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| Northern Dolores/Gateway Area |
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Exceptional Values - Past, Present, & Future? - The Northern Dolores River Watershed, extending west from the divide in Unaweep Canyon to the state-line past Gateway and as far south as the confluence with the San Miguel River, contains some of the most remarkably diverse terrain in all of Colorado and remains one of the few western landscapes to be relatively untouched by development. However, given its deep history, unfettered views, rich and rare wildlife habitat, and world class opportunities for primitive and backcountry recreation, this public landscape will no doubt continue to see an increase in visitors. The descriptions below illustrate those exceptional values which CEC, as a member of the Dolores River Coalition, and the Friends of Northern Dolores (FOND) have identified in the region thus far.
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The town of Gateway and the surrounding wildlands as seen from the hike to Conception Point.
photo © Matt McGrath |
A sinuous river with countless creeks and drainages on arid western lands: As it winds its way through redrock canyons and cottonwood groves, the Dolores River sustains people, communities, wildlife, and traditional agriculture and hunting practices. The conservation of watersheds like this is infinitely valuable in the rapidly developing high-desert west.
- Unfettered scenic views and rich western history: The feeling of the Wild West remains here, steeped in a continuing ranching culture. The pristine landscapes within the Northern Dolores provide dramatic redrock scenery, lush floodplains and remote ridgelines, which enable visitors to experience the landscape as its original settlers did. The stunning views and quiet stillness are among the most precious in our country.
- Big game habitat & rare plants and animals: The public lands of the Northern Dolores harbor wildlife important to the region’s hunters in addition to fostering an array of fascinating native species, many of which are uncommon and in some cases have global biologic importance as they are found only in the Dolores Watershed. These unusual natural habitats are exceptionally important to our unique heritage of natural diversity.
- World-class recreation and tourism: Beauty, history, diverse natural topography, and vibrant ecological systems found directly adjacent to the Gateway Canyons Resort, offer potential for superlative recreation and tourism, including opportunities for hiking, hunting, fishing, horseback riding, backcountry ATV use, mountain biking, rafting, climbing, bird watching, rock-study, star-gazing, photography, and backpacking.
Creating a Community Vision - This public landscape will no doubt see an increase in use and with the Grand Junction and Uncompahgre BLM Field Offices in the midst of revising their Resource Management Plans (RMPs), the time is ripe for us to collectively consider the long term implications of our development. Could Gateway be the next Aspen or Moab? Now is the time to learn from the past, take a hard look at the present, and create a future vision for this landscape that will truly celebrate and benefit the residents (human or otherwise!) of Gateway and Unaweep Canyon. To this end, the Dolores River Coalition and FOND are bringing folks together--from private land owners to public land users, from ranchers to recreationists--to develop a proactive, community-supported vision for this landscape! Moreover we want to see that this vision helps accomplish the following -
- Fosters reliable and diverse economic opportunities in the community based on sustainable recreation, heritage tourism, and agriculture;
- Ensures that local input guides a conservation based response to how this region will address an increased popularity among a range of interests; and
- Maintains the cultural, historic, ecological integrity of the current landscape.
If you are interested in learning more about this exciting campaign:
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