Mesa and Montrose Counties Seek Input on Proposed Dolores Map

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) — A recent press release from Mesa and Montrose counties is calling on the public to provide input on a draft of the Dolores Canyon National Conservation Map.

Dolores Canyon is the subject of much debate because of the resources it contains.

Mesa County Commissioner Cody Davis believes the proposal for a national monument of about 400,000 acres made earlier this year was too broad and that there is a middle ground where the area would remain open to mining, recreation, farming, grazing, etc.

Davis and the region are now seeking public input to better understand what that middle ground looks like.

“There’s a lot we can do with a much more tailored approach. And that’s what this is, a more tailored approach. It addresses what most people are most concerned about environmentally, which is the river corridor, and then it still protects all the other activities that are happening in the area. So that was our approach as an option, a different option than a national monument. What, the one we’re proposing is a national protected area.”

Davis does not yet know how long the process will take, given the large number of people involved.

If you would like to have your say, you can go to the MesaCounty.us website and click on the Dolores Canyon proposals page.

Click here for a link to the press release and click here for a link to the map.