Welcome to the Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign

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.

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.
• Anatomy of a Wilderness Proposal - Stakeholder engagement.

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

	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