To designate certain special management areas, wildlife conservation areas, protection areas, recreation areas, wilderness areas, and a scientific research and education area in the State of Colorado, and for other purposes.
About This Bill
Committee
Latest Action · September 25, 2024
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
# Summary
The Gunnison Outdoor Resources Protection Act designates approximately 580,000 acres of federal land in Gunnison County, Colorado, for various conservation purposes. The bill creates nine Special Management Areas, eight Wildlife Conservation Areas, four Protection Areas, two Recreation Management Areas, and one Scientific Research and Education Area, while also adding approximately 121,000 acres to existing wilderness areas and creating three new wilderness areas. The legislation aims to protect natural resources, wildlife habitat, watersheds, and recreational opportunities while allowing limited uses like hiking, fishing, and existing grazing and water rights to continue. Vehicle use is generally restricted to roads and trails that existed on the bill's enactment date, with some exceptions for emergency response and administrative purposes. The bill also authorizes taking approximately 19,080 acres of Ute Mountain Ute Tribe-owned land into federal trust, prevents new oil and gas leasing in the North Fork Valley watershed area, and prohibits new road construction and commercial timber harvesting in the designated areas. The Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management must adopt winter travel management plans within three years for areas that lack them, and must complete specified maps and legal descriptions within a reasonable timeframe.
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