| Contacts: | Tom Alvarez, Public Affairs Specialist, (970) 244-3097 |
BLM Coal Canyon Road Reopened (10-04-10)
GRAND JUNCTION, CO — The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has completed maintenance work and reopened Coal Canyon Road to public access.
The road is located off the Cameo exit (45) along Interstate 70 and provides access to the Little Book Cliffs Wild Horse Range and the Coal Canyon Trailhead, one of the best places to view wild horse activity in the area.
According to Chris Ham, Supervisory Outdoor Recreation Planner for the BLM Grand Junction Field Office, “In the past the road suffered frequent washouts and required constant maintenance and repair. We now have an all weather road requiring less work and fewer funds to maintain for safe travel and access by the public.”
The road, closed since mid July, has been resurfaced with gravel, reshaped with culverts and the creation of water diversion designs that will protect the road from washout and erosion.
The Little Book Cliffs Wild Horse Range is one of four wild horse herd management areas in Colorado. In addition to the Coal Canyon Road, the area can be accessed from the north through DeBeque with a high-clearance, four-wheel-drive vehicle.
For more information visit the website at http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/gjfo.html.
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.
2815 H Road Grand Junction, CO 81506