A monument designation would help protect the canyon from industrial and extractive development while boosting local economies.
Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Fact vs. fiction: Dolores Canyons National Monument
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Tuesday, March 5, 2024
The Dolores River in western Colorado, Bob Wick/Bureau of Land Management via Flickr ([link removed])
The Dolores River Canyon in southwestern Colorado contains significant historical and Indigenous cultural sites, spectacular geological formations, world-class recreation opportunities, and incredible biodiversity, all in the largest stretch of unprotected public lands ([link removed]) in Colorado. A presidential monument designation—which 92 percent of respondents said they support in a Colorado College poll ([link removed]) released last month—would help protect this canyon from industrial and extractive development, while increasing economic activity in rural communities along the river corridor.
Contrary to inaccurate claims ([link removed]) made by a small contingent of monument opponents, all existing mining, drilling, and grazing rights will continue to exist ([link removed]) if the monument is designated. That means anyone who holds a valid mining claim, drilling lease, or grazing right will be able to use the land just as they would have prior to designation. In addition, visitors and local residents would be able to continue engaging in a wide variety of recreation activities, and Tribal members would also be able to continue accessing land inside the monument for cultural, spiritual, and traditional uses and activities.
Finally, a monument designation would likely have a positive economic effect on Mesa and Montrose Counties due to increased tourism. A 2017 report ([link removed]) by Headwaters Economics looked at the economic impact of national monuments on seventeen neighboring western communities and found that they all experienced economic growth following the designation of a new national monument. Learn more about the proposed Dolores Canyons National Monument in a new blog post ([link removed]) from Center for Western Priorities Communications Manager Kate Groetzinger, and in this short film ([link removed]) , part of CWP's Road to 30: Postcards ([link removed]) series.
** Quick hits
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Court rejects Tribal religious freedom claims, declines to block land transfer for copper mine at Oak Flat
Arizona Republic ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed]) | Reuters ([link removed]) | Associated Press ([link removed])
Could the Great Bend of the Gila be Arizona's next national monument?
KPNX ([link removed]) | 90 Miles from Needles ([link removed]) [podcast]
What's in the first spending package, including Interior-Environment and Energy-Water measures
E&E News ([link removed])
What the outcome of the Wyoming corner-crossing lawsuit could mean for public land access
Montana Free Press ([link removed])
Colorado farming region is running out of water, must retire land to avoid well shutdown
Denver Post ([link removed])
New Western training center seeks to grow prescribed fire capacity
Boise State Public Radio ([link removed])
Colorado bill would adjust air commission composition, close pollution loopholes
Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Underground seed banks hold promise for ecological restoration
High Country News ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” Oak Flat is like Mount Sinai to us—our most sacred site where we connect with our Creator, our faith, our families, and our land. Today’s ruling targets the spiritual lifeblood of my people, but it will not stop our struggle to save Oak Flat.”
—Wendsler Nosie, Apache Stronghold, Arizona Republic ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@usfws ([link removed])
Spring is right around the corner! What migratory birds are you excited to see in the coming months?
Photo: Western meadowlark returning to Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge in Wyoming by Tom Koerner/USFWS
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