| Contacts: | David Boyd, Public Affairs Specialist, (970) 876-9008 |
Palisade Rim Trail ribbon cutting Saturday (04-05-12)
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The first phase of the new Palisade Rim Trail System will be formally opened Saturday afternoon.
The three-mile loop trail will take hikers, horseback riders and mountain bikers to the top of the Palisade Rim, offering sweeping views of Palisade and the east end of Grand Valley.
It’s the result of many years of planning and coordination among the Town of Palisade, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Orchard Mesa Irrigation District, and Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Trail Association (COPMOBA).
A ribbon cutting will take place at 2 p.m. April 7 at the trailhead, which is off U.S. Highway 6, just south of the I-70 Exit 44. Officials from the Town of Palisade, BLM, COPMOBA and others will be attending.
An eight-mile trail system is eventually planned for the area.
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