Several years ago, a local rafting group was successful in getting an area listed as a "Wilderness Study Area" along the Colorado River in western Colorado. It just so happened that a company was gearing up to mine placers along a stretch of the river the rafters liked. There was never any indication of what the feds were supposed to be studying, but there was a sunset provision which has come and gone. The area was not upgraded to a Wilderness, but the miners will never be able to pick up where they left off as long as there is no transparency so that we can actually investigate whether there is a legitimate need for listing a species, or naming an area a wilderness. These tactics are what is closing millions of acres of public land to mineral exploration and recovery, or even being used by a motorized vehicle. It's ridiculous, and I hope these bills pass.
