Colorado · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Dry Creek Basin ACEC
BLM found a wildlife resource and a natural process here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 2 rights of way inside the line today, and a grazing allotment covers part of it. It covers 10,917 acres and was designated October 17, 2024, in the 2024 Gunnison Sage-Grouse RMP Amendment. 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
The rights of way
2 rights of way sit inside the line. BLM files 1 under other energy facilities and 1 under oil & gas facilities.
- PARADOX UPSTREAM LLC1right of way
- NORTHWEST PIPELINE1right of way
Grazing allotments
A grazing allotment covers part of this line. Its permittee isn't named here yet.
- Dry Cr Basin51,960acres
The nearest areas
- Gypsum Valley ACECColorado · 6,171 acres · at least 2 active mining claims and 9 more BLM lists as Filed, 1 oil and gas lease, 3 rights of way, 3 grazing allotments covering part of it5miles
- Paradox Rock Art ACECColorado · 1,083 acres · at least 3 active mining claims, 3 grazing allotments covering part of it10miles
- Biological Soil Crust ACECColorado · 385 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it14miles
- San Miguel River ACECColorado · 21,657 acres · at least 16 active mining claims and 1 more BLM lists as Under Review, 12 rights of way, 16 grazing allotments covering part of it29miles
- Dolores River Riparian ACECColorado · 7,428 acres · at least 2 active mining claims and 3 more BLM lists as Filed, 3 rights of way, 11 grazing allotments covering part of it32miles
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 Dry Creek Basin 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