In the words of former Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) Conservation Director John Gale, “Conserving large tracts of undeveloped public lands as national monuments is essential to America’s hunting and fishing traditions.”[1] “National monument designations offer a means to conserve large landscapes important to fish and wildlife and valued by sportsmen,” said Land Tawney, former BHA President and CEO.[2]

“Numerous monuments are open to hunting and fishing, with recent designations—such as Berryessa-Snow Mountain in California and Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks in New Mexico—specifying that sportsmen can continue to pursue our passions within their boundaries,” Tawney added.[3] In other words, bigger bucks, bigger bulls, and better fishing!

Colorado BHA has a long track record of supporting national monument designations for protecting our “wild public lands, waters, and wildlife,” including Browns Canyon National Monument and Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument most recently. For additional information see: “A Hunter-Angler (Hell-Raisin’ & Habitat Savin’) Guide To Winning: Colorado BHA Examples (Browns Canyon & Camp Hale).”

“On Feb. 19, 2015, at the behest of Colorado’s congressional delegation and Chaffee County sportsmen, President Obama declared 21,587 acres as the Browns Canyon National Monument, with grandfathered rights for hunting, fishing, livestock grazing, horse riding, dog walking, OHV riding on designated routes and other traditional uses,” Sam Lungren explained in the Spring 2017 Backcountry Journal.[4]

“In places like Browns Canyon and Rio Grande del Norte, national monuments have proved to be an effective way to implement collaborative public land management solutions that conserve world-class hunting and fishing opportunities,” said Corey Fisher, senior policy director for Trout Unlimited. “In these instances and others … the Antiquities Act provided a path forward to bring to fruition these community-driven initiatives.”[5]

In March 2023, the Dolores River National Conservation Area and Special Management Area Act (S. 636/H.R. 1534) was reintroduced by Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO).[6] This bill would establish the Dolores River National Conservation Area and Dolores River Special Management Area conserving a total of 68,000 acres of public land in Southwest Colorado.[7] “The NCA proposal was crafted by a diverse group of citizens and government officials and the bill has bipartisan support from both our US House and Senate representatives,” said Colorado BHA Central West Slope Regional Director Criag Grother.

As stated in “BHA’s 2024 Policy Priorities” report, “After more than a decade of discussion and collaboration, the Dolores River National Conservation Area and Special Management Area Act was advanced by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee … conserving a total of 68,000 acres of public land in Southwest Colorado. These areas will be managed to conserve, protect, and enhance native fish, wildlife, and recreational resources, among others.”[8]

However, many residents in western Colorado want something bigger. A 2023 survey of 750 voters in five western Colorado counties (Dolores, Mesa, Montezuma, Montrose and San Miguel) and the state’s 3rd Congressional District (represented by Laurean Boebert) showed a strong majority supporting a new national monument across the entirety of the 184-mile river, covering more than 500,000 acres.[9]

“Colorado BHA has already supported the current effort to designate the portion of the Dolores River between McPhee Reservoir and the Montrose County line as a National Conservation Area (NCA) and this proposal would extend conservation of the Dolores Canyons to the Utah State line,” Central West Slope Regional Director Criag Grother added. Currently, there’s a community-driven proposal to conserve the Dolores River canyons as a national monument.

National monuments have a long history of being designated through the Antiquities Act with bipartisan support. Together, nine Democratic and nine Republican presidents have established 161 national monuments through their authority under the Antiquities Act. As early as 1908, the Antiquities Act was used by Theodore Roosevelt to designate more than 800,000 acres of public land as the Grand Canyon National Monument to protect the region from mining claims.[10]

Public lands and waters conserved through the Antiquities Act have sustained incredible opportunity for hunters and anglers, from bighorn sheep and sharp-tailed grouse in the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument in Montana, to Rio Grande cutthroat trout in the Rio Grande Del Norte National Monument in New Mexico.[11]

Three national monuments have already been established by President Biden with the support of hunters and anglers: the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument in Colorado, the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada and the Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument in Arizona.[12] Now President Biden has the opportunity to build on that conservation legacy by using the Antiquities Act to protect fish and wildlife habitat in the Dolores River canyons region.

“The Dolores Canyons provide critical habitat for the recovery of our desert bighorn sheep, and the reintroduction and associated wildlife management now provide one of the few opportunities to hunt desert bighorn in Colorado,” Central West Slope Regional Director Craig Grother said.

“Farther down the Colorado Basin, President Biden has created new national monuments in places like Avi Kwa Ame in Nevada and Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni near the Grand Canyon in Arizona,” Colorado BHA Co-Chair David Lien said. “For the benefit of local communities, hunters, anglers, rafters, wildlands and wildlife, and future generations, he should preserve the Dolores River Canyons as a new national monument.”

Craig Grother is the Colorado Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Central West Slope Regional Director. He is a resident of Norwood and was the U.S. Forest Service wildlife biologist for the Norwood and Ouray Ranger Districts of the GMUG National Forest. During 2013 he was the recipient of BHA’s Aldo Leopold Award for “significant contributions towards preserving wildlife habitat.”[13]

David Lien is a former Air Force officer and co-chairman of the Colorado Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. He’s the author of six books including “Hunting for Experience: Tales of Hunting & Habitat Conservation.” During 2019 he was the recipient of BHA’s Mike Beagle-Chairman’s Award “for outstanding effort on behalf of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers.”[14]

National Monuments in Colorado

Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument

Browns Canyon National Monument
Colorado National Monument
Canyons of the Ancients National Monument
Chimney Rock National Monument
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
Dinosaur National Monument
Hovenweep National Monument
Yucca House National Monument[15]

Additional/Related Information

-Leslie Kaminski. “Conserving the Dolores River canyons is a gain for Western Slope hunters.” Grand Junction (Colo.) Daily Sentinel: 3/8/24.

-See p.19 for BHA Colorado Priority Landscapes, which include: 1.) Continental Divide, San Juan Mountains, Thompson Divide and Curecanti Designations; 2.) Dolores River. https://www.backcountryhunters.org/bha_s_2024_policy_priorities

-“A Hunter-Angler (Hell-Raisin’ & Habitat Savin’) Guide To Winning: Colorado BHA Examples (Browns Canyon & Camp Hale).” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 10/23/23.

-Katie McKalip. “National Monuments, A Net Gain for Hunters and Anglers.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 7/27/23.

-Katie McKalip. “Sportsmen Present Path Forward for National Monument Proposals.” National Monuments: A Sportsmen’s Perspective: 1/21/16.

-Also see: https://www.protectthedolores.org/

Bad Ideas

-Kaden McArthur. “House Committee Considers Legislation to Undermine the Antiquities Act.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 3/22/24.

-David A. Lien “Selling off our public lands is a bad idea that won’t die.” VailDaily: 1/29/23.

-For more about the ongoing efforts by some legislators in Congress (and others) to privatize our public lands estate see the “Bad Ideas” section (scroll to end) in: “A Hunter-Angler (Hell-Raisin’ & Habitat Savin’) Guide To Winning: Colorado BHA Examples (Browns Canyon & Camp Hale).” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 10/23/23.

“The future of the American public lands is as important to our nation as the Bill of Rights or the Constitution itself.” –Hal Herring, Field & Stream contributing editor, host of BHA’s Podcast & Blast and recipient of BHA’s 2016 Ted Trueblood Award[16]

[1] Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA). “BHA Maps Hunting Opportunity in At-Risk National Monuments.” AmmoLand.com: 11/17/17.

[2] Katie McKalip. “Sportsmen Present Path Forward for National Monument Proposals.” National Monuments: A Sportsmen’s Perspective: 1/21/16.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Sam Lungren. “A Monumental Success.” Backcountry Journal: Spring 2017, p. 62.

[5] Katie McKalip. “Sportsmen Present Path Forward for National Monument Proposals.” National Monuments: A Sportsmen’s Perspective: 1/21/16.

[6] Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. “Colorado Public Lands and Waters Legislation.” Backcountry Beat: March 2023.

[7] Kaden McArthur. “BHA’s 2024 Policy Priorities.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 1/24/24.

[8] Kaden McArthur. “BHA’s 2024 Policy Priorities.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 1/24/24.

[9] Jason Blevins. “Conservation momentum surges for southwest Colorado’s Dolores River as record flows draw rafters.” The Colorado Sun: 5/1/23.

[10] Kaden McArthur. “House Committee Considers Legislation to Undermine the Antiquities Act.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 3/22/24.

[11] Ibid.  

[12] Ibid. 

[13] “BHA’s Craig Grother & David Petersen Recognized For Protecting Backcountry Habitat.” AmmoLand.com: 3/25/13.

[14] https://www.backcountryhunters.org/co_bha_award_winners

[15] Kevin Torres. “Browns Canyon becomes Colorado’s 8th national monument.” 9News: 2/20/15.

[16] Will Bostwick. “The New Documentary ‘Public Trust’ Is a Call to Action: By highlighting three potent public-lands battles, the film asks audiences to take a stand in a political moment that threatens the future of American conservation.” Outside: 2/19/20.