The West Just Got A Little Wilder

The U.S. Department of the Interior gave Americans a nice early Christmas present today.

The Vermillion Basin in Colorado is among the areas that could receive protection under the new order. Photo courtesy BLM.

An order from Secretary Ken Salazar restores the Bureau of Land Management’s ability to protect the wilderness quality of the nation’s “wild lands,” reversing a Bush era decision that stripped BLM’s authority to do so.

BLM manages 245 million acres of public land in the West–more than any other federal agency. Today’s announcement potentially affects nearly 6 million acres of wilderness-quality land in Utah, 650,000 acres in Colorado, more than 5.5 million acres in Arizona and more than 2 million acres in New Mexico.

Here’s what Defenders president Rodger Schlickeisen had to say about the announcement:

Some of America’s most unique and valuable lands have remained unprotected for years due to the short-sighted action of the Bush administration. Today’s announcement will allow the broad vistas of Colorado’s Vermillion Basin, Utah’s Valley of the Gods, and many other unique and irreplaceable landscapes, which provide habitat for wildlife like sage grouse and pronghorn, to be managed to maintain their wildness.

Read our full press release here.