Western Slope lawmakers are asking Gov. Hickenlooper to reject the BLM’s plan to shut off 2,000 miles of roads and trails across public lands in the Grand Junction area citing disastrous economic effects.
The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reported that nearly two-dozen state lawmakers, as well as U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton and U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, are asking Hick to slow down the process.
We say the governor should drive a stake through this plan’s blackened heart before it gains any momentum.
The BLM is squeezing some uses of the public lands, such as energy development and motorized recreation, “into ever tightening regulatory and spatial confines,” Gardner and Tipton wrote.
The letter from state lawmakers added:
The plan to close 60 percent of current routes “will have a potentially devastating effect on the regional economy, our legal rights and our heritage …”
Bless their hearts. As if Hick would put the needs of Coloradans above the dictates from the Obama administration.
Democrats love to close public roads to block future natural resource development, even if it results in the loss of recreational opportunities or creates a fire hazard.
So, we’re not holding our breath to see any action from Hickenlooper except for lip service.