Colorado · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Grand Hogback Expansion ACEC
BLM found a natural system, a cultural value, a scenic value and a historic value here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 1 right of way inside the line today, and seven grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 8,801 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
1 right of way sits inside the line. BLM files 1 under non-energy facilities.
- Holder not listed by BLM1right of way
Grazing allotments
7 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Government Cr Com8,025acres
- Rees7,419acres
- Rifle Gap1,581acres
- SW Rifle Cr1,258acres
- Lundgren/Hogback954acres
- Simpson & Nichols636acres
- Government Cr Iso Tr40acres
The nearest areas
- Magpie Gulch ACECColorado · 4,711 acres · 1 oil and gas lease, 6 grazing allotments covering part of it3miles
- Anvil Points ACECColorado · 6,895 acres · 2 oil and gas leases, 6 rights of way, 7 grazing allotments covering part of it7miles
- Trapper/Northwater Creek ACECColorado · 6,291 acres · 1 right of way, 5 grazing allotments covering part of it7miles
- Grand Hogback ACECColorado · 4,306 acres · 3 rights of way, 3 grazing allotments covering part of it8miles
- East Fork Parachute Creek ACECColorado · 7,074 acres · 4 grazing allotments covering part of it8miles
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 Grand Hogback Expansion 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