The BLM's National Conservation Lands will get a higher level of protection, with an emphasis on conservation, under a directive signed by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar this week.
New management directive emphasizes resource conservation and science-based management for 27 million acres of public land
By Summit Voice
SUMMIT COUNTY — Recognizing the importance of public lands recreation, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar this week moved to give a higher level of protection to BLM areas that are part of the National Conservation Lands system.
The directive makes conservation of natural and cultural resources is the top priority of the National Conservation Lands, and enhances the use of science in planning and decision-making.
In Colorado, those lands include the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area near Grand Junction, The Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area, along the Gunnison River and the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area and Wilderness.
“This action reflects the growing importance of the 27-million acre National Landscape Conservation System to local economies, to the health of communities, and to the conservation of some of America’s greatest landscapes,” Salazar said Tuesday at the National Landscape Conservation System Summit in Las Vegas.
“The BLM plays a special role in protecting America’s great outdoors for the benefit of all Americans – for it is the national conservation lands that contain the forests and canyons that families love to explore, the backcountry where children learn to hunt and fish, and the places that tell the story of our history and our cultures,” he said.
Across the country, the National Conservation Lands comprise about 27 million acres, including designated wilderness and wilderness study areas, wild and scenic rivers and historic trails. They are also home to numerous rare and endangered plants and animals, dinosaur fossils and sacred Native American sites.
These lands are managed as an integral part of the larger landscape, in collaboration with the neighboring landowners and surrounding communities. The management objectives are to maintain biodiversity and promote ecological connectivity and resilience in the face of climate change. When consistent with the values for which they were designated, lands in the system may allow appropriate multiple uses, such as grazing, energy development and tourism.
“Through this order, Secretary Salazar has advanced our nation’s conservation heritage, and given the National Conservation Lands the direction and priority they deserve,” said Brian O’Donnell, executive director of the Conservation Lands Foundation. “The wildlife, cultural and archaeological sites, and unspoiled natural areas included in our National Conservation Lands are better off today thanks to this endeavor,” he added.
“We commend Secretary Salazar for providing the leadership, vision and guidance needed to safeguard the outstanding natural and cultural resources of our National Conservation Lands,” said William Meadows, President of The Wilderness Society.
Local volunteer organizations believe that Secretary Salazar’s order will improve management of National Monuments and National Conservation Areas.
“This order will ensure that Red Rock Canyon and National Monuments and Conservation Areas throughout the West are managed with resource protection as their top priority. It is an important and welcome initiative,” said Pat Williams of Friends of Red Rock Canyon in Las Vegas.
The National Landscape Conservation System was established as an integral part of the Bureau of Land Management by the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, a bipartisan initiative that responded to the critical need, as the population of the West increases, to conserve open spaces that are a unique part of America’s heritage.
As an integral part of the BLM’s multiple-use mission, conservation is a long-term investment that provides quality of life and economic benefits for current and future generations.
Managers of the system recognize the importance of a diversity of viewpoints when considering management options. These nationally important landscapes are managed from an interdisciplinary perspective, drawing upon the expertise of specialists throughout the BLM, and in coordination with the tribes, other Federal, state, and local government agencies, interested local landowners, adjacent communities, and other public and private interests.
In his remarks during the signing of the directive, Salazar explicitly acknowledged the changing economics of the West, saying that, as more move to smaller western towns income derived from energy, mining, lumber and ranching is shrinking as a percentage of the total personal income in those communities. In one study, it dropped from 20 percent in 1970 to 8 percent in 2000.
In Kane County, Utah, for example, almost 75 percent of the net growth in personal income has been from retirement funds, investment income and other “non-labor” sources. Another study showed that “real personal income grew at a rapid pace in the majority of counties” adjacent to National Conservation Lands.
Salazar also singled out the Canyon of the Ancients National Monument, near Cortez, as an example of successful implementation of National Conservation Lands management.
“First, an example that is dear to me: The Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in Southwest Colorado. After eight (8) years of planning and considering more than 15,000 public comments, the BLM recently adopted a comprehensive management plan for the monument. It is a solid plan that accommodates the community and the users and protects the precious cultural resources and natural features of the land.
“In the Monument, Native American cultural practices, including hunting and livestock grazing, exist side-by-side with a program to protect the highest known density of archaeological sites in the country, spread over more than 180,000 acres of land. The Monument also welcomes hikers, horseback riders and motorized vehicle users.”
Read the full text of Salazar’s comments here.
