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“Not a Land Grab”
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

“Not a Land Grab”

By Aimee Tooker | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The proposed Dolores River National Conservation Area is a total of 68,000 acres along the river in Montezuma, Dolores and San Miguel Counties and was the result of over 15 years of stakeholder engagement. Despite the remote and beautiful nature of the Dolores River, over a century of coordinated collaboration among stakeholders has determined its optimal usage and management, and those local conversations excluded the use of both Wild and Scenic status as well as a designation as a National Monument.  A “Land Grab” would have been a 500,000-acre National Monument signed over by one President. This NCA proposal does NOT include any land in Montrose and Mesa counties and the critical mineral resource known as the Ur...
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A Seat at the Table, Not Just a Chair in the Room
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American Policy, Approved, Commentary, State

A Seat at the Table, Not Just a Chair in the Room

By Aimee Tooker | Commentary, American Policy Center Coordination is the key to harmonizing land management plans and the strategies of the communities that live and work on federal public lands From the San Juan Mountains in Southwest Colorado the Dolores River flows through Montezuma, Dolores, San Miguel, Montrose and Mesa counties until the state line with Utah.  National and local environmental and rewilding advocates had pushed for almost 50 years for a Wild and Scenic designation on the Dolores River.  It never went through because over the course of the years it was decided by the generational locals, municipalities and tax districts that that was not the correct way to manage the river. The talk of Wild and Scenic designation (most restrictive designation for a river) cau...
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Rural Southwest Colorado farmers face 65% water shortfall after dry winter
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Rural Southwest Colorado farmers face 65% water shortfall after dry winter

By Shannon Mullane | Colorado Sun Ken Curtis, a water manager in southwestern Colorado, had two words to describe his district’s expected water supply this summer: “Pretty bad.” “(We’re) looking at about 30%, maybe 35% supply,” said Curtis, who manages the Dolores Water Conservancy District.  Water managers across Colorado and the West are looking at this winter’s snowfall and weather forecasts to plan for summer water supplies, whether it’s using water for gardens, lawns, fisheries, crops or livestock. The conditions vary widely at the local level. In some parts of Colorado, like Denver, the winter provided enough snow to fill reservoirs and avoid extra restrictions. Other regions are tightening their belts.  Curtis hoped to at least give water users in his district ...
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Mesa County counters proposal for 400,000-acre ‘monument’ with 30,000-acre proposal for Dolores River
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Approved, Local, The Colorado Sun

Mesa County counters proposal for 400,000-acre ‘monument’ with 30,000-acre proposal for Dolores River

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 protect...
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