CORE Act

Mt. Sneffels Wilderness Additions

The bill proposes to double the size of the existing Mount Sneffels Wilderness. The inclusion of Whitehouse Mountain completes wilderness designation for one of the most recognizable mountain scenes in Colorado – the blazing fall colors of the Sneffels Range as viewed from Dallas Divide. The wilderness addition is bounded on the south by the Camp Bird Mine Road, which leads to Yankee Boy Basin and other four-wheel-drive routes heavily utilized during summer months.

Near Telluride, the Last Dollar/Sheep Creek addition incorporates the entirety of Mill Creek Basin into the wilderness, and the Last Dollar addition extends the wilderness boundary west out to the Last Dollar Road. These add lower aspen-blanketed slopes to the wilderness.

See detailed map for Whitehouse Mountain addition.

See detailed map for Last Dollar addition.

Lizard Head Wilderness Additions

A set of wilderness additions is proposed to round out the boundary of the Lizard Head Wilderness. These reflect recent Forest Service land acquisitions, the addition of lower forested slopes, and the protection of the scenic backdrop of the San Juan Skyway. The largest portion is located in Silver Pick Basin and adds the west face of 14,017-foot Wilson Peak into the wilderness, a result of Forest Service acquiring a handful of patented mining claims in the basin in 2015. Other additions include the aspen-covered slopes below Sunshine Mountain and the scenic slopes below Black Face and San Bernardo Mountain on Lizard Head Pass.

See detailed map.

McKenna Peak Wilderness

McKenna Peak would be the first wilderness designated under BLM administration in southwest Colorado. McKenna Peak’s eroded adobe badlands are presided over by imposing sandstone cliffs that rise 2,000 feet above the plain. The bill designates the northern half of the existing McKenna Peak Wilderness Study Area (WSA) in San Miguel County as wilderness and leaves the southern half in Dolores County as a WSA. Local county commissioners support these protections.

See detailed map.

Sheep Mountain Special Management Area

Sheep Mountain is one of the largest, undeveloped roadless areas in Colorado not designated as Wilderness. It includes the popular trail to Ice Lake Basin, cherished for its many lakes nestled in expansive fields of wildflowers and bordered by slopes and peaks streaked with color. The area takes in the headwaters of South Mineral Creek, just outside the Bonita Peak Mining District where hard rock mines have long polluted the Animas River headwaters.

Sheep Mountain has been long recognized for its wilderness character, with citizen wilderness proposals dating to the 1970s. Several incompatible activities in the form of heli-skiing and the use of Hope Lake as part of Excel Energy’s Ames hydroelectric project preclude full-fledged wilderness designation. The bill would, however, create a Special Management Area, similar to the 2014 Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Area, to protect it against future mining of the type that has long polluted the Animas and from new road construction. The designation applies to lands in San Juan and San Miguel counties, but in the future additional area in adjacent Dolores County could be added.

See detailed map.