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" I , ,"weone,a'y,Ap'" 1 (, "." IHt.U!:.NVt:.K.t"USI' ~t:1,;JJVN ,if Ruby Canyon, Gunnison Gorge proposed for special designation lIJjf~~r~ RIIa'i,)~lM< COLORADQ, LIVING explained Bob Moore, Colorado state di- rectorofBLM. National Conservation Area is a hybrid designation tailored to give more protec- tion to certain BLM properties. In these areas, existing mining could continue, but no new mining would be permitted: bunt. ing, trapping and fishing could continue, as could grazing; motorized vehicles . could go where officially designated. In the past BLM properties often bave been described as the land no ODe else wants. They often are desert terrain, bleak and barren properties, or lands tbat were grazed or marred by considerable mining exploration. Years ago the more beautuul and lush lands were incorporat- ed moo national parks or national forests. But the NCA propertieshaveextraor- dlnary assets of their own, and BLM wants to show !.hat it can manage and protect Its special properties. Extraordinary lands ,~attract attention IMPRUSIVI: Some of Ruby Canyon'. .andatone archea are 95 feel tall and 78 feel wide. To prove the point, BLM bas proposed that 70,000 acres within Ruby Canyon- the Black Ridge Wilderness study Area - be designated wilderness, as weU as 22,000 acres in lhe Gunnison Gorge Wil- derness Study Area. U approved as wil, derness areas, those lands would be pro- tected as pristine lands, "without evidence of the band of man." "Wilderness is not nccessarily for pub- lIc enjoyment. By legislation, wilderness is for the preservation of an eco system.," said Bruce ConIad, BLM districtmanag. er In Grand Junction. .-"' Conrad was the district manacr in northern California and spearheaded the first National Conservation ArUat King c Range along a beach near Eureka in 1970. His experience there makes him an advocate of Colorado's conservation ar- eas, There is a perception that national parks service management is more pro- tective of special lands,since mining, Umbering and other uses are not permit- tedlnnaUonalparks. For both Colorado properties, there is an alternative proposal that would add part of the land to national parks - Ruby Canyon to expand the Colorado National MonumeDt and Gunnison Gorge to en- large the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National MOnument " JU,M officials are sensitive to this, and !llly~r good stewardship of properties should not go uDrecognlzed, "BLM just doesn't have much of that significant, spectacular natural beauty as in Ruby Canyon and Gunnison Gorge, and in the past these would have boon turned over to the park service," Moore said, "But with an NCA, we can manage them for long-term protection and continued use." The Bureau of Land Management is the nation's largest land manager, over- seeing about 272 million acres. Most of the lands are In II Western states. Through the years BLM has been dis- paraged as the ''Bureau of Grazing aDd Mining," but recent emphasis has focused on tbe burgeoning recreational needs of , 1+ Pleaf 59& CONSERVATION on 2F r .,....~..,,____wi f By Joanne Ditmer DtnverPoltStlltlWrtter Only five properties in the nation have been designated as National Conserva. tiOD Areas since 1970, and now two Colo- rado areas are being considered for the selectllst. The proposed areas are Ruby Canyon, tbe largest concentration of natural rock arcbes in Colorado on 1I8,700 acres sur- rounding t,he Colorado River southwest of Grand Junction, and Gwmison Gorge, a spectacular wild river canyon in 64,139 acres northeast of Montrose. National Conservation Area is an offi. ciaI Bureau of Land Management desig- nation to protect and conserve Important natural and cultural resources while al- lowing compatible uses.. Tbe designation is established by CongTess through a spe- cHic act for eacb area, and i3 crafted to apply to eacb Individual property and its exist/nguHeS. "NCA proVides aD opportunity to rec- ognize thesiplficaol natural values of .anarea whileconUnuingmuIUpleuse,'" I ...... J I i I I , I t I , 1