Colorado · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Dudley Bluffs ACEC
BLM found a natural system and a natural process here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 1 oil and gas lease and 1 right of way inside the line today, and two grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 1,618 acres and was designated July 1, 1997, in the 1997 White River 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
The rights of way
1 right of way sits inside the line. BLM files 1 under non-energy facilities.
- RIO BLANCO COUNTY (Colorado)1right of way
The oil and gas leases
1 active oil and gas lease sits inside the line. 0 of it took effect before the area was designated on July 1, 1997.
- QB ENERGY NOMINEE CORP., as nominee for QB ENERGY OPERATING LLC1lease
Grazing allotments
2 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- McKee/Collins9,613acres
- Hatch Gulch9,441acres
The nearest areas
- Ryan Gulch ACECColorado · 1,442 acres · 3 oil and gas leases, 3 rights of way, a grazing allotment covering part of it3miles
- Duck Creek ACECColorado · 3,472 acres · 3 oil and gas leases, 1 right of way, 3 grazing allotments covering part of it9miles
- South Cathedral Bluffs ACECColorado · 1,324 acres · 3 grazing allotments covering part of it17miles
- Blacks Gulch ACECColorado · 801 acres · 1 right of way, a grazing allotment covering part of it17miles
- Deer Gulch ACECColorado · 1,829 acres · 1 right of way, 3 grazing allotments covering part of it18miles
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 Dudley Bluffs 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