San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act
Key claim: This Senate bill would add specified Colorado national-forest and BLM lands to the Lizard Head, Mount Sneffels, and McKenna Peak wilderness areas and create a Sheep Mountain Special Management Area that largely bans roads and motorized use while allowing existing permitted activities.
Abstract
(S341 · 113th Congress) San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act- (Sec. 3) Designates specified lands in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests and specified land of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Colorado as parts of the Lizard Head Wilderness and of the Mount Sneffels Wilderness in the National Wilderness Preservation System. Designates certain BLM land as the McKenna Peak Wilderness. (Sec. 4) Designates specified lands in such National Forests and San Juan National Forest as the Sheep Mountain Special Management Area (the Special Management Area). Requires the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to manage the Special Management Area in a manner that: (1) conserves, protects, and enhances the resources and values of such Area; and (2) maintains or improves its wilderness character for potential inclusion in the System. Prohibits the use in the Special Management Area of: (1) permanent roads; (2) motor vehicles, motorized equipment, or mechanical transport, except for administrative purposes; and (3) the establishment of temporary roads, except also for administrative purposes. Permits the continuation within the Special Management Area of any activities (including helicopter access for recreation and maintenance) authorized by permit or license. Prohibits the designation of the special management area from affecting the issuance of permits related to those activities after the enactment of this Act. Requires water and water rights in the Area to be administered in accordance with the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993. (Sec. 5) Allows the Secretary to continue to authorize the competitive running event permitted since 1992 in the vicinity of the Special Management Area, the Liberty Bell East Special Management Area, and the Liberty Bell addition to the Mount Sneffels Wilderness designated by this Act in a manner compatible with the preservation of those areas as wilderness. Declares that nothing in this Act affects the jurisdiction or responsibility of the state of Colorado Latest action (2013-09-10): Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 177.
Why this matters
Wilderness and special management area designations lock in long-term restrictions on roads, motorized use, and resource development on federal lands, shaping local recreation access, grazing, and mineral activity. Tracking narrow bills like this one shows how Colorado’s San Juan public lands are being incrementally proposed for stronger protection even when individual bills stall.