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Welcome to the Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign

The Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign
is seeking designation of major new wilderness additions on the White River and Gunnison National Forests and nearby Bureau of Land Management lands.

Our proposal would create several brand-new, standalone wilderness areas, while significantly enlarging our existing wildernesses. Please join us as we work toward this bold and exciting vision!

March, 5 - Gem of the Week: Clear Fork
Aspen Daily News will be profiling a Hidden Gem a week. Up next: Assignation Ridge

all news - click here

What is Hidden Gems?

The Hidden Gems Wilderness Proposal is a carefully-crafted, citizen-generated plan to grant the highest protection in the land to some of our state’s most precious and threatened public and wildlife lands.

Anatomy of a Wilderness Proposal - Stakeholder engagement.

Hidden Gems by the numbers:

400,000 acres
14 new stand alone Wilderness Areas and 26 additions to existing Wilderness Areas
Spanning two national forests adjacent BLM lands
Primarily in four counties – Pitkin, Eagle, Gunnison and Summit.

Economic Benefits of Wilderness

What’s allowed in Wilderness:

- Hunting	- Hiking
- Fishing	- Backpacking
- Camping	- Kayaking/rafting
- Horseback riding	- Photography
- Livestock grazing	- Education
- Rock climbing - Wheelchair access (motorized and mechanized allowed) for mobility impaired persons	- Scientific research

What’s not allowed:
-    New mining
-    Gas and oil drilling (except where leases exist)
-    Logging
-    Motorized travel, including snowmobiles, ATVs, motorcycles
-    Mechanized travel, including mountain bikes and hang gliders

	Gems Campaign collaborating with former opponents. Aspen Daily News Feb 27, 2010 click here for article
	Wildernes generates increased revenues for the Forest Service: Money to fund staffing and maintence. Aspen Times, Feb. 27 click here for article
	Grand Valley Citizens Alliance endorses the Hidden Gems: Aspen Times Feb. 15, 2010 (more)
	How ORV use contributes to the red dust on Colorado's Snow: LTE, Aspen Times. Jan. 22 (more)
	2 Pitken County Ranchers Voice Support for Wilderness: Aspen Daily News Jan, 19 - "Gems campaign gains ranchers' support . ." (more)
	Aspen Public Radio interview: Hidden Gems and RFMBA, Nov. 10, 2009 click here
	Confessions of an off-road outlaw:High County News, Nov. 6, 2009 click here
	Rep. Polis:With Wilderness designation, process matters Summit Daily, Nov. 4, 2009 click here
	A voice from the sky: Bruce Gordon of EcoFlight provides a unique perspective on our landscape Aspen Daily News, Oct. 26, 2009 (more)
	Radio Interview on the wilderness debate: KDNK, Oct. 8, 2009 click here to listen