In a special episode of The Landscape podcast, host Kate Groetzinger visits the Dolores River Canyon Country in southwest Colorado
Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Special podcast episode highlights support for Colorado's Dolores Canyons
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Monday, December 16, 2024
The Dolores River in southwest Colorado.
In a special episode ([link removed]) of The Landscape podcast, host Kate Groetzinger visits the Dolores River Canyon Country in southwest Colorado, along with her colleagues Lauren Bogard and Sterling Homard, to speak with some of the folks supporting efforts ([link removed]) to protect the special region as the Dolores Canyons National Monument.
The Dolores River’s riparian zone contains the largest and most biodiverse stretch of unprotected public lands in Colorado. Advocates have called ([link removed]) on President Joe Biden to designate the area as a national monument to safeguard the region's wildlife, cultural resources, and outdoor recreation opportunities. There is also a proposal that would establish a national conservation area, which would protect the river corridor south of the proposed national monument. The proposed monument and NCA would together protect important values of the land, including Indigenous cultural sites that document the lives of the Ute and Ancestral Puebloan peoples.
Unfortunately, a few locals have engaged in an effort to halt the proposed monument by spreading misinformation ([link removed]) about what it would do. But advocates are working hard to set the record straight.
"This place—you fall in love with it. You kind of can't help it. It's really amazing," said ([link removed]) Amber Clark, executive director of Dolores River Boating Advocates. "And so I think that there's that potential for people to come together and to have real conversations—if we could sort of cut through a lot of the misinformation that's been out there."
** Quick hits
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Podcast: Inside the Dolores River Canyons
Center for Western Priorities ([link removed])
Momentum growing to protect Caja del Rio in New Mexico
Santa Fe New Mexican ([link removed])
President Joe Biden flooded with requests for national monuments
E&E News ([link removed])
A photographer captures life in America’s last remaining old-growth forests
NPR ([link removed])
Opinion: My 500-mile journey across Alaska's thawing arctic
New York Times ([link removed])
Why Utah is at the epicenter of America's land use fights
Heatmap ([link removed])
Regulations for public lands likely to change under Trump
Aspen Daily News ([link removed])
Opinion: Make America’s national parks great again
Las Vegas Review-Journal ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” It’s a place that’s just far enough away that you get away without having to spend a whole day or multiple days away from home. So it’s a great place to go when you need a minute.”
—Anna Stout, Grand Junction city council member on the proposed Dolores Canyons National Monument, The Landscape Podcast ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@zionnps ([link removed])
Wanna be a chill guy driving up a canyon? Here’s what you need to know:
🛑 Stop for rangers! They’re here to help with parking, directions, and all other questions you have. If you see a ranger on the side of the road, slow down, stop, and say hello!
🚴🦌 Slow down! There are many blind turns in the park, and bikes and wildlife share the road with you! Avoiding collisions can be as a simple as slowing down and not rushing to find parking.
🧑💻 Plan ahead and prepare! There’s limited parking up canyon, so if you can’t find parking in parking lots, make sure to use designated pullouts instead. (another reason to stop for rangers, they can tell you where there’s parking!!)
🐶 Keep pets off trails. The Pa’rus trail is the only trail in Zion that allows pets to walk on. If you’re driving up canyon with your pet, keep in mind they can’t be more than 10 ft from the road.
And unless you want to be reaaaaaallllyyyy chill, like almost too chill, make sure to dress in layers for the cooler winter temperatures.
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