Why Protect Gunnison Public Lands?

Gunnison County is home to about 1.7 million acres of public lands, covering over 70% of the county. These public lands support a rich legacy of family ranching, a thriving outdoor recreation economy, and world-class scientific research. They also safeguard critical headwaters of the Colorado River, provide some of the most intact big-game habitat in Colorado, and harbor numerous at-risk species. 

The GORP Act was carefully designed to protect critical community values in the Gunnison Basin, including a strong economy, clean water and air,  a wide range of sustainably managed outdoor recreation, healthy, intact ecosystems, robust wildlife populations, including cold-water fisheries, a long legacy of ranching, and opportunities for scientific research.

Why protect public lands now?

Gunnison County, along with Colorado, is growing and changing. Visitation has exploded; climate change, drought, and development are putting unprecedented stress on our natural resources; and the importance of the outdoors for recreation and as a refuge for our local communities has never been greater. 

The GORP Act is carefully designed to protect the values that Gunnison Basin residents and Coloradans cherish long into the future. The legislation will help protect existing uses while also ensuring the future vitality of the region’s landscape. While conversations about long-term protection have been ongoing in the region for decades, local stakeholders with wide-ranging interests have coalesced around a common vision in recent years. Now is the moment to ensure that the Gunnison Basin’s incredible natural and cultural heritage is preserved for generations to come.

How was the legislation developed?

Responding to constituent requests to protect and enhance the recreational, cultural, scenic, and ecological values of public lands in the Gunnison Basin, Senator Bennet invited local stakeholders to submit proposals to his office in 2012.

After a few years of collecting public proposals, the Gunnison County Commissioners assembled local stakeholders to develop a common vision for the future of public lands in Gunnison County. This working group of local stakeholders became known as the Gunnison Public Lands Initiative (GPLI).

Members of GPLI include:

•  Backcountry Hunters and Anglers

• Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association

• Gunnison County Sno Trackers

• Gunnison O.H.V. Alliance of Trailriders (GOATs)

• Gunnison Trails

• High Country Conservation Advocates

• The Wilderness Society

• Trout Unlimited

• Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District

• Gunnison County Stockgrowers’ Association

After eighteen months of studying public land management issues in the Gunnison Basin and discussing various options through public meetings, GPLI released a consensus draft proposal for public land management and protection in and around Gunnison County in 2017. After two years of public comment and extensive vetting with on-the-ground stakeholders, GPLI released a revised, consensus proposal in 2019. In 2022, Michael released a discussion draft of the GORP Act based on GPLI’s 2019 proposal. Recognizing the need for feedback from stakeholders and surrounding counties not included in GPLI, Michael held another public comment period. The final legislation includes several changes and provisions based on feedback received during the public comment period.

What were the guiding principles of the GPLI Working Group?

The following principles, collectively agreed upon by the members of GPLI, guided the coalition’s discussions and the creation of their final proposal:

• Appropriate balance between wilderness, recreational, wildlife, ecological, economic, cultural, and scenic values of public lands

• Support for a strong, sustainable economy in Gunnison County

• Respect for historic uses of public lands

• Use of the best available science and all relevant information

• Desire to find workable solutions to all interests

What are the land designations in the GORP Act?

Recognizing the unique and diverse values of public lands in the Gunnison Basin, the GORP Act establishes six different types of public land designations, each designed to carefully fit the values of the lands and community, protect existing uses, and conserve important natural values. All of the special designation areas in the GORP Act would help protect their natural, scenic, scientific, cultural, watershed, recreation, and wildlife resources.  However, each also emphasizes some uniquely important values. The types of designations and the values they emphasize are:

• Protection Areas: protecting natural and undeveloped character.

• Recreation Management Areas: providing for and improving the management of recreation resources for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations.

• Rocky Mountain Scientific Research and Education Area: encouraging and preserving the conditions necessary for natural science research and education, and providing opportunities for the use of continually emerging techniques and methodologies in the conduct of such research and education.

• Special Management Areas: broadly conserving, protecting, and enhancing the natural, scenic, scientific, cultural, watershed, recreation, and wildlife resources of the areas.

• Wilderness: preserving and protecting the natural ecosystems and wild areas, and providing opportunities for solitude and retrospective or primitive recreation.

• Wildlife Conservation Areas: conserving and restoring wildlife and wildlife habitat.

How will the GORP Act affect water rights?

The GORP Act is designed to protect critical headwaters for the Gunnison Basin and the Colorado River. It also includes specific provisions that apply to all of the special designation areas to ensure that the use and allocation of water rights are not affected. Provisions are incorporated from the 1993 Colorado Wilderness Act to provide for the continued access to, and the use, operation, and maintenance of, water resource facilities like irrigation canals that are located within the proposed wilderness areas.

How will the GORP Act affect private property rights?

The GORP Act will not affect private property rights. The legislation establishes special designation areas “subject to valid existing rights”, including private property rights. The legislation is designed to protect the federal public land values that are important to ranchers, water users, recreationists, conservationists and others who use and rely on our federal lands in the Gunnison Basin. It does not restrict the use of private lands.

How will the GORP Act affect livestock grazing?

Sustaining the ranching culture and livestock grazing in the Gunnison Basin was a foundational principle of the GPLI stakeholders, and that principle is reflected in the many provisions in the GORP Act. The proposal includes special language to ensure that ranchers will be able to continue their grazing operations within all of the proposed special designation areas.

How will the GORP Act affect summer motorized use?

Continuing to provide world-class summer motorized recreation opportunities in the Gunnison Basin was a key goal of the GPLI that is reflected in the GORP Act. The special designation areas in the bill do not close any roads or trails where summer motorized use currently is permitted by the federal land management agencies.

How will the GORP Act affect mountain biking?

The legislation does not close any trails where mountain biking is currently permitted. In addition, the GORP Act includes specific provisions permitting a number of new routes to be considered within proposed protected areas. These routes include Big Grassy Trail, Crested Butte to Carbondale Trail, Crested Butte to Paonia Trail, Antelope Ridge Trail and Connector,  East-West Antelope Trail, West Antelope Trail, Crested Butte to Gunnison Trail, and the Mill Creek Connector.

Does the GORP Act allow for trail buffers?

In recent years, public land management agencies, trail user groups, and concerned citizens have spent significant resources and time maintaining and updating trails throughout Gunnison County. Ensuring that trails are well-designed and sustainably routed prevents erosion, protects resources, and enhances the user experience. Each of the proposed special designation areas are buffered from adjacent roads and trails in accordance with federal land management standards. In addition, GPLI, working with local experts in trail design and maintenance, conducted a route-by-route inventory of such trails to assess whether larger buffers may be needed in specific instances. The GORP Act includes those adjustments to ensure that necessary trail modifications and maintenance can be made in the future.

Will the GORP Act affect over-the-snow use?

The GORP Act was carefully vetted by winter recreational users. It does not affect the agreement reached by the “Gang of Nine” in the Crested Butte area or change current travel management. Winter motorized use within portions of some proposed special designation areas will be left to future winter travel management planning by the federal land management agencies.

The GORP Act also modifies the boundary of an existing Wilderness Area to protect the safety of snowmobilers (more below).

Why change an existing Wilderness boundary?

The existing West Elk Wilderness pushes snowmobilers crossing Ohio Pass into a terrain trap, creating a dangerous avalanche risk. This small boundary change (around 15 acres) will allow snowmobilers safe passage through this dangerous terrain. This part of the proposal is just one illustration of the strong collaboration among the GPLI for the benefit of public lands users.

How will the GORP Act affect quiet uses?

The Gunnison Basin is home to a wide range of quiet uses, including horseback riding, Nordic skiing, bird and wildlife-watching, and hiking. The GORP Act designates many of the Gunnison Basin’s spectacular large, intact natural areas – such as Star Peak and East Cement Mountain –  as Wilderness, protecting their natural beauty and quiet use for generations. The proposal also uses a variety of special designation areas to ensure quiet recreation opportunities in the Gunnison Basin are protected into the future.

How will the GORP Act affect mining and oil and gas?

The GORP Act prohibits new oil and gas leases and new mining claims within the special designation areas. The legislation does not affect valid, existing claims and leases in the special designation areas.

How will the GORP Act affect wildfire fighting and hazardous fuels reduction?

The GORP Act’s special designation areas are set back from houses and other development in the wildland-urban interface. The legislation includes provisions ensuring that federal land managers continue to have discretion to fight wildfires within the proposed areas. The legislation includes provisions to account for wildfire risk and allow hazardous fuels reduction near communities.

How will the GORP Act affect wildlife?

The GORP Act promises substantial benefits for wildlife by keeping critical habitat intact.  All of the proposed designations – the Wildlife Conservation Areas in particular – will help protect wildlife habitat. The proposal also includes provisions encouraging wet meadow and riparian restoration projects to improve climate resilience and wildlife habitat in key areas.

How will the GORP Act affect emergency access?

The GORP Act includes provisions to ensure that federal land managers and emergency responders continue to have access to respond to emergencies within Wilderness and the other proposed designations.

A Wilderness Study Area (WSA) is a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administrative designation. The BLM must manage WSAs to retain their Wilderness character until Congress makes a final determination on whether they should be included in the National Wilderness Preservation System. 

TheGORP Act proposes that Congress make such a determination by designating a portion of the Powderhorn WSA as Wilderness and releasing the remaining portions for more flexible management as part of the proposed Powderhorn Wildlife Conservation Area.

The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Tribal Council passed a resolution in August 2024 supporting legislation to place its Pinecrest Ranch in Gunnison County into trust as tribal reservation lands for the benefit of the Tribe. Lands that are held in trust for a Tribe enjoy a number of benefits for the Tribe, including making the lands eligible for a variety of federal tax benefits.

Why does the GORP Act withdraw lands in the North Fork Valley from future oil and gas development and place no surface occupancy stipulations on some areas?

At the request of Delta County and other stakeholders in the North Fork Valley, the GORP Act includes provisions to withdrawal public lands and minerals across the North Fork Valley watershed from future oil and gas leasing, while imposing no surface occupancy stipulations on Colorado Roadless Areas at higher elevations in the North Fork watershed. The GORP Act would allow the capture and use of coal mine methane in these areas.

Why does the GORP Act include provisions related to a motor boat special use permit and boat ramp in Delta County?

At the request of Delta County and other stakeholders in the North Fork Valley, the GORP Act includes provisions to transfer a special use permit for the continued operation of a motor boat on the Gunnison River, and the right of the public to the permanent and reasonable use of the boat ramp for the Gunnison River at the Gunnison Forks Day Use Area.