A political compromise uniting the Colorado congressional delegation behind wilderness designation for Rocky Mountain National Park ran into trouble Thursday from the Bush administration.
The carefully drawn plan omits the Grand River Ditch from the wilderness- area boundaries. The ditch is a 17-mile water-diversion project that supplies water to farmland in Larimer and Weld counties.
A National Park Service official told the Senate subcommittee on national parks that the compromise would undermine the park’s legal protections if the 17-mile ditch fails or floods.
“This could set a dangerous precedent for all national parks and other public lands, with implications far beyond the boundaries of Rocky Mountain National Park,” said Katherine Stevenson, acting assistant director of business services for the agency.
Her concern is that the measure, introduced jointly by U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar and U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, both Colorado Democrats, would ease the legal liability for operators of the ditch and require the park to prove negligence if there is a breech or other serious problem.
“In cases where negligence could not be proven, the United States would pay for response and repair costs associated with damage caused by operation of the ditch,” Stevenson said.
The state’s congressional delegation had split along party lines over protections for the ditch operators until a compromise plan was reached two months ago.
Although the national park already is managed as if it were wilderness – it was first recommended for the designation by then-President Nixon in 1974 – the bill would cement prohibitions on new roads, mining and timber harvesting and new construction on about 250,000 acres of land.
The hearing was a first step for the bill, which next will have a “mark-up” hearing in the full Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Staff writer Steve Lipsher can be reached at 970-513-9495 or slipsher@denverpost.com.
