Colorado · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Needle Rock ACEC
BLM found a scenic value here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 2 rights of way inside the line today. It covers 82 acres and was designated April 2, 2020, in the 2020 Uncompahgre 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
2 rights of way sit inside the line. BLM files 2 under non-energy facilities.
- NEEDLE ROCK DITCH COMPANY2rights of way
The nearest areas
- Gunnison Sage-Grouse ACEC/IBAColorado · 22,189 acres · 7 rights of way, 8 grazing allotments covering part of it12miles
- Native Plant Community ACEC/ONAColorado · 3,788 acres · 3 grazing allotments covering part of it18miles
- Fairview ACEC/RNAColorado · 161 acres · 1 right of way, a grazing allotment covering part of it21miles
- Dillon Pinnacles ACECColorado · 940 acres · nothing placed inside22miles
- Fairview South (BLM Expansion) ACECColorado · 608 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it24miles
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 Needle Rock 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