Colorado senators offer guidance on Dolores preservation talks, but stop short of endorsing monument

U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper aren’t saying whether they think there should be a Dolores River National Monument, but they are weighing in with a list of priorities they have for this remote area of ​​western Colorado that has become a hot spot for conservation discussions.

After multiple listening sessions and visits to the region, top Colorado policymakers in Washington, D.C., issued a statement outlining conservation actions they would like to see taken for the northern Dolores River area in Montrose and Mesa counties.

These points include maintaining oversight of the area in the hands of the Bureau of Land Management and the National Forest Service; maintaining open access for recreation; respecting existing rights for grazing, water and existing mining; and continuing access for motorized travel, fishing, hunting and mountain biking.

The statement comes after Democratic senators made separate trips to Grand Junction, Gateway, Naturita and Nucla to hear from local stakeholders.

“Based on these conversations, it is clear that Coloradans care deeply about this landscape and many want it to be permanently protected. We also recognize that there are legitimate questions and the need for continued discussion,” the statement read. “We are committed to continuing to work with local leaders, public land users, affected counties, and tribes to determine the best path forward.”

Tom Hesse/CPR News

A proposed Dolores River National Monument has sparked months of local debate. Conservationists argue that using the Antiquities Act, which gives the president exclusive power to protect and conserve land, to designate the federal lands as a monument would strengthen long-sought protections for the region and bypass a deadlocked Congress.

Opponents of the measure say it amounts to a land grab that could restrict existing uses, reduce local water rights and invite hordes of visitors who would overwhelm the rural and remote region.

The senators’ statement doesn’t mean the idea of ​​a monument is definitively approved or rejected. Locally, commissioners in Montrose and Mesa counties have passed resolutions opposing the idea. The priorities outlined by Hickenlooper and Bennet reflect many of the concerns raised at listening sessions in Montrose’s West End, the name given to the rural western part of the county that includes Nucla and Naturita.