s desk as soon as possible.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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