Public lands access – Garfield County, Colorado

BOCC opposes stream access legislative proposals

Colorado River from the South Canyon bridge

Garfield County is opposing any potential legislation that would expand stream access across private property in Colorado. Various recreation organizations and interest groups have long sought to expand stream access through private property in the state. “The way that we have it here in Colorado is working well and has worked well,” said Garfield County Commissioner Perry Will. “The Arkansas River has had this problem with wading and at that time, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said, ‘don’t dabble in these access issues because we have the rules established and we have no issues as it stands.’ I think it’s

A map featuring newly designated roads as open to all traffic near Garfield County Road 200.

The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Grand Junction Field Office has signed a decision declaring roughly 14 miles of unpaved road in the vicinity of Garfield County Road 200 as open to all modes of travel. The roads, which had previously been considered open to administrative use only, pass through private property and allow access to more than 50,000 acres of BLM land that had previously been difficult to reach. Four-wheel drive is recommended while using these primitive roads to access public lands. No trailers should be taken past the flag poles, as there are no spots to turn them

Garfield County supports greater efficiency in BLM planning process

GARFIELD COUNTY, CO – Garfield County has joined a group of local governments supporting potential changes to increase the efficiency of Bureau of Land Management processes pertaining to land use. The county also called on the agency to comply with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), which requires greater coordination with state and local governments. In late March, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke directed the BLM to streamline both its land-use planning and National Environmental policy Act (NEPA) processes. He called those processes time-consuming, inefficient, and duplicative. In a letter to Cynthia Moses-Nedd, liaison to state and