Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign

There’s a land management controversy in Colorado that presents a conflict between what would have traditionally been considered parties aligned in their interests.

According to the proponents’ website, the Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign is seeking designation of new wilderness additions on the White River and Gunnison National Forests and on some Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands. Basically, there are certain activities that may occur on Forest Service and BLM lands that some consider detrimental to the long-term health of the land (e.g. logging, mining, drilling, road-building; also mountain biking and other activities). These activities are usually either prohibited or quite restricted on Wilderness lands (Wikipedia has a brief overview of the Wilderness Act, if you want to read more about how the Act originated and what you can and can’t do on Wilderness lands: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilderness_Act). The Hidden Gems campaign would like to ban all activity on what they consider to be these “last best unprotected places” in non-Wilderness areas of CO regulated by White River and Gunnison National Forests and the BLM.  

Picture taken in NE Colorado.

The issue is widely covered on the web – just google “hidden gems campaign.”

This seems like a harmless plan to protect our natural resources, right? Maybe not, accordingly to some interest groups, recreational groups, and other entities/stakeholders.

Without delving into a position here, but rather in an attempt to stimulate the conversation, I wonder about the implications of this policy initiative for future sound land management. It used to be that environmentalists banded together to “preserve” land. As more land uses “speak up,” what used to be an environmental issue is now a conservationist vs. preservationist battle, a hiker vs. biker issue, or even an agency vs. agency regulatory struggle.

From a conflict resolution standpoint, what are some of the key interests that could be realigned? Is there a middle ground? How do you attempt to mediate between interests that are so vested in their personal beliefs (recreation being one of them)?

I’ll be following this story and will blog about any developments. 

Picture taken in the White River National Forest.