| Contacts: | Sally Thode, 970-642-4448 | |||
| Deanna Masterson, 303-239-3671 | ||||
BLM Hosts Alpine Loop Mining History Tour (08-18-10)
GUNNISON, Colo. – The Bureau of Land Management invites you to the Alpine Loop Back Country Byway for a day of fun while learning about historic mining in the San Juan Mountains.
An interpretive tour of through the Byway will be available between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010, at eight historic mining sites between Lake City and Silverton, Colo. Maps are available at the BLM Gunnison Field Office, 216 N. Colorado, Gunnison, Colo. 81320; BLM San Juan Public Land Center, 15 Burnett Court, Durango, Colo. 81301; Silverton Public Lands Center, 1428 Greene Street, Silverton, Colo. 81433; and Lake City Chamber of Commerce, 800 North Gunnison, Lake City, Colo. 81235.
The Alpine Loop Back Country Byway in the northern San Juan Mountains of Colorado is a spectacular 65-mile tour of some of North America's most magnificent scenery. The Byway boasts two 12,000+ foot passes that require a high clearance, four-wheel drive vehicle.
For those with an adventurous spirit (and an appropriate four-wheel drive vehicle), the area offers an opportunity to step back in time to when early miners struggled in a rugged, often hostile environment. Remnants of the hard rock mining past-- historic structures, mines, and tramways -- dot the landscape, telling a story of a bygone era and a different way of life. This event is hosted by the BLM’s Gunnison Field Office and San Juan Public Lands Center.
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.
216 North Colorado Gunnison, CO 81230