An amendment U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) introduced to block the construction of a road for the controversial Berlaimont Estates development near Edwards failed to make it into the final version of the bill.

Bennet last week introduced the amendment into the Senate Interior Appropriations Bill, but the amendment did not make it into the final version of the bill, which the Senate passed with a 82-15 vote on Friday. Bennet voted against the appropriations bill, which included funding for the U.S. Department of Interior, National Park Service, Forest Service and other government agencies.

“Senator Bennet is disappointed not to see his amendment included in this appropriations bill,” a spokesperson for Bennet’s office said in a statement Tuesday. “He remains committed to moving the legislative language forward to ensure that the Forest Service uses its limited resources on the public good, not on projects that only benefit the very wealthy.”

The developers of Berlaimont Estates have for years sought to build a year-round paved road to facilitate the construction of 19 luxury estates on a 680-acre private inholding surrounded by the White River National Forest.

The Berlaimont Estates proposed project has faced strong opposition from the community, with residents raising concerns about environmental impacts to the surrounding forest, which is designated as a critical elk and deer habitat.

The amendment would have prohibited the use of federal funds to open, improve, authorize, permit or construct a year-round road on public land north of Edwards. U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, state Sen. Dylan Roberts, state Rep. Meghan Lukens and the mayors of Minturn and Eagle had voiced support for the amendment.

Kristin Williams, the president of Commfluent Inc., a Vail Valley-based communications firm representing the developers, said in a statement that the Berlaimont Estates had worked with the Forest Service for over a decade on the National Environmental Policy Act process. 

The developers continue to move forward with the project, Williams said. The Forest Service has already approved a record-of-decision and granted Berlaimont Estates special-use permits for road access, she said.

Federal law, specifically a section of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which Williams said applies to all National Forests in the U.S., required the authorization of a road to allow Berlaimont to make “reasonable use” of its property. Berlaimont has reimbursed the Forest Service for all costs related to reviewing and issuing permits for the roadway, so there is no financial burden for the public, she said.

“We look forward to working with Sen. Bennet as well as local state and federal officials,” Williams added.