By Jason Blevins | The Colorado Sun
Mesa County has countered the call for a national monument around the Dolores River with plans for a much smaller national conservation area.
The Dolores Canyons National Conservation area would increase protections on 29,806 acres around the Dolores River in Mesa and Montrose counties. The proposal for a national monument around the river in the two counties calls for increased protection on 391,000 acres along the river.
Mesa County commissioners in May adopted a resolution opposing the national monument plan, which was crafted by river and environmental advocates asking President Joe Biden to use the Antiquities Act to create the Dolores Canyons National Monument. The commissioners in May pointed to existing protections on federally managed land around the river and questioned how additional layers of protection might impact mining, logging and grazing as well the region’s ability to handle increased visitation.