Why Protect the Dolores Canyons?
A national monument designation would ensure that the Dolores Canyons landscape is managed in a manner that prioritizes the conservation of biodiversity, creates opportunities for local input, and preserves public access for recreation and traditional uses like hunting and grazing.
Here are some of the many reasons to protect these extraordinary public lands.
Rich Wildlife
The Dolores Canyons landscape spans the state’s largest and most biodiverse stretch of unprotected public lands. The Dolores River is the backbone of life in the region, nurturing vibrant and intact desert ecosystems, home to native fish ‘species of concern’ (roundtail chub, flannelmouth sucker, and bluehead sucker), rare plant communities, and iconic game species like desert bighorn sheep. Conserving the Dolores Canyons would safeguard important migration corridors and protect quality winter range for deer and elk.
Cultural Resources
Indigenous communities have lived throughout the Dolores River region since time immemorial. The Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute, and Southern Ute currently live adjacent to the watershed and have ongoing cultural connections to this landscape. The imprints of Ute and Ancestral Puebloan cultures—petroglyphs, pottery, and other cultural resources—are present across the landscape today. Permanent protections should recognize, honor, and uphold the longstanding ties Tribal communities have to these lands.
Recreation Opportunities
Protecting our public lands is a way of ensuring that the things we love to do today—camping, boating, hunting, fishing, hiking, and so on—remain available to future generations. The Dolores Canyons draws many adventure seekers, whether rafting the legendary Stateline Rapid, hiking the Juanita Arch trail to Colorado’s largest natural bridge, jeeping the Rimrocker Trail, mountain biking at Lumsden Canyon, or simply enjoying a picnic among the cottonwoods and willows along the Unaweep/Tabeguache scenic byway.
Globally-Significant Mining History
Historic sites throughout the Dolores Canyons shed light on Colorado’s rich mining industry and its significant role in world history. Mining on the lands surrounding the Dolores River provided radium for Marie Curie’s pioneering medical research at the turn of the last century, and vanadium mining in the region supplied the Manhattan Project during World War II.
Paleontology and Geology
The Dolores River region has significant geological and paleontological importance due to its sedimentary rocks formed from a vast inland sea during the Mesozoic Era. These rocks contain fossils of marine life, including invertebrates, fish, marine reptiles, and dinosaurs. The fossils offer insights into the evolution of life and the changing environment of the Mesozoic Era.
Critical Water Resources
As one of the significant tributaries to the Colorado River, the health of the Dolores River watershed provides critical downstream benefits to some 40 million Americans—including 1/3 of the U.S. Latino population. Currently, the public lands adjacent to the river are largely undeveloped wildlands, which help improve water quality by reducing surface disturbing activities and protecting biodiversity.
The photos and above are courtesy of Rig to Flip, Colorado Wildlands Project, Jon Mullen, and the Bureau of Land Management.