Colorado · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Escalante Canyon ACEC
BLM found a natural system, a wildlife resource, a natural process and a fish resource here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place no claim, lease or right of way inside the line today, and two grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 2,282 acres and was designated January 13, 2017, in the 2017 Dominguez-Escalante NCA RMP. In the plan's name, NCA stands for National Conservation Area and RMP 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 2 grazing allotments below aren't marked.Grazing allotments
2 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Dominguez Individual58,197acres
- Dry Mesa16,347acres
The nearest areas
- River Rims ACECColorado · 5,302 acres · 1 right of way, 8 grazing allotments covering part of it9miles
- Gibbler Mountain ACECColorado · 1,266 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it15miles
- Adobe Badlands ACECColorado · 6,370 acres · 3 grazing allotments covering part of it16miles
- Gunnison Gravels ACECColorado · 15 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it17miles
- Indian Creek ACECColorado · 2,345 acres · 1 right of way, a grazing allotment 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 Escalante Canyon 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