(The following news release was distributed by the Canon City Office of the Bureau of Land Management and is reprinted here because of interest to Fremont County residents.)
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has begun the final stage of the Arkansas River Travel Management Plan.
The major action being addressed in this Plan involves changing the Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) travel regulations on public lands in the planning area. Currently the regulations limit OHV use to existing roads and trails and the plan proposes to limit OHV use to designated roads and trails. The planning area includes about 240,000 acres of public land within a 75 mile-long section of the Arkansas River corridor between Canon City and Hecla Junction, including portions of Fremont, Chaffee, and Custer Counties.
To this point, work on the Plan has focused on the first two stages of the planning process: identifying the relevant issues and concerns and identifying the goals and objectives that should be achieved. Two sets of public meetings were held in Canon City and Salida over the past year to identify the issues and concerns of the various stakeholders and to solicit comments on the Travel Management Plan goals and objectives. The public was asked to submit comments on the goals and objectives by September 30.
After reviewing the public comments, the BLM has begun the third and final stage of the planning process, to develop the alternatives and begin the environmental assessment. BLM’s Royal Gorge Field Manager, Roy Masinton said “We are trying to give people who use these public lands or have an interest in their management, an opportunity to comment throughout the planning process. In early 2006 there will be another comment period and public meetings where people can review and provide us their input on the proposed alternatives.” Following this comment period, BLM will then review the comments and make any appropriate changes to the alternatives and Environmental Assessment before issuing a decision.
Anyone with questions about the Arkansas River Travel Management Plan can call Dave Walker at the BLM office in Canon City at (719) 269-8545
The major action being addressed in this Plan involves changing the Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) travel regulations on public lands in the planning area. Currently the regulations limit OHV use to existing roads and trails and the plan proposes to limit OHV use to designated roads and trails. The planning area includes about 240,000 acres of public land within a 75 mile-long section of the Arkansas River corridor between Canon City and Hecla Junction, including portions of Fremont, Chaffee, and Custer Counties.
To this point, work on the Plan has focused on the first two stages of the planning process: identifying the relevant issues and concerns and identifying the goals and objectives that should be achieved. Two sets of public meetings were held in Canon City and Salida over the past year to identify the issues and concerns of the various stakeholders and to solicit comments on the Travel Management Plan goals and objectives. The public was asked to submit comments on the goals and objectives by September 30.
After reviewing the public comments, the BLM has begun the third and final stage of the planning process, to develop the alternatives and begin the environmental assessment. BLM’s Royal Gorge Field Manager, Roy Masinton said “We are trying to give people who use these public lands or have an interest in their management, an opportunity to comment throughout the planning process. In early 2006 there will be another comment period and public meetings where people can review and provide us their input on the proposed alternatives.” Following this comment period, BLM will then review the comments and make any appropriate changes to the alternatives and Environmental Assessment before issuing a decision.
Anyone with questions about the Arkansas River Travel Management Plan can call Dave Walker at the BLM office in Canon City at (719) 269-8545