| Contacts: | Cass Cairns BLM 719-269-8553 | |||
| Deb Frazier CSP 303-866-3203, ext 4342 |
Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area celebrates 20 years!
SALIDA, Colo. – The Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area is a landmark cooperative effort between the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management and Colorado State Parks that began 20 years ago this month. To celebrate this event and to thank the public for their support over the past two decades, the AHRA is hosting an open house in Salida on Oct. 27 from 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at the Salida SteamPlant Theater & Event Center, 220 W. Sackett Ave.
On Oct. 27, 1989, BLM director Cy Jamison and Colorado Governor Roy Romer signed the landmark Cooperative Management Agreement between the federal agency and Colorado State Parks to create the unique 150-mile long outdoor recreational resource. This partnership expanded the capacity to develop and manage the outstanding outdoor recreational opportunities on public lands throughout this area. The AHRA began with no campgrounds or restroom facilities and limited boat launch access areas. Today, there are six campgrounds, multiple recreation sites with restroom facilities, and several public access areas adjacent to the Arkansas River providing AHRA visitors with great whitewater boating and angling opportunities! Over the past 20 years, not only has the Arkansas River within the AHRA become the most commercially rafted river in the world, but it has also gained national attention for its outstanding brown trout fishery.
The open house will feature key speakers and a slideshow highlighting the development of AHRA facilities, as well as the many rafting, kayaking, fishing, hiking, mountain biking, camping and other outstanding outdoor recreational opportunities available at the recreation area. Refreshments and free posters commemorating both the AHRA’s 20th and the Colorado State Parks’ 50th anniversaries will also be provided.
AHRA also invites the public to stop by the AHRA Visitor Center located at 307 W. Sackett Ave. after the 20th Anniversary Celebration from 1:00 – 4:00 pm to take advantage of special discounts on books and other merchandise specially priced for the upcoming holiday season.
For more information contact the AHRA Visitor Center at 719-539-7289.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
307 West Sackett Ave. Salida, CO 81201