Statement of Jan McCracken

Commissioner, Delta County Colorado

Before the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests of the US Senate
Energy and Natural Resources Committee

# July 16, 2008

Introduction:  

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, for the honor of
speaking with you about the Dominguez and Escalante canyons area near my
home in Delta, Colorado.

 

My name is Jan McCracken and I am a member of the Board of County
Commissioners for Delta County, and have been for six years. I am also a
third generation resident of the lands that surround the
Dominguez-Escalante area.

Delta County is one of three western Colorado counties with land
proposed for protection under S.3065, which will establish the
Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area and, within that NCA, the
Dominguez Canyon Wilderness, all to be maintained and directed by the

Bureau of Land Management.

It is my honor to speak with you, not just because of the nature of this
bill, but because of what

it is built upon. It is built upon a truly remarkable landscape -- a
landscape first journaled by

the Dominguez Escalante Expedition of 1776 -- a landscape that has been
maintained by an

equally remarkable group of ranchers and fruit growers for approximately
125 years. If not for

their continued stewardship and care for this landscape -- which is
surrounded by private

working ranches and orchards -- it is possible that the Escalante
Dominguez would not be the

jewel it is today and I would not be sitting before you today,
testifying for this bill to

establish the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area.

The NCA and wilderness, based on original recommendations from the BLM,
will recognize and

maintain the area\'s striking red canyon walls, key wildlife habitats,
perennial streams and

waterfalls, ancient artifacts and rock art, scenic cliffs along the
Gunnison River, and portions of

the Old Spanish National Historic Trail. It will also recognize the
needs of agriculturalists who

have helped preserve the area and contributed to the surrounding
economies for over a

century.

The Delta County Commissioners endorse this legislation, and we urge the
committee to

recommend approval to the Senate so that it can be promptly passed by
Congress. We have

come to this position based on our familiarity with the lands proposed
for protection and the

needs of the agricultural community that has inhabited the area for a
century. Most

Escalante/Dominguez residents are fellow members of the community of
Delta. Delta is where

Escalante/Dominguez produce is sorted, packed and transported. Delta
Sale Barn is where local

livestock business is conducted and it is in the Delta schools that
Escalante/Dominguez children

are educated. The whole Delta community benefits from the long term
commitment and sense

of place exhibited by those who work on and live in the
Escalante/Dominquez area.

We also bring with this endorsement knowledge gained from initiating and
helping conduct a

very extensive public review which included discussion of the uses,
values, and attitudes on

these lands and surrounding communities. Together with the commissioners
from neighboring

Montrose and Mesa counties, the Mesa College Public Lands Partnership (a
diverse local

citizen's group), and Colorado State University Extension, we
facilitated a series of public

meetings. Throughout this entire process, we collaborated with and
worked closely with the

BLM. Final comments and input regarding wilderness, agriculture,
recreation, water rights, and

local economics were all based on this extensive effort and
collaboration.

The national conservation area will recognize and ensure the continued
variety of recreation

activities now found in the area, including motorized recreation in
Cactus Park and on the east

side of the Gunnison River, bicycling in several rugged and challenging
portions, horseback

riding and packing throughout the area, river rafting, unique
opportunities for solitude in the

wilderness portion, and even gold panning along the river.

 We have insisted, and the legislation ensures, that agricultural uses
continue in a thriving

manner which not only benefits the landscape and wildlife but also the
ranchers and

orchardists who have lived and contributed to the Escalante-Dominguez
area for generations.

In particular, livestock grazing and crop irrigation will continue so as
to maintain livelihoods of

generations as well as the surrounding communities of Delta, Montrose
and Mesa Counties.

Hunting and fishing will continue throughout the area, managed under the
existing authority of

Colorado's Division of Wildlife.

 The legislation directs that a detailed management plan be prepared
within three years after

the NCA and wilderness are designated. This will provide another
valuable opportunity for local

citizens to help craft the future of these unique and socially important
lands.

 The wilderness designation includes several custom features that
recognize some unique

circumstances particular to this area. The boundaries have been revised
and refined carefully to keep all private land outside the wilderness,
thus avoiding conflicts with activities on those private lands. The
boundary is designed to follow a variety of readily identifiable natural
and human-made features, and to be effectively manageable by the BLM.

The water protection provisions associated with the wilderness
designation have been

painstakingly negotiated and crafted, with endorsements from all three
county commissions,

the local and regional water districts, and from the State of Colorado,
which is responsible for

administering water rights in our state. The language creates a unique
state-federal partnership

for the protection of water flows through the wilderness, while ensuring
complete protection

for existing water rights and uses in and near the wilderness. The
Gunnison River itself is kept

outside the wilderness because of the extensive water diversion rights
and uses it provides.

 Overall, this legislation represents an effective western Colorado
solution, providing resource

protection for the distinctive and delicate beauty of the area, while
maintaining diverse

recreation opportunities, protecting existing rights and uses, and
ensuring that local agriculture

continues to thrive and utilize the land. It also represents several
years of collaborative

education, citizen involvement and the emergence of unlikely alliances.
This collaboration has

taken a significant amount of work on the part of not only county
commissioners and federal

land management agency personnel, but local residents working together
to retain our social

and economic western culture while preserving the landscape of the
Escalante/Dominguez. As

such, it is a package I am honored to support.

Thank you again for this time to discuss such a beautiful and important
place and this measure

that will sustain it as such.