- Montezuma County Commissioner Larry Don Suckla voiced continuing concerns Monday about protective designations proposed by the Bureau of Land Management Tres Rios Field Office.
Montezuma County Commissioner Larry Don Suckla voiced continuing concerns Monday about protective designations proposed by the Bureau of Land Management Tres Rios Field Office. The office has proposed amending its resource management plan to designate 18 areas of critical environmental concern, two of those in Montezuma County. One 1200-acre ACEC, called “Anasazi Culture”, already exists in the Mud Spring area west of Cortez. At Monday’s commission meeting, Suckla worried that a new 1300-acre ACEC proposed near the entrance to Mesa Verde National Park might interfere with the proposed 17-mile “Paths to Mesa Verde” trail the commission supports. That area is proposed to protect four plant species, including the San Juan gilia and short-stem penstemon. Suckla questioned the need to protect “a flower here and a flower there” and said the building of the national park’s new visitor center had probably damaged some of the plants of concern. He asked whether it is possible to “un-nominate” the areas and suggested a lawsuit might be needed. County federal-lands coordinator James Dietrich said a viable route for the trail to Mesa Verde has not yet been identified and it isn’t known what restrictions an ACEC might carry, but agreed it might have unintended consequences.
