Senator Michael Bennet
458 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Bennet:

We the undersigned sportsmen’s organizations are writing to express our support for permanent withdrawal of the unleased portions of the Thompson Divide area near Carbondale, Colorado from future energy development. We support your recent introduction of a discussion draft regarding leasing in the Thompson Divide area and look forward to working with your office and stakeholders to secure a pragmatic bill that ultimately results in the retention of high quality hunting, angling and other outdoor related uses for the area.
The Thompson Divide area is critically important to sportsmen in Colorado and across the nation. The hunting units that lie within the Thompson Divide are some of the most hunted units in Colorado. In 2011, more than 5,000 deer and elk tags were available by draw to hunters in the three main game management units that comprise the Thompson Divide. Hunters are also able to purchase unlimited over-the-counter bull tags that are valid in all of the Thompson Divide units1. Over-the-counter tags keep public lands hunting opportunities available to the average hunter and are becoming increasingly rare. Safeguarding places like the Thompson Divide ensure they will be there for future generations.
In addition to the outstanding hunting opportunities, fisheries in the Thompson Divide area are equally exceptional. The Thompson Divide contains tributaries to the North Fork of the Gunnison River, the Crystal River, the Colorado River and the Roaring Fork River, which is a Gold Medal trout fishery. Without the continued input of the cold, clean water provided by the Thompson Divide backcountry these fisheries would be degraded and in turn harm area fly shops and guide businesses.
The Thompson Divide also contains several conservation populations of Colorado River cutthroat trout. Cutthroat trout are Colorado’s only native trout and these populations are extremely rare and critical to the maintenance and recovery of the species to its original range.
Hunting and angling provide an exceptional economic driver to the communities surrounding the Thompson Divide. According to the latest report commissioned by Colorado Parks and Wildlife in 2008, hunting and angling provides more than 2,500 full-time jobs and $137 million in revenue to the Thompson Divide’s five counties2. These jobs are an integral part of the Western Colorado economy and can remain a permanent staple of the areas economic well-being as long as the key habitat that supports area fish and wildlife remains intact.

1 All hunting tags statistics obtained at: http://wildlife.state.co.us/Hunting/BigGame/Statistics/Pages/Statistics.aspx
2 The Economic Impacts of Hunting, Fishing and Wildlife
Watching in Colorado. Sept 26, 2008.
Prepared for Colorado Division of Wildlife.
Prepared by BBC Research & Consulting
3773 Cherry Creek N. Drive, Suite 850
Denver, Colorado 80209-3827
303.321.2547 fax 303.399.0448
www.bbcresearch.com
bbc@bbcresearch.com

Lastly, the White River National Forest (of which the Thompson Divide is part of) is the most visited national forest in the nation. People come from across the country and indeed the globe to experience the myriad of outdoor opportunities and unique beauty found here.
Simply put, outdoor recreation is the bedrock of the economy in the Roaring Fork valley. Area retailers, hotels, restaurants, outfitting businesses and guides have built and operated their businesses for decades around world-class recreation opportunities. Their model for sustainable economic well-being relies heavily on intact landscapes that attract visitors who wish to experience pristine forests and rivers, and healthy huntable and fishable populations of fish and game. Without maintaining the healthy and vibrant natural resources of the area, the business model that has so long sustained area businesses, could be in jeopardy.
We believe that energy development is appropriate in certain places in Western Colorado. However, due to the already vibrant outdoor-based economic structure and the extraordinary hunting and angling opportunities found in the Thompson Divide, we believe energy development is inappropriate here. There are thousands of acres available for leasing across Western Colorado and many areas already leased that have not been developed, many in locales that currently have an energy-based economy and would welcome further development. The Thompson Divide is not one of those places.
We again reiterate our support for your efforts to permanently protect the unleased portions of the Thompson Divide area from future energy development and provide a mechanism for current leaseholders to divest in a fair and equitable manner, if they so choose. Similar legislation has been passed in three other states across the west and we believe those successes can be duplicated in the Thompson Divide area. We look forward to working with your office in the future to protect this unmatched outdoor haven.
Thank you for your time and please keep us informed of your office’s actions related to the Thompson Divide area.

Sincerely,

Trout Unlimited
Aaron Kindle, Colorado Field Coordinator

Colorado Trout Unlimited
David Nickum, Executive Director

National Wildlife Federation
John Gale, Regional Representative

Bull Moose Sportsmen’s Alliance
Gaspar Perricone and Tim Mauck, Co-Directors

Colorado Backcountry Hunters and Anglers
David Lien, Co-Chairman

Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
Joel Webster, Director – Center for Western Lands