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Help Protect Colorado Canyons NCA
The Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area (CCNCA) is a collage of natural wonders, a place where the Colorado Plateau is sculpted into rugged sandstone canyons, natural arches, spires, and alcoves. Winding through this enchanted landscape are 24 scenic miles of the Colorado River. The river separates the 75,550-acre Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness from the NCA’s non-wilderness lands.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is now writing a management plan for this new NCA. We need your help to make sure the plan protects the resources and remarkable values the NCA was established to preserve. The deadline for comments is Saturday, January 31, 2004.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Management Plan for the Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area-Black Ridge Cany
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
Thank you for considering my comments on the Draft Management Plan for the Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area/Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness. This is an area all Americans treasure. I urge the BLM to protect and preserve it to the best of your ability. Below are my specific suggestions for improving the draft plan.
Travel Management: I support The BLM's proposal to focus "quiet" recreation opportunities in the Mack Ridge area and motorized recreation in Rabbit Valley. However, I am quite concerned that the BLM is proposing to build 23 miles of new routes in these areas but has provided no information about specific locations. I think the conservation alternative (#4) is a better option for recreation in Rabbit Valley and Mack Ridge. In addition, the BLM should not commit to building trails without first completing site-specific analyses of exact locations to determine potential impacts of those new routes.
River Management: As Congress noted when it established this protected area, the Colorado River is an important element of the NCA. The BLM must address river recreation in the management plan. Jet ski use disrupts the experience of paddlers, other boaters, anglers, and those enjoying the quiet of the Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness. I urge you to ban jet ski use on the Colorado River through the NCA. I also urge you place a 5 horsepower limit on all other motorized craft in the NCA to preserve the quality recreation experience of others.
Wilderness Management: I appreciate the BLM's focus on maintaining the wilderness character of the glorious Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness. But I strongly oppose the draft's proposal to leave open the old jeep route to the Rattlesnake Arches trailhead within the wilderness area, a route that would end on top of the arches themselves. To provide a wilderness experience and to protect the resource, this route should be closed to motorized travel at least two miles before the Rattlesnake Arches and be reclaimed to a single-track hiking trail for the final segment.
Livestock Grazing: Livestock contribute to the degradation of this area's desert landscape. While livestock grazing is a legitimate use of the land, it must be managed in a manner that restores and preserves land health. To that end, I urge the BLM to adopt a plan that will: 1) not reallocate any grazing permit that is voluntarily relinquished or cancelled; 2) thoroughly assess any area not meeting Land Health Standards and manage livestock grazing in a manner that brings the area into compliance; and, 3) prohibit grazing of domestic sheep throughout the CCNCA because of their greater impact on the landscape and the disease risk they pose to wild bighorn sheep.
Thank you for your careful consideration of my comments.
Sincerely,
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Campaign Launched:
January 26, 2004
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BACKGROUND: A Flawed Draft Management Plan
The Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area and Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness Act became law in October 2000. The resulting 122,300-acre CCNCA lies just west of the city of Grand Junction, Colorado. Both ranchers and recreation seekers use the area extensively. Among the recreational opportunities that draw visitors are hiking, camping, wildlife viewing, rafting and kayaking, viewing ancient Native rock art panels, horseback riding and mountain biking in the non-wilderness portion of the CCNCA.
The BLM, which manages this land for all Americans, has drafted a Resource Management Plan (RMP) which considers a number of alternatives for the area's management. Sadly, the BLM's preferred alternative plan does not address some serious and growing problems in the area.
TRAVEL MANAGEMENT
While we support the BLM's effort to minimize conflicts between various recreational uses by focusing them in different parts of the NCA, we cannot support its proposal to construct new routes. The draft plan calls for building nearly 23 miles of new roads and trails while closing fewer than 9 miles of existing routes. We strongly believe that the agency should build no new routes unless and until it has completed site-specific analyses to ensure that new routes are needed and that proposed locations are the most environmentally sound.
COLORADO RIVER MANAGEMENT
The Colorado River through the NCA is a magnificent corridor by which river rafters, kayakers, and anglers can experience the Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness from the water. Conflicts grow between these users and jet ski recreation that disrupts the natural quiet of these wild lands. BLM data show that motorized use generates the single largest number of complaints from visitors, though it accounts for only about 14 percent of river use.
That use would continue under the draft plan. We believe the agency should consider banning jet skis from the river and to limit other craft to motors no larger than 5 horsepower.
WILDERNESS MANAGEMENT
While the BLM has done a good job generally in protecting wilderness values under the draft plan, it would leave open a jeep route through the wilderness to the Rattlesnake Arches. Use of that route will continue to damage the wilderness experience. The route does not belong in wilderness and should be closed to motorized use, allowing it to revert to a footpath.
LIVESTOCK GRAZING
Cattle grazing is a legitimate use on public lands and is now permitted on 85 percent of the NCA. The desert habitats of the area, however, see scant rainfall each year and are very sensitive to activities that impact the land surface. For this reason, the agency must make grazing management decisions with land health and sustainability in mind. For example, where possible, grazing should be relocated out of fragile areas such as riparian zones.
We urge the BLM to consider permanently retiring grazing allotments as ranchers voluntarily relinquish them. And we urge the BLM to ban sheep grazing throughout the NCA. Sheep are harder on the land than cattle and could introduce disease into the wild bighorn sheep herds that use the area. The agency recommends none of these sensible protections in its draft plan.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP
These are our lands and the BLM needs to hear from us about their future. Remember, the deadline for comments is Saturday, January 31, 2004.
CONTACT INFORMATION
You can also deliver your personalized comments by regular mail or by fax.
Regular mail:
Jane Ross
CCNCA, Grand Junction Field Office
2815 H Road
Grand Junction, CO 81506
Fax: 970-244-3083
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