Whatever happens regarding the protection of public lands in the northern Dolores River region, access to all newly designated lands should continue to be free and there should be no entry fee; all valid mining rights should be protected; pastoral management should continue, as should hunting and fishing rights.
That’s what US Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, both Democrats from Colorado, say. The two have been holding public hearings and discussions in the region about the proposal to build a new national monument in the Dolores River region, which lies mainly in Mesa and Montrose counties. On Wednesday, they released a joint statement on the monument proposal, outlining the principles they intend to follow when considering the matter.
“From the discussions we have had so far, it is clear that Colorado residents care deeply about this landscape and many want it to be protected permanently. We also recognize that there are legitimate questions and that further discussions are needed,” they said.
“We are committed to continuing to work with local leaders, public land users, affected counties and tribes to determine the best path forward. Whatever means we use to permanently protect the Dolores, we will follow these principles,” they said, before listing those above and several others.
Other measures include keeping the popular Rimrocker Trail open to motorized vehicles and other recreational activities, continuing to allow mountain biking “with the opportunity to develop new trails,” requiring the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service to “continue to manage federal lands on the northern Dolores landscape as they currently do (many national monuments are managed by the National Park Service),” and requiring that any conservation designation “protect existing water rights and … not create a federally reserved water right.”
The Senators’ statement can be found at https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2024/7/bennet-hickenlooper-statement-on-dolores-canyons-national-monument-proposalThey do not take a position on whether they support classification as a monument or perhaps another approach, such as designation as a national conservation area.
Bennet and Hickenlooper have proposed protecting about 68,000 acres in the Dolores River region upstream by creating a national wildlife refuge and a special management area in Dolores, Montezuma and San Miguel counties. Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado has introduced a companion bill to the Senate version in the House of Representatives.
Advocates want President Biden to designate a national monument to protect the downstream portion of the river region not covered by this law. The Protect the Dolores Coalition issued a press release Wednesday citing the Senators’ “joint statement supporting permanent conservation measures for the Dolores River Canyon region of Colorado,” thanking them for their time and leadership on the issue and calling for swift action to designate a monument.
“In response to (the senators’) joint statement, community leaders are calling on Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper to work with local stakeholders and the Biden administration to expeditiously designate Dolores Canyons as a national monument. Coloradans should not have to wait another year, another decade, or another five decades for our elected leaders to get the job done,” the coalition said.
Amber Clark, executive director of Dolores River Boating Advocates, said in the press release, “Local people have worked on this for 50 years and this year is an opportunity to protect this public land as a national monument.”
The advocates’ call for action this year comes after President Biden’s poor performance in recent debates, raising new questions about his ability to defeat Donald Trump in November’s election. Trump reduced the size of some national monuments during his presidency.
Sean Pond, an opponent of the historic designation, said Hickenlooper and Bennet were merely parroting arguments from historic designation supporters, who also say that things like protecting existing mining rights and continuing grazing would be protected. But he said that if historic designation were granted, roads would be closed, preventing people from bringing in drills to drill core samples and prove mining claims, and preventing ranchers from using vehicles to transport water for livestock and materials to repair fences.
“It’s exactly the same thing that the proponents have been saying since day one. The senators themselves have just reiterated that they have the same attitude as the proponents,” Pond said.
Proponents of the monument also say access would remain free, hunting and fishing opportunities would continue, and people would still be able to bike or ride motorized vehicles and otherwise recreate on designated routes such as the Rimrocker Trail and John Brown Canyon.
