Congressman Scott McInnis, who is serving as somewhat of a limited but important intermediary between Montezuma County residents and the Secretary of the Interior’s office in the face of the coming national monument designation on 164,000 acres west of Cortez, is gaining plenty of experience in handling similar federal initiatives elsewhere on the Western Slope.

McInnis is introducing legislation to create the Black Ridge national conservation area near Glenwood Springs, which includes the site of the fire that took so many firefighters’ lives a few years ago. Grazing, hunting and current recreational activities will be protected in McInnis’ legislation, legislation that’s the result of Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt’s threat to create a national monument there.

In addition, McInnis’ legislation will set aside a large part of the lesser-used areas in Black Ridge — its deep canyons, for example — as wilderness. That’s desired by the environmental community.

With Club 20, county commissioners and environmentalists involved in planning the national conservation area components, McInnis’ efforts have broad support.

McInnis is also taking what is being described as a middle ground in his proposal to better manage the 2.3 million-acre White River National Forest east of Grand Junction on both sides of Interstate 70. Under McInnis’ plan, it’s expected that fewer roads will be closed than forest officials wanted, less land will be designated wilderness, and more grazing will be allowed.

Again, McInnis involved numerous local groups in formulating the counter-proposal to the forest officials’ plan, giving the plan stronger multiple-use components than were originally proposed. Motorized users, particularly, do better with McInnis‚ efforts.

Whatever you think about the movement toward less multiple use on federal lands in the West, and toward more preservation with more limited access, McInnis is in the thick of it on the West Slope. While the Clinton administration is making increased land protection an aggressive initiative in its final months in office, Americans in the much more heavily populated East and Midwest may well want that to continue under future administrations. If so, it ought to be done with care and consideration.