Colorado State Archives

Executive Orders from the Administration of Governor Bill Owens 1999-2005

WESTERN GOVERNORS JOIN OWENS:
PUBLIC MUST BE CONSULTED BY BABBITT

Owens concerned about 280,000-acre designation in Moffat County

DENVER – Nine western governors have joined Governor Bill Owens in telling Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt that local communities must be consulted before a National Monument is created or expanded.

"Any action that ignores local input is flawed and undemocratic and further creates division in land management decisions," Owens and the western governors wrote in a letter to Babbitt. "It is unfair to the people who cherish their local landscapes and whose lives will be most directly affected because of decisions made in Washington, D.C."

The governors said the Clinton-Gore Administration is considering using the Antiquities Act to designate Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands as National Monuments in at least five western states including Colorado, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, and Oregon.

Owens is specifically concerned about possible designation of 280,000 acres in northwest Colorado near Craig in Moffat County as Vermillion National Monument. The Moffat County Commissioners unanimously oppose designation of the monument because local input has not been sought.

The letter from Owens and the western governors to Babbitt is attached.

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