Colorado · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Badger Wash ACEC
BLM found a natural system here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 1 oil and gas lease inside the line today, and two grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 2,244 acres and was designated August 24, 2015, in the 2015 Grand Junction RMP. In the plan's name, RMP stands for resource management plan.
One of the 1,120 places the Bureau of Land Management has designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. This page shows its line, what BLM found there and what sits inside it.
The line
Ground: USGS The National Map, topographic tiles. Boundaries: BLM's own, read Oct 20, 2026. The lease and 2 grazing allotments below aren't marked.The oil and gas leases
1 active oil and gas lease sits inside the line. 1 of it took effect before the area was designated on August 24, 2015.
- UTAH GAS OP LTD1lease
Grazing allotments
2 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- West Salt common104,553acres
- Badger Wash7,532acres
The nearest areas
- Roan and Carr CreeksColorado · 33,566 acres · 18 oil and gas leases, 15 rights of way, 23 grazing allotments covering part of it27miles
- Oil Spring Mountain ACECColorado · 18,245 acres · 5 oil and gas leases, 2 rights of way, 2 grazing allotments covering part of it29miles
- South Shale Ridge ACECColorado · 27,838 acres · 22 oil and gas leases, 9 rights of way, 7 grazing allotments covering part of it30miles
- Rough Canyon ACECColorado · 2,779 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it30miles
- East Douglas Creek ACECColorado · 47,391 acres · 25 oil and gas leases, 48 rights of way, 5 grazing allotments covering part of it31miles
More from BLM's Colorado office
Every area BLM's Colorado office holdsThe proposed rule
A proposed rule, RIN 1004-AF53, would change how BLM drafts every land use plan, and how it designates ACECs like Badger Wash ACEC. The comment window hasn't opened: the proposed rule wasn't in the Federal Register at our last check. The Watch sends one email the day it prints.
The rule's abstract
The purpose of this rulemaking is to establish in regulations an updated process for the approval of the development, revision, amendment, and maintenance of land use plans, as provided for by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, for public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Additionally, this rulemaking will provide clarification of the process the BLM uses for designating Areas of Critical Environmental Concern.Unified Agenda entry for RIN 1004-AF53, Publication ID 2026, reginfo.gov (OMB OIRA), read Oct 18, 2026