First District Rep. Diana DeGette, a Democrat, told the meeting of the Western Slope lobbying and promotional organization that the Colorado Wilderness Bill she has introduced into each session of Congress poses little threat to energy or other development.

The bill lists 62 locations encompassing 1.65 million acres and would recognize existing oil and gas leases as well as existing mineral rights, DeGette said.

DeGette said she adopted provisions from the establishment of the Great Sand Dunes National Park that make federal water rights subservient to the state.

“I really want to find this balance” allowing oil and gas development and preserving wild places.

If the bill passes, 85 percent of federal lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management in Colorado still would still be open for energy development, she said.

DeGette later spoke at a “Wilderness for the New Century” conference in Grand Junction and unveiled a new wilderness video.

She was working with House Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., on the wilderness measure, she said.

Click here to watch the wilderness video