Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet testified on July 15 before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining in support of the Gunnison Outdoor Resources Protection (GORP) Act. This marked the first time the bipartisan bill — designed to protect over 730,000 acres of public land just over McClure Pass — has received a public hearing.
The GORP Act, also known as Senate Bill 1791, represents a collaborative effort between outdoor recreation businesses, conservation nonprofits, Gunnison County and bipartisan congressional members over the past decade. Among other protections, the GORP Act aims primarily to establish wilderness and Special Management Areas (SMAs) across vast swathes of Gunnison County public land in order to protect these areas for both wildlife conservation and sustainable recreation. The bill was originally drafted in 2022 with the assistance of the Gunnison Public Lands Initiative (GLPI). In addition to the 10 organizations forming the GLPI, the bill is supported by Sen. John Hickenlooper, Rep. Jeff Hurd, seven counties, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, nine nonprofits and over 100 local businesses.
“Over a decade ago, I stood on the banks of the Slate River in the Gunnison Basin and promised the local community that if they could agree on a shared vision to protect this landscape, I would carry a bill to help make that vision a reality, and they did,” Bennet said during his testimony in Washington D.C.
According to Gunnison County Commissioner Jonathan Houck, the economy of Gunnison County doesn’t depend on any one particular industry in the same way other Western Slope counties might focus on agriculture, oil and gas or recreation. Because of that, he believes the economic success of the county depends on collaboration between a wide variety of shareholders and interests which might ordinarily find themselves opposed to one another, such as ranching and conservation.
“We worked so long with so many people and made so many revisions,” Houck said in an interview. “The amount of support [GORP] has gained across a wide coalition of people and businesses and organizations is what makes it unique.”
The bill is designed to leave existing land uses primarily unchanged but will prevent further development. Gunnison County depends economically on its mountain biking, dirt biking and snowmobile trails, and while GORP will not close any trails, new trail building will be halted.
“I’m sure you’ve seen this in your neck of the woods,” Houck said, referring to Garfield County, “but some of these [recreation] areas are getting really close to their carrying capacity.”
Similarly, the legislation establishes special designation areas which are subject to valid existing rights, meaning that ranchers can continue to use lands for grazing, and the timber industry can continue at its current operation level. In terms of wildfire safety, GORP includes provisions so that federal land managers maintain their current discretion to fight wildfires and perform fuel reduction.
While the bill primarily protects lands in Gunnison, it also protects other counties and jurisdictions. Approximately 124,000 acres in Delta County will be protected from oil and gas development. Motorized boating on the Gunnison River in Delta County is set to be protected and even upgraded with a new boat ramp. In addition, GORP transfers the 18,000-acre Pinecrest Ranch, owned and operated by the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, from fee ownership to trust ownership, which among other boons makes the lands eligible for various federal tax benefits.
Although the bill is approaching its final form, GORP remains true to its grassroots origins and continues to be directed by the consultation of stakeholders.
The GORP Act leadership campaign team meets weekly and communicates frequently with members of Sen. Bennet’s staff, especially Western Colorado Director Hilary Henry. The team includes the Delta-based Western Slope Conservation Center (WSCC), which organizes an annual fly-in to Washington D.C., during which team members visit with Bennet. Team members flew into D.C. in March of this year, and also met with members of Hickenlooper and Hurd’s offices.
“The hearing represents the first formal step towards passing this historic piece of legislation that, once enacted, will safeguard our western Colorado landscapes for outdoor recreation, economic vitality and agricultural and ranching heritage,” the WSCC commented. “Senator Bennet’s powerful testimony was a strong testament to the bill’s bipartisan support, which brought together a diverse group of stakeholders that possessed a shared and balanced vision for what the Gunnison Basin should look like for generations to come.”
Following testimony, the Senate committee meets privately to debate and vote on potential changes. Should the bill be approved by a majority vote within the committee, it will be moved to the full Senate. A committee vote on GORP has yet to be announced.