The Fate Of Our Wilderness

June 19th, 2006 at 05:09am Post Staff 43

The top executives of the biggest oil companies in the world made it crystal clear Sunday on “Meet The Press”—they need access to our National Parks for further development.

The issue comes to a head this week when the Bush Administration’s 13-member Roadless Area Task Force comes to the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs Wednesday from 5 to 8:45 PM to hear public comment, starting about 7 PM, about the Bush Administration’s plan to put roads in the White River National Forest where none have gone before. The Task Force has been holding public meetings throughout Colorado to find out what the public wants. But the recommendations of the Task Force are just that—non-binding recommendations.

Wilderness Workshop of Carbondale has been gathering support for input that suggests that roadless areas stay that way.

"All of these resolutions passed unanimously, with the exception of one dissenting vote on the Glenwood Springs town council, but I think that their record shows that there's overwhelming support for keeping roadless areas roadless," Wilderness Workshop Executive Director Sloan Shoemaker told the Times Past about Wilderness Workshop resolutions for preservation of the status quo. "The folks in these local communities see the clear connection between the surrounding ecosystems and the surrounding area and economy."

Among the activists are outdoorsman Aron Ralston and his Maroon Corps, a group of twenty-thirtysomething volunteers who have mobilized around specific issues like the conservation of the roadless areas. Aspen Post first broke the story of the new initiative by the Maroonies.

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