HomeMy WebLinkAboutbocc.res.048.2015RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF PITKIN '
COUNTY, COLORADO, STATING THE VALUE OF PUBLIC LANDS TO PITKIN
COUNTY'S ECONOMY, RECREATION, HERITAGE, AND QUALITY OF LIFE,
AND SUPPORTING CONTINUED FEDERAL OWNERSHIP OF FEDERAL
PUBLIC LANDS
Resolution No. -2015
RECITALS
1. Pitkin County contains a unique wealth of scenic and wild natural landscapes, including
mountains, rivers, forests, lakes, basins and plateaus, many of which lie within public
lands owned equally by all Americans
2. Federal public lands comprise some 83% of Pitkin County and create the mosaic of
extraordinary scenery, habitat, recreation and natural resources that are of immeasurable
value to the health, welfare and enjoyment of Pitkin County's residents and visitors.
3. These federally administered public lands are essential to the quality of life in Pitkin
County, providing extensive public recreational opportunities for wildlife watching,
hiking, hunting, fishing, backpacking, horseback riding, skiing, bicycling, sightseeing,
and numerous other outdoor recreational activities; thereby improving the health of our
community and its visitors.
4. These same federally administered public lands provide essential habitat for fish and
wildlife.
5. Fish and wildlife and the exceptionally scenic landscapes of Pitkin County's federal
public lands attract the outdoor recreation and tourism that are the dominant drivers of
Pitkin County's thriving tourist economy.
6. Federally administered public lands contain headwaters -that provide clean water for
municipal water supplies, fisheries and ranching integral to the County's economy,
quality of life and public welfare.
7. Forests within these federally managed lands function as carbon storage critical to
climate health.
8. Pitkin County's attraction to businesses, employers, quality employees, and the tourists
who are a significant component of our economy overwhelmingly flows from the high
quality of life arising out of the expansive wild landscapes and outdoor recreational
Resolution No.�-2015
Page 2
opportunities available on surrounding federally managed public lands.
9. Federal public land management agencies directly and indirectly employ full-time
residents of Pitkin County, contributing to the fiscal and social fabric of the community.
10. Owing to drought and insect infestations, forests in Pitkin County are increasingly prone
to wildfire, including periodic large-scale fires.
11. Federal money, manpower, aircraft and other specialized fire prevention and firefighting
assets essential to protecting our communities, infrastructure and public lands are
unavailable at the state and county levels.
12. Management of federally administered public lands by the U.S. Forest Service and U.S.
Bureau of Land Management in compliance with federal law best protects the national
value and utility of the public lands for all Americans and the values on which the
economy in Pitkin County are dependent.
13. Management of federal public lands in compliance with federal law provides for
collaboration with state and local agencies, and the community at large, that is more
likely to produce effective landscape -wide management than proposals to transfer
federal lands out of federal ownership.
14. Fiscal impacts associated with State management and operation of public lands may result in
the need to increase resource development, diminishing the integrity of natural systems, or
result in the disposal of lands, both of which will result in loss of public access.
15. Any loss of these public lands or of public access thereto would have damaging
consequences for Pitkin County's economy and the well-being of its residents and visitors.
16. Pitkin County created an Open Space & Trails Program in 1990 and has invested more than
$82 million over the past twenty years to secure over 18,700 acres of additional conserved
private lands for the benefit of Pitkin County's residents and visitors.
17. Pitkin County has also gone to great lengths to ensure that appropriate rights of access to
federal lands remain open to the public.
18. Recognizing that rare circumstances may warrant the limited transfer of federal public lands
under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act, Pitkin County nonetheless believes that
transfer of Federal lands within Pitkin County out of federal ownership will harm the health
and welfare of Pitkin County residents and visitors, and undermine the value of Pitkin
County's ongoing investment in its Open Space and Trails Program.
Resolution NotJl b -2015
Page 3
19. Pitkin County's citizens, and Americans throughout the country use federal public lands
across the United States, and value them as a distinctly prideful part of our national
heritage and a legacy for future generations, no matter in which state we live.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Commissioners of Pitkin County, Colorado,
that:
The Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners strongly supports continued federal
land ownership and management in Pitkin County, and the irreplaceable value these public
lands bring to our county's economy, recreation, heritage, and quality of life.
2. The Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners strongly supports continued federal
land ownership and management throughout the western United States as a means of
protecting the public interest and enjoyment of untrammeled lands that comprise our
western heritage.
3. The Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners commends the dedicated federal
employees who manage America's public lands in Pitkin County, as well as the dedicated
employees of the State of Colorado who manage fish, wildlife and forests in Pitkin County,
in partnership with the federal public land managers and local officials.
APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 24th of June, 2015.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
OF PITKIN COUNTY, COLORADO
By F CLU
T: Steven F. Child, Chairman
Al Date 2 2 o f
/ten e .1410 �` / /AA n
Je-a 'ette Jones, Clerk t¢/the BOCC
APPROVED AS TO FORM: APPROVED AS TO CONTENT:
Cindy Houben,
Community Development Director