The following LTE was written by BHA Life Member, Bill Sustrich as a follow-up to an open house that Senator Udall and Congressman Lamborn held on the draft Bown's Canyon Wilderness/Monument legislation.
Wildlife Travel Management Plan for Browns Canyon
Dear Editor:
There were no real surprises emerging from the public meeting at Noah’s Ark on 4-13-13 relating to the future of Browns Canyon. A large majority of the audience comments were centered around the age-old axiom, “What’s in it for me?” Senator Udall was kept busy trying to soothe and calm as many speakers as possible and Congressman Lamborn repeatedly stressed his support for the greatest public usage for the most people.
Anticipating this would be the case, I spoke in favor of protecting our wildlife and their habitat, with special emphasis on avoiding a Disneyland-like theme park setting. Such a move would create another wilderness wasteland, with special directional signage for the public. This, in turn, would cause serious disruptions to the needs of wildlife and their habitat.
With the area plastered with signs, how long before a “Wildlife Travel Management Plan” surfaces? Perhaps it would be something along the lines of these examples, which I revealed at the meeting. These are admittedly a bit far out, but what will reality bring us? Think on it.
Bill Sustrich
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