Colorado · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Blue Hill ACEC
BLM found a natural system, a cultural value and a historic value here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 3 rights of way inside the line today, and three grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 3,713 acres and was designated October 17, 2024, in the 2024 Colorado River Valley RMP (Supplemental EIS). In the plan's name, RMP stands for resource management plan and EIS for environmental impact statement.
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
The rights of way
3 rights of way sit inside the line. BLM files 2 under non-energy facilities and 1 under other energy facilities.
- Holder not listed by BLM1right of way
- A private individual, name withheld by this site1right of way
- LUARK LAND AND CATTLE CO LLC.1right of way
Grazing allotments
3 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Spring Cr5,007acres
- Luark1,490acres
- Antelope Cr125acres
The nearest areas
- McCoy Fan Delta ACECColorado · 1,518 acres · 1 right of way, a grazing allotment covering part of it4miles
- Bull Gulch ACECColorado · 10,371 acres · 3 grazing allotments covering part of it8miles
- Sheep Creek Uplands ACECColorado · 3,905 acres · 3 grazing allotments covering part of it15miles
- Lyons Gulch ACECColorado · 429 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it18miles
- Hardscrabble - East Eagle ACECColorado · 4,152 acres · 3 rights of way, 4 grazing allotments covering part of it20miles
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 Blue Hill 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