Rep. Polis Announces Colorado Wilderness Bill
DENVER (AP) - Colorado congressman Jared Polis plans to reintroduce legislation designating land in Eagle and Summit counties as federal wilderness.
The Democrat announced his plans Friday -- Earth Day -- during a news conference at the state Capitol in Denver. He was joined by environmental activists, political and business leaders, photographer John Fielder and adventurer Aron Ralston, whose 2003 ordeal in the Utah backcountry inspired the Oscar-nominated movie "127 Hours."
Polis says his bill would designate 81,790 acres as wilderness and another 84,130 acres as special management areas. He sponsored a bill last year that died before the election.
Advocates of a proposal to designate 342,000 acres in Colorado's central mountains as wilderness support Polis' bill. The bill would expand the Holy Cross, Eagles Nest and Ptarmigan wilderness areas.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
