Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, the majority of the land in Title I of the underlying bill would be converted into wilderness and it is in my district. While I am never pleased when another Member of the House tries to tell my constituents what is best for them, I get especially frustrated when they ignore the opinions of elected officials in the communities in which they are seeking to make land management designations. For instance, I might think that designating wilderness between Denver and Boulder would cut down on the challenges the State is facing with population growth might be something to consider, yet I have refrained from introducing such a proposal. The underlying bill seeks to convert several wilderness study areas in the Third Congressional District into wilderness. The two that I focused on in this amendment are in Montezuma County. During the hearing on the underlying bill, Montezuma County Commissioner Keenan Ertel testified in opposition to the proposed wilderness additions in the county. In a letter he sent to me and to the bill's sponsor, the board of county commissioners wrote: We have been consistently opposed since the act was first proposed. We ask you to permanently withdraw those portions of Montezuma County that are included in the bill as per the BLM and our recommendations.…”