MONTROSE COUNTY, Colo. — A proposed national monument in southwest Colorado is drawing concern from some in nearby communities, as environmental groups push for additional protections on nearly 400,000 acres of land.
The proposed Dolores Canyons National Monument would be the largest in Colorado -- big enough to fit all nine of the state's current monuments inside of it.
“You run out of superlatives to describe it,” Scott Braden said. “It is the largest area of high biodiversity value on unprotected lands in Colorado.”
Braden works for the Colorado Wildlands Project, which is part of the Protect the Dolores Coalition.
The group has been pushing for President Joe Biden to designate an area spanning multiple counties as a national monument, which would add additional protections to the land.
“It gives us a chance to be proactive rather than reactive, like unfortunately so many places on public land find themselves in that situation,” he said.
The monument would protect much of the Dolores River Canyon, as well as tens of thousands of acres of land bordering it.
> This map provided by Braden shows the proposed national monument area
That includes portions of the Uravan mineral belt, where mining has been a staple for small communities in the region for decades.
“The size is concerning,” Aimee Tooker said. “If it was really about protecting the Dolores River, the national monument map would have stayed within the Dolores River, but it’s not. It’s about the Uravan mining belt.”
Tooker owns a few small businesses including a bed and breakfast in the town of Nucla, which sits just a few miles from the Dolores River.
She’s concerned additional mining restrictions and an increase in tourists to the area could negatively impact her town, and others nearby.
“The lands are beautiful because of the people that live here, so for them to come in and want to change us, we’re not OK. We like it the way it is,” she said. “We don’t have money, but we have heart, and we have commitment and culture. and we’re willing to fight for that.”
Colorado U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper have held multiple listening sessions in the area over the past year, and say more discussion is needed.
In a joint statement to 9NEWS, both senators laid out some guidelines they hope Biden will follow if he decides to move forward with a declaration.
Those recommendations include allowances for ranchers to continue using the land for grazing, and a protection of all valid existing mining rights.
New or exploratory mining would likely be off limits if the area is designated as a monument, according to Braden.
“There are areas on this landscape that definitely should not be mined, and so this is an effort to set those areas aside,” Braden said. “Large portions of this landscape are vulnerable to developments that could really damage or destroy things we’ve been talking about.”
There is no timeline in place for a decision on a monument designation, and 9NEWS emails to the White House were not immediately returned.
