| 11/14/2006 9:15:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Move on Browns
That wilderness designation for Browns Canyon is stalled in a U.S. Senate committee comes as a surprise.
A recent letter from the National Rifle Association to Sen. Wayne Allard registered opposition to the proposal after it appeared the measure was poised for approval.
Wilderness designation for Browns Canyon has been discussed for about two decades. But it was 5th District U.S. Rep. Joel Hefley who took up and pursued the issue about three years ago. Rep. Hefley, who is retiring after 10 terms and 20 years in Congress, held meetings in the valley and elsewhere to hear citizens' comments.
Following the meetings, Browns was scaled back from the originally proposed 35,000 acres to 20,000 acres, leaving out Railroad Gulch and other areas to the south and east for timber management programs.
The revised version of the bill met with approval of a number of organizations including motorized recreation groups, commercial rafting companies, environmentalists, the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service.
Based on the broad support, Rep. Hefley and U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard proposed wilderness designation for Browns.
Until it sent a letter to Sen. Allard a couple of months ago, the NRA had not taken an active role in the Browns discussion. Neither the NRA nor the Chaffee County Republican Central Committee, which endorsed the NRA's letter, had been involved in the meetings and the negotiations with local interest groups.
Now, at the 11th hour, opposition to designation comes out at a time when it is too late to conduct further meetings and negotiations and still get action from the current Congress.
Opponents had ample time to become involved in the process and, for whatever reason, chose not to join the debate then.
Now it's time for action on Browns Canyon. Sen. Allard should consider the meetings, discussions and negotiations conducted and compromises reached over the past several years and move the legislation forward.
- MJB
Needing attention
Depending on where and how you voted, comments were mixed on last week's election process.
Those voting at the Salida Middle School Gymnasium or Chaffee County Fairgrounds encountered few problems, with only minimal waits to cast ballots.
About the only issue at the two locations was the wait for those choosing to vote electronically. Voters' lack of familiarity with the new computers led to waits of about 10 minutes. But there were virtually no lines and minimal waits for those choosing to vote using the more traditional paper ballots and scanners. And the two sites offered ample space to process voters.
At Colorado Mountain College in Buena Vista, however, citizens waited as long as 90 minutes to vote. This situation prompted Joyce Reno, county clerk and recorder, to state she will seek a second vote center to serve voters in the northern end of the county.
But the new system installed after problems surfaced with equipment used in 2005 elections still has shortcomings. For one, it took more than four hours after polls were supposed to close at 7 p.m. for results to be compiled and announced.
In addition, the system was supposed to compile results by voting precinct, something that did not happen. Instead, the only information provided was broken down by vote center and early voting.
Although Chaffee County did not see the outrageous problems encountered in Denver or elsewhere around the country on election night where voters waited in some cases for hours or who could not afford to wait, it's clear the county process utilizing vote centers and newly-installed equipment still needs attention.
- MJB
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