Colorado · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Mount Garfield ACEC
BLM found a scenic value here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place no claim, lease or right of way inside the line today, and a grazing allotment covers part of it. It covers 2,361 acres and was designated August 24, 2015, in the 2015 Grand Junction 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
Ground: USGS The National Map, topographic tiles. Boundaries: BLM's own, read Oct 20, 2026. The lease and grazing allotment below aren't marked.The oil and gas leases
No active oil and gas lease sits inside the line.
Not counted: 1 more lease BLM lists as Interim.
Grazing allotments
A grazing allotment covers part of this line. Its permittee isn't named here yet.
- Mount Garfield25,968acres
The nearest areas
- Pyramid Rock ACEC (Zone 2)Colorado · 14,121 acres · 17 oil and gas leases, 13 rights of way, 2 grazing allotments covering part of it11miles
- South Shale Ridge ACECColorado · 27,838 acres · 22 oil and gas leases, 9 rights of way, 7 grazing allotments covering part of it13miles
- Pyramid Rock ACEC (Zone 1)Colorado · 1,257 acres · 2 oil and gas leases, 1 right of way, a grazing allotment covering part of it15miles
- Rough Canyon ACECColorado · 2,779 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it15miles
- Atwell Gulch ACECColorado · 2,859 acres · 1 oil and gas lease, 1 right of way, 4 grazing allotments covering part of it17miles
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 Mount Garfield 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