Congressman Joel Hefley, Representing Colorado's 5th Congressional Districtright side of mountain image
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Congressman Hefley plans to introduce legislation to establish the Brown's Canyon Wilderness Area, a region comprised of approximately 10,000 acres in Chaffee County between Buena Vista and Salida. The proposal will include two main tracts - the present Brown's Canyon Wilderness Study Area, designated by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in 1992, and a bordering 2,879-acre tract, bounded by Railroad Gulch and the Turret Trail, which would be administered by the U.S. Forest Service as the Railroad Gulch Protection Area .

Congressman Hefley’s proposal will serve a number of purposes, including formalizing the BLM's designation of Brown's Canyon as a wilderness area. In making its recommendation in a 1992 Wilderness Study Area report, the BLM cited the area's spectacular scenery and the outstanding opportunities the area offered for recreation and solitude. The BLM believed the wilderness designation would enhance recreational opportunities within the area, which is already Colorado's most popular white-water rafting locale, while also preserving the area’s natural beauty.

The addition of the Railroad Gulch Protection Area serves to further protect this area. Although the protection area would not be designated as wilderness under Hefley’s bill, the protection designation does not preclude it from being designated as wilderness in the future. The Railroad Gulch Protection Area would still be managed in a manner consistent with that of its BLM neighbor.

Further, by establishing Railroad Gulch and the Turret Trail as the southern and eastern boundaries of the combined Brown's Canyon/Railroad Gulch area, the Forest Service would be better equipped to protect that area's wilderness values. At the present time, the WSA boundaries are marked only by lines on a map and, in some places, by barbed wire fences. These have often been cut and incursions into the WSA by off-highway vehicles are a reoccurring problem. Railroad Gulch and the Turret Trail are clear, recognizable landmarks that leave no doubt as to where these special areas begin.

Throughout 2003 and 2004, there has been much debate amongst Coloradans over the implications of a Brown's Canyon wilderness area designation. Some would have the entire basin designated as wilderness, but the present land-management patterns in that basin are the result of years of study and public comment. Congressman Hefley’s proposal would ensure a mix of uses throughout the basin, while heightening protection of its wilderness values.