The outstanding recreational opportunities within the NCA were acknowledged by Congress in the NCA’s designation, and those opportunities have only improved with time and the careful attention of many dedicated partners.
These NCA’s long-range Resource Management Plan, completed in 2004, piloted a unique approach to recreation planning, which focuses on the recreational experiences and outcomes to be provided vs. the facilities to be built. For example:
The Kokopelli Loops/Mack Ridge area contains world-class singletrack day use mountain biking opportunities, drawing visitors from many different countries and continents to the technical trails and outstanding scenery.
The Colorado River is managed to provides outstanding opportunities for social groups and families to experience overnight flat water boating (and also camping and wilderness hiking) through a scenic and naturally-appearing red walled river canyon.
The Wilderness is managed to provide outstanding opportunities for solitude and primitive recreation, including extreme wilderness adventure through rugged, deeply carved canyons; pinnacles, cliffs and slickrock (while meeting the requirements of the Wilderness Act of 1964).
The Fruita Front Country is managed to provide opportunities for visitors to enjoy easy urban access to back country settings on foot or by horse; this area of the NCA transitions from the urban, back-yard setting of Devil’s Canyon into a progressively more remote wilderness experience deeper inside the Wilderness.
The Rabbit Valley area is managed as a sustainable, scenic diverse motorized and mechanized (e.g., mountain bike) play area for the Grand Valley.
This innovative approach to Outdoor Recreation Planning, called Benefits Based Management, resulted in the different Recreation Management Zones and objectives described above. The facilities (e.g., bathrooms and trailheads) and restrictions vary by zone, depending on the recreational objectives set for that area. For example, overnight camping is not allowed in the Kokopelli Loops area, which allows BLM recreation specialists to prioritize management attention, spending more of their time ensuring the quality of the mountain biking opportunities.
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