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Dolores County staff outline habitat restoration, monitoring and voluntary conservation agreements to aid Gunnison sage‑grouse
Summary
County staff reviewed outcomes of a Colorado Restore grant, described monitoring and habitat priorities for the threatened Gunnison sage‑grouse, and urged private landowner participation in voluntary conservation benefit agreements while advising use of the BLM RMPA when federal nexus exists.
Kia, a county liaison on habitat projects, told the Dolores County commissioners that local work under a Colorado Restore grant has produced on‑the‑ground habitat improvements but that several satellite Gunnison sage‑grouse populations remain critically small or absent.
The presenter said the Gunnison Basin holds roughly 86% of the species' total population but that smaller populations — including the Dove Creek/Montezuma area — are at or near zero. She said past trap‑and‑translocation efforts had mixed outcomes and that conservation priorities should focus on restoring upland nesting cover (sagebrush and bunchgrasses) and wet meadow hydrology.
Why it matters: The Gunnison sage‑grouse is listed as threatened at the federal level; county officials heard that habitat restoration on private lands can increase resilience across species and reduce long‑term federal constraints tied to critical‑habitat designations.
Kia explained two monitoring and conservation tools. For detection, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is piloting acoustic recording units that passively detect lek activity during the March–May lek season; for landowner engagement, she described a 10‑year voluntary conservation benefit agreement with US Fish and Wildlife Service, NRCS and CPW that would allow landowners to receive technical support while retaining the option to revert to baseline conditions after the agreement term. "It's a voluntary agreement," she said, describing it as potentially useful for landowners who want to continue habitat work but remain concerned about permanence.
County staff also briefed commissioners on the Bureau of Land Management's resource management plan amendment (RMPA). The presenter said a final Record of Decision had issued the previous October; she urged commissioners and staff to consult the RMPA and its maps when reviewing projects that involve federal nexus such as subsurface mineral leasing, because stipulations and critical‑habitat overlays affect permissible surface disturbance.
On grant work, the county summary said the Restore grant (spent down to $100,900 through Oct. 31, 2023) funded installation of Z‑deck structures, removal of invasive Russian olive and tamarisk on several properties, and assessments of six properties; youth crews from a southwest conservation corps were employed. The presenter noted one outstanding deliverable: a Dolores County‑specific management plan that staff want to develop collaboratively with USFWS and CPW.
Next steps: Staff proposed using a USGS prioritization tool to target the most restorable parcels for future grants and raised the November 10 application deadline for the next Colorado Restore round. They asked the board whether county staff should prepare the grant application and seek agency contributors. The county also will circulate the draft management plan to commissioners and agency partners for comment.
The board did not take a formal vote on a conservation agreement during the meeting; staff were asked to follow up with partner agencies and return with a management‑plan draft and funding options.
