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Commissioners review draft Dolores County management plan; emphasize ranching, water and landowner partnerships
Summary
County officials reviewed a draft management plan and asked the consultant to add chapters on local demographics, key landowner relationships, and adaptation strategies linking sage-grouse restoration to co-benefits such as fire mitigation and irrigation resilience.
County commissioners reviewed a draft management plan and provided direction on local priorities and chapter topics during a Feb. 7 meeting.
The presenter said the draft is intended to guide restoration and conservation efforts tailored to Dolores County and asked commissioners which chapters they wanted to edit or lead. Commissioners recommended a chapter on county demographics and economic outlook, and emphasized local values: cattle and livestock production, irrigation and water resilience, recreational tourism, and deer and elk habitat.
Commissioners and staff discussed aligning restoration funding-driven work (including sage-grouse habitat projects) with co-benefits such as fire mitigation and improved range management so private landowners see direct value from participation. The presenter said she is coordinating an upcoming recovery implementation meeting on March 5 with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and invited landowner questions and open dialogue at that session.
Commissioners suggested quarterly check-ins to review drafts; the group agreed to a May 18 workshop to further review chapters. Commissioners asked the presenter to capture local adaptation strategies that make restoration compatible with ranching and irrigation priorities.
The presenter noted funding constraints but said she would continue to work with Nate Seward of CPW and Angela Trinko of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to pursue state grant opportunities and landowner partnerships. The draft will be revised to reflect the commissioners’ requested local chapters and to highlight practical, locally relevant restoration outcomes.
