| Contacts: | Shannon Borders, 970-240-5399 |
BLM Uncompahgre Office Accepting Comments on Special Recreation Permits (02-07-12)
MONTROSE, Colo. — The Bureau of Land Management’s Uncompahgre Field Office is seeking public comments on 15 Special Recreation Permit applications, including four new applications and eleven applications for renewals.
The BLM issues commercial SRPs to provide recreation businesses the opportunity to operate on BLM public lands, to provide the public the opportunity to use a guided service for recreation activities, to implement recreation management decisions and to ensure a fair return to the public for commercial use of public lands. The four new SRP applicants are:
• Gunnison River Pro (Chris Mortimer) – logistics, supplies and equipment outfitting for private, self-guided rafting in the Gunnison Gorge
• Ridgway Independent Guide Service (Tim Patterson)– rafting, float-fishing and walk/wade fishing on the San Miguel River
• Gunnison River Expeditions (Al DeGrange)– rafting, float-fishing and walk/wade fishing on the San Miguel River
• Stonefly Anglers (Justin Perry) – walk/wade fishing on the San Miguel River
The SRP renewal applicants are:
• Elk Ridge Trail Rides (Gary Nelson) – guided horseback rides in Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area
• Mild to Wild Rafting (Alex Mickel) – rafting on the San Miguel River
• Further Adventures (Boot Doctors) (Bob Gleason) – rafting on the San Miguel River
• Telluride Outside (John Duncan/Tom Craddock) – rafting and walk/wade fishing on the San Miguel River; rafting and float-fishing from Gunnison Forks to Austin on the Gunnison River within Gunnison Gorge NCA
• Telluride Flyfishers (Eric Reeser/Midnite Scholtes) – rafting and walk/wade fishing on the San Miguel River
• 4 Corners Whitewater (Matt Wilson of Telluride Kayak School) – rafting, paddle-boarding, kayak instruction and Swift Water Safety training
• Dvorak’s Expeditions (Bill Dvorak) – rafting and boating instruction on the San Miguel River
• Colvig Silver Camps (Clay Colvig) – rafting on the Gunnison River in Dominguez-Escalante NCA
• Peregrine River (Tom Klema) – rafting on the San Miguel River
• Scenic River Tours (Matt Brown) – rafting on the San Miguel River
• Echo Canyon (Andy Neinas) – rafting on the San Miguel River
Details about SRP applications are available for review in the Interagency Public Lands Center located at 2505 S. Townsend Avenue in Montrose. The BLM requires SRPs for commercial activities as well as for competitive and organized group activities or events on BLM public lands.
The BLM is soliciting comments on such issues as resource concerns, compliance history, health and safety, conflicts and diversity of services. These comments will help the BLM determine whether the proposed SRPs support the BLM’s objectives in recreation management and resource protection.
Written comments may be submitted by mail, e-mail or fax. Please be specific in describing your concerns or how the proposal may affect you. Please send comments no later than Monday, March 5, 2012. Send written comments to Edd Franz, Outdoor Recreation Planner, Uncompahgre Field Office, 2465 South Townsend Ave., Montrose, CO 81401, efranz@blm.gov or fax to (970) 240-5368
Please note that comments and information submitted regarding this project, including email addresses and street addresses of respondents, will be available for public review and disclosure. Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your name, e-mail address, or street address from public view or from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your written comment. Such requests will be honored to the extent allowed by the law. All submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives of officials of organizations or businesses, will be made available for public inspection in their entirety.
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.
2465 South Townsend Avenue Montrose, CO 81401