USFS Completes Revision of the Management Plan for GMUG

We received notification from the USFS that the revision of the management plan governing the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forest (GMUG) is completed.

COPMOBA and many recreation focused partners (and many other interests) were involved in extensive information submission, evaluation, and comment to the USFS staff throughout an extended planning period.  The USFS works to balance the multi-use nature of public lands management.

Full article below

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service has released the final revised land management plan (revised plan) and final Record of Decision that will guide the long-term management of the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests in western Colorado.

The revised plan for the 3.2 million-acre Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests (GMUG) was developed to comply with the 2012 Planning Rule. It represents more than six years of extensive participation from local, county, state and federal government cooperating agencies, Tribes, and communities on Colorado’s western slope and beyond.

Informed by this public engagement and best available science, the revised plan provides a durable management framework for the enormous diversity of ecosystems, public interests, and uses such as recreation, grazing, and timber on the GMUG. The revised plan addresses ecosystem resilience, habitat connectivity and migration corridors, climate change adaptation, wildfire mitigation, sustainable recreation, socioeconomic sustainability, partnerships and shared stewardship opportunities, and cultural and historic resources, among many others. Throughout the GMUG planning process, we have worked with the public and Colorado Parks and Wildlife to re-imagine how future recreation opportunities will be balanced with maintaining wildlife habitat connectivity.

With more than 3,000 miles of existing trails, the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests are among the most visited forests in the Rocky Mountain region and visitation is increasing every year. Ensuring a quality recreation experience and equitable access to the outdoors is important to local economies, tourism, and community well-being in western Colorado. Simultaneously, the GMUG provides critical wildlife habitat for federally listed and other at-risk species and is well-known for iconic big game species.

The revised plan balances the increasing demand for new and improved trails while serving as a model for maintaining wildlife habitat connectivity in key landscapes. The revised plan allocates more than one-quarter of the GMUG —823,000 acres – as Wildlife Management Areas, where trail expansion will be capped, while providing ample opportunities to improve existing trails and expand where appropriate.
Other notable allocations in the revised plan include 68,000 acres of recommended wilderness, 771,000 acres as suitable for timber production, and the 8,000-acre Gunnison Research Special Interest Area.