Mountain Biking: Rubber side down- Time for a TurnaroundWell, my friends, things are finally looking up, and good timing, too, since I’m sure you’re all sick of me bitching. Recent bike build, including wheels… fun! In what feels like a fairly short time, I’ve come from sitting around … Continue reading → […]
- This Raised My PulseHey, baby… wanna ride? I may be injured, but I’m not dead yet. I can still have racy thoughts. Here’s more info. In other news, UBI was an awesome success! I had a blast. I highly recommend it. Overhaul day…. … Continue reading → […]
- Time for a Turnaround
- Edgy Veggie
National Landscape Conservation System turns 10! (Never heard of it? You’re not alone.)
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Canyon of the Ancients in Colorado | BLM
What do you think of when someone mentions a national park in the West? The giant cliffs in Yosemite? The geysers in Yellowstone? The big ditch of the Grand Canyon?
Now, what do you think of when someone mentions the Bureau of Land Management? Not so inspirational, huh. Well, there’s a reason for that. The BLM — which has sometimes been maligned as the Bureau of Livestock and Mining — has a bit of an image problem. The BLM is often thought of as the “other” federal land management agency. The one that manages all the stuff that was left over after the national parks and the forest service got all of the good land. (And besides, there is a lot of mining and grazing and oil and gas development on BLM lands.)
But for the last 10 years, there’s been something else going on: an organized effort to preserve some of the BLM’s most amazing landscapes. (And it’s true, they exist.)
In 2000, then-Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt sought to change that by creating the National Landscape Conservation System, which is charged with preserving some of the most striking lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. In honor of the system’s 10th anniversary, Babbitt will give a free talk Thursday morning at the University of Colorado.
“I think the BLM, in general, has a hard time getting people to understand what we do,” said Steven Hall, director of communications for the BLM’s Colorado office. “Typically, we get the most attention when we have a controversy, like wild horses or oil and gas development. But the reality is that we manage a little over 1 million acres in Colorado of National Landscape Conservation System lands.
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