Colorado · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
The Palisade ACEC
BLM found a natural system and a wildlife resource here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 5 rights of way inside the line today, and 17 grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 32,197 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
The rights of way
5 rights of way sit inside the line. BLM files 5 under non-energy facilities.
- A private individual, name withheld by this site2rights of way
- GRAND JUNCTION FIELD OFFICE1right of way
- Holder not listed by BLM1right of way
- CO DEPT OF TRANS1right of way
Grazing allotments
17 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Mountain Island45,110acres
- Hubbard31,560acres
- Palisade Flats8,962acres
- Dugway6,617acres
- Beaver Creek6,005acres
- Bull draw Common4,859acres
- Nelson4,833acres
- Wright Draw4,095acres
- Swamp Hill3,916acres
- Palisade Point1,961acres
- Pineridge1,896acres
- Turner Gulch1,467acres
- North Fork1,250acres
- North Creek1,214acres
- Beaver mesa1,037acres
- JL337acres
- EHL193acres
The nearest areas
- Unaweep Seep ACECColorado · 84 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it4miles
- Juanita Arch ACECColorado · 1,624 acres · 3 grazing allotments covering part of it12miles
- Dolores River Riparian ACECColorado · 7,428 acres · at least 2 active mining claims and 3 more BLM lists as Filed, 3 rights of way, 11 grazing allotments covering part of it13miles
- Sinbad Valley ACECColorado · 6,388 acres · 1 right of way, 4 grazing allotments covering part of it15miles
- Rough Canyon ACECColorado · 2,779 acres · 2 grazing allotments 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 The Palisade 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