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Mesa and Montrose counties in western Colorado released a draft plan to protect the biodiverse ecosystem surrounding the Dolores River, but conservation advocates say the plan is inadequate compared to a national monument proposal. The counties are proposing a 30,000-acre National Conservation Area (NCA), which protects just seven percent of the area outlined in the 400,000-acre national monument proposal and omits critical wildlife habitat and Indigenous cultural sites.
“I’m glad Mesa and Montrose counties are coming to the table and acknowledging that the Dolores needs permanent protections,” said Scott Braden, director of the Colorado Wildlands Project. “But I’m pretty disappointed that their NCA proposal falls short of protecting the things that make the Dolores River canyon country so special.”
After hosting local listening sessions, Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper recently stated that they support increased federal protections for the area, though they did not specify which form that protection should take.
County officials are now collecting public comments on their proposal, and they’re unlikely to get positive feedback from either supporters or opponents of the monument proposal. Monument opponents believe an NCA is unnecessary, while supporters believe the proposed NCA is “grossly inadequate” to protect the area.
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