Utah · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Hovenweep
BLM found a wildlife resource, a cultural value and a scenic value here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 1 oil and gas lease and 1 right of way inside the line today, and three grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 2,439 acres and was designated October 31, 2008, in the Monticello Field Office 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
1 right of way sits inside the line. BLM files 1 under non-energy facilities.
- NPS (Hovenweep National Monument)1right of way
The oil and gas leases
1 active oil and gas lease sits inside the line. 1 of it took effect before the area was designated on October 31, 2008.
- Holder not listed by BLM1lease
Grazing allotments
3 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Cross Canyon42,139acres
- Black Steer9,097acres
- Lower McElmo9,055acres
The nearest areas
- McElmo ACEC/RNAColorado · 4,105 acres · 3 oil and gas leases, 1 right of way, 2 grazing allotments covering part of it3miles
- Cannonball Mesa ACEC/RNAColorado · 2,436 acres · 6 oil and gas leases, 1 right of way, 4 grazing allotments covering part of it8miles
- Sand Canyon ACEC/RNAColorado · 1,777 acres · 2 oil and gas leases15miles
- Alkali RidgeUtah · 39,197 acres · at least 2 mining claims BLM lists as Filed, 14 oil and gas leases, 21 rights of way, 7 grazing allotments covering part of it20miles
- Ancestral Puebloan ACECColorado · 801 acres · 2 rights of way, 2 grazing allotments covering part of it23miles
More from BLM's Utah office
Every area BLM's Utah 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 Hovenweep. 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