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Colorado naming board approves recommendation to name Montezuma County valley in USBGN case 5961
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Summary
At its June meeting the Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board voted to recommend USBGN case 5961, advancing a proponent-submitted commemorative name for an unnamed valley in Montezuma County; the board amended the proponent's requested punctuation to conform with U.S. Board on Geographic Names policy and recorded two abstentions.
The Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board voted to recommend USBGN case 5961, to make official a commemorative name for an unnamed valley in Montezuma County.
The proposal submitted by a proponent with the surname Bain sought to recognize local use of a commemorative name for a roughly 4.2-mile valley that trends west-southwest to join Sandstone Canyon on Bureau of Land Management-managed land. The board discussed historical references showing the Bain family homesteaded the area between about 1919 and 1926 and noted Eugene Bain is buried 5.5 miles southwest of the stream source.
Board members described outreach that had been conducted by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names and by state staff. Stacy Coleman, the board's outreach lead, said tribal consultation efforts under the board’s procedures had passed the 120-day response window without comment from the Ute Mountain Ute or Southern Ute tribal offices. County-level support from the Montezuma County commissioners was recorded in the proposal packet.
Deputy Director Tim Mok and other members said local use and county support weighed in favor of approving the commemorative name. During final action, board staff and the board’s USBGN liaison reminded members that the U.S. Board on Geographic Names’ domestic names policy does not permit apostrophes in commemorative names; the motion was amended on the record to accommodate that policy before the vote.
The board voted to forward the matter as its recommendation to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Two members asked to have their votes recorded as abstentions prior to the final tally; the board chair acknowledged those abstentions.
The board’s recommendation will be transmitted to the USBGN as its official state-level position in case 5961. Further administrative steps (USBGN final decision and federal posting) will follow the USBGN’s process.
