A local public lands advocate has been chosen to represent the recreation community on the BLM’s Southwest Resource Advisory Council.
James Dietrich, a federal lands planner with Montezuma County, will represent dispersed recreation interests on the council. The stakeholder group includes 15 members representing different interests and uses on BLM lands in Western Colorado.
“My family and I use the public lands for a variety of uses on a regular basis, and I want to help the BLM manage lands with the widest range of uses possible and keep things open to the public,” Dietrich said.
The RAC includes representatives from logging, mining, oil and gas, recreation, motorized and non-motorized users, water managers, ranching, historical and environmental organizations. It is designed as a conduit for citizens to inform BLM managers of community needs relating to public lands.
“Kudos to the BLM for keeping the doors open for community input,” Dietrich said.
Access to public lands is an important and personal issue for Dietrich, an experienced backpacker, boater and motorcyclist. Clear communication of BLM policy to the public is another, as well as focusing on using funding to manage lands and programs already in place.
“Dispersed camping and off-trail hiking is an important part of the wilderness experience for a lot of the public,” he said. “My son and I recently backpacked into Cross Canyon from the rim, and we would have been heartbroken it there were a sign that said no off-trail hiking.”
He adds that the bureaucratic lingo of public lands officials can be confusing to the public.
“I don’t think a lot of the general public knows what a Special Recreation Management Area or National Conservation Area means,” he said.
Canyons of the Ancients National Monument has a SRMA for the Sand Canyon trail network. For that part of the monument, users must stay on designated trails, but Dietrich said it is not always clear where the boundary is. Also the plan should be flexible to allow continued access for private land that borders the monument.
“For adjacent landowners, being able to walk out their back door onto public lands is the reason they live there,” he said. “Public lands are people based and policy should reflect that.”
On the issue of recreation fees, Dietrich said there may be areas where they are appropriate, but they should be kept to a minimum as much as possible.
“We already pay taxes for public lands, so fees to me seem like double taxation,” he said. “Working within the budget provided by taxpayers seems practical.”
River access is another important issue. As an experienced boater Dietrich is familiar with permitting issues on area rivers.
Much of the Lower Dolores crosses BLM lands as does the Gunnison River, and Ruby-Horsethief section of the Colorado River.
The Lower Dolores river is wildly popular when it runs, and is not permitted. But if it becomes damaged by overuse, some sort of permit system may be the case in the future.
“Commercial interests on rivers commingle with private uses,” he said. “You’ve got to strike a balance. I’ve waited seven years to get a permit on the San Juan. There should be a preference point system to be more fair.”
Dietrich questions the logic of the BLM purchasing more land when it has trouble managing what it has.
The Land Water Conservation fund offers millions of dollars for the BLM to purchase private land and make it public. Dividing that funding — derived from off-shore drilling excise taxes — into maintenance of current programs and facilities and land purchases seems more fair.
“They have a backlog of maintenance then purchase more land they need to manage on a limited budget and limited staff,” he said. “Maybe every five years the funding from LWCF can go towards catching up on the backlog of work, which also benefits the public.”
The Southwest BLM RAC meets quarterly at various locations on the Western Slope.
jmimiaga@cortezjournal.com