State Home | Contact | ISSUES 

Mount Massive Wilderness (Wilderness.net)

Conservation Concerns in Colorado: Wilderness

Coloradans can be proud of the size and quality of wild lands that have been protected as designated wilderness areas. More than 3.7 million acres in 43 individual units have been protected. Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Dominguez Canyon, Gunnison Gorge, Great Sand Dunes, Maroon Bells, Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness, Sangre de Cristo, and Weminuche, Colorado's biggest, are among the extraordinary places that have been permanently protected.

The wilderness protection job, however, is incomplete. Spectacular lands, such as the Vermilion Basin and South Shale Ridge, are among the many wilderness-quality lands that qualify for protection.