BLM

Colorado State Office • COLORADO

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

A Recreation

and Visitor 

Services 

Strategy
 Bureau of Land Management

Colorado Recreation Program

Mission Statement

 BLM Colorado recreation will; through innovative partnerships, stakeholder commitment, and 

community-based collaboration; maintain the valued recreation opportunities, desired landscape 

settings and public land health ensuring long-term ecological sustainability while providing benefits 

to visitors, communities, and the natural and cultural environment.

Bureau of Land Management • Colorado State Office

2850 Youngfield Street • Lakewood, Colorado 80215 • www.co.BLM.gov

Cover background photo courtesy of © John Fielder
i

A Recreation and Visitor Services Strategy 

Table of Contents

Introduction.......................................................................................................................................................... 4

Why A BLM Colorado Recreation Strategy? .................................................................................................... 4

Complementing The BLM National Recreation Priorities.............................................................................. 5

What’s Changed That Requires A Strategy?...................................................................................................... 5

What’s Going To Be Different? ..........................................................................................................................6

Goals For The Strategy ........................................................................................................................................6

Taking Stock In Moving Forward...................................................................................................................... 7

Recreation And Tourism In Colorado ............................................................................................................... 8

Resource Impact Concerns And Challenges..................................................................................................... 9

BLM Authorities In Managing Recreation......................................................................................................... 9

Strategy Framework........................................................................................................................................... 10

Management Objectives And Associated Actions .......................................................................................... 10

Time To Hit The Trail....................................................................................................................................... 15

Appendices

Appendix 1: Acronyms...................................................................................................................................... 16

Appendix 2: Glossary ........................................................................................................................................ 17

Appendix 3: BLM Authorities In Managing Recreation..................................................................................21

Appendix 4: Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act............................................................................. 23

Appendix 5: Recreation Management Guidelines to Meet Public Land Health Standards........................ 26
2

Introduction

The Bureau of Land Management ( BLM) 

administers 258.2 million acres of America’s 

public lands, located primarily in 11 western 

states and Alaska. The BLM manages over 8.4 

million acres in Colorado alone, providing 

recreation opportunities for over 5 million 

annual visitors. Among the many recreation 

areas that BLM Colorado manages are 

numerous Special Recreation Management 

Areas (SRMA) and National Landscape 

Conservation System (NLCS) units. These 

include Canyons of the Ancients National 

Monument, McInnis Canyons National 

Conservation Area (NCA), Gunnison Gorge 

NCA, five designated Wilderness Areas, and 54 

Wilderness Study Areas. 

Heritage Tourism—traveling to experience the 

places, artifacts and activities reflecting the 

stories and people of the past and present—has 

become one of the fastest growing tourism 

segments in Colorado, growing at twice the rate 

of other tourism segments. The BLM Anasazi 

Heritage Center showcases Native American 

heritage within the Four Corners region.

Why a BLM Colorado 

Recreation Strategy?

The Bureau’s vision is “to enhance the quality 

of life for all citizens through the balanced 

stewardship of America’s public lands and 

resources.” BLM manages diverse lands and 

programs of which recreation has developed 

into a major use of public lands, comparable 

to range, minerals, and realty. This strategy, 

while focusing on recreation, must be viewed 

as only one aspect of many composing the 

BLM’s multiple-use mission. Recreation is 

not necessarily appropriate on all lands that 

BLM manages. However, the program is an 

expanding endeavor, is important to Colorado 

residents and visitors, and we need to approach 

it strategically. 

The BLM Recreation and Visitor Services 

Program is focused on three basic components 

of recreation opportunities on public lands: 

1) types of recreation opportunities and 

experiences that can be provided, 2) the 

character of recreation settings within which 

they occur and retaining that character, and 

3) services that can be provided by the BLM 

and its collaborating partners. Obviously, the 

BLM is not the only provider of recreation 

experiences and benefits. Therefore, BLM 

strives to develop collaborative partnerships 

with other land management agencies, state 

and local governments, recreation service 

providers, and a host of interest groups and 

individuals to provide a complete spectrum of 

recreation opportunities.

The recreation use of Colorado’s public lands 

and its management by the BLM continues 

to undergo significant change. These changes 

are multi-dimensional, involving population 

demographics, related changes in consumer 

demands and use, advances in state-of-theart leisure science, improved technology, 

competing uses, and updated recreationtourism policy. The purpose of this strategy 

is to improve BLM Colorado’s responsiveness 

to these changing conditions and leverage its 

resources and staff in the process.

While this strategy sets neither recreation 

management objectives nor specific program 

actions, it does provide strategic direction for 

the application of recreation objectives in 

the development of management plans and 

their implementation in day-to-day field 

operations. It does so in a way that enables 

BLM Colorado to respond to national program 

direction that is unique to the diversity of 

its recreation areas, its communities and 

the services they provide, and the desires of 

BLM’s own distinctive recreation clientele, 

while caring for the resources that provide the 

original experiences.
3

A Recreation and Visitor Services Strategy 

This strategy is therefore organized around 

program objectives, not management objectives 

set through land use plans. The seven program 

objectives in this strategy have been adopted 

by the BLM Executive Leadership Team with 

input from the agency’s diverse recreation 

constituents. 

Complementing the BLM

In May 2003, the BLM wrote a work plan 

called “The BLM’s Priorities for Recreation and 

Visitor Services” referred to as the Purple Book. 

The plan was developed in response to two 

goals established by the Department of the 

Interior: 

1. Provide for a quality recreation experience, 

including enjoyment of natural and 

cultural resources; and 

2. Provide for and receive fair value. 

To accomplish these goals, seven key 

objectives were set. The Colorado Recreation 

Strategy embraces these objectives and 

highlights actions to be taken within the next 

five years specific to BLM Colorado. These 

seven objectives establish the framework for 

the BLM Colorado Recreation Strategy.

What’s Changed that

Requires a Strategy?

Changing Demand. The composition of BLM 

Colorado’s recreation users and constituents 

began to see significant changes in the 1980s 

and 90s. U.S. Census data (2006 estimated 

population) shows that Colorado’s population 

has increased by 44 percent since 1990. 

Colorado’s desirable climate and natural 

resources are magnets for booming Front Range 

urban growth, and the growth of destination 

resorts, second homes, and retirement 

communities. Eight of the 20 fastest growing 

counties in the nation during the 1990s were 

in Colorado. More than any other state in the 

West, Colorado also has the highest proportion 

of counties having a high percentage of second 

homes. Business relocations to Colorado’s 

rural communities and to metropolitan basecamp cities alike, coupled with the growth of 

cottage industries, compound these dramatic 

changes in both rural and urban life and the 

consequent increased recreation-tourism 

demand.

All of this socio-cultural and related economic 

change has profoundly affected the BLM’s 

management of public lands recreation use. 

BLM’s recreation users now include both 

visitors and affected local communities and 

their residents. The distinctive character of 

public lands recreation settings are vitally 

important to Coloradans who value these 

wide-open spaces as integral to their quality 

of life. 

There has also been an accompanying 

diversification of the recreation-tourism 

markets wanting to use and enjoy BLM public 

lands. Nationally, the BLM has recognized at 

least three distinctively different recreationtourism markets, i.e., destination, community, 

and undeveloped settings. 

Changes in BLM Recreation Management.

Another significant change comes with 

advancements in recreation science and 

management. Again, during the 1980s and 

90s, recreation management for BLM Colorado 

meant managing a variety of outdoor 

recreation activities. This simplistic approach 

to meeting user demand by activity treats 

recreation as “fun and games” for participants. 

People wanted hiking trails, so BLM built 

hiking trails. People wanted to float rivers, so 

BLM developed a river program and so on. 

Since recreation management was structured 

around individual activity demands, the BLM’s 

recreation program/staffing was therefore 

structured around such principle recreation 

activities and initiatives as off-highway 

vehicles (OHV), river boating, hiking, trails, 

interpretation, permits and fees, etc. 

Managing recreation today on BLM public 

lands is much more complex. Technological 

advances have brought new recreation 
4

activities to the public lands, including 

exponentially increasing mountain bike 

and off-highway vehicle use. This diversity 

of often competing recreation activities 

desired by visitors coupled with the dramatic 

increasing use of public lands, caused BLM 

recreation managers to realize that activitybased management forced recreation planning, 

management, staffing and funding into 

a “reactive” mode. Public land managers 

were focused on facilitating activity use of 

the public lands without attention to the 

changes in setting we were causing, thereby 

diminishing the character of the lands that 

produced beneficial outcomes to the public.

At the same time, visitors and residents voiced 

concerns that the character recreation settings 

in which they recreate were just as critical 

as the activities available to them on public 

lands. Recreation management focusing solely 

on activities could allow the distinctive 

landscape character—especially areas that were 

characterized by more primitive, naturallooking, and undeveloped recreation settings—

to change. In turn the recreation experiences 

made available for visitors could be impacted. 

However, it appears that economies are strong, 

communities are thriving, and BLM visitor 

numbers are on the rise. While recreation 

management has negligible control over such 

external influences as private land growth and 

energy development, public land managers 

can enhance visitors’ quality of life and 

beneficial outcomes produced for communities, 

economies, and the environment itself through 

a management approach that follows this 

strategy.

To improve recreation services and internal 

operations, BLM Colorado is moving beyond 

an activity-focused approach to an “outcomesfocused” approach called benefits-based 

management (BBM). BBM is the application 

of an outcomes-focused philosophy to the 

delivery of recreation services. BBM provides 

the conceptual framework to view, plan and 

collaboratively provide recreation services as 

a means to larger “ends”—beneficial outcomes 

to individuals, communities, economies 

and the environment. By paying attention 

to “why people recreate” and the supporting 

recreational setting characteristics —“what the 

public lands are becoming,” in addition to 

“what people want to do”—and how that may 

impact land health standards, managers have 

a logical framework that considers all the 

essential workings (implementation actions, 

recreation settings, recreation opportunities 

and outcomes, and potential resource impacts) 

that go into delivering the quality recreation 

services BLM’s visiting and resident customers 

desire. 

What’s Going

to be Different?

The seven national Recreation and Visitor 

Services Program objectives, around which this 

strategy is structured, provide a comprehensive 

answer to this question. Some of these 

objectives involve substantial programmatic 

changes, whereas others are mostly refinements 

of current management practices. While many 

components of this strategy are novel, others 

are already being implemented. 

Goals for the Strategy

This Strategy is designed to increase public 

lands stewardship through consistent and 

coordinated management of the BLM Colorado 

recreation program in order to achieve the best 

possible balance of recreation uses and land 

health standards statewide. 

The primary goals of the Strategy are to:
5

A Recreation and Visitor Services Strategy 

1. Set a framework for achieving sustainable 

experiences and quality of life outcomes 

for individuals, communities, and the 

environment;

2. Sustain the diversity, distinctive character, 

and capacity of BLM recreation settings; 

and

3. Increase the economic stability and 

sustainability of the BLM Colorado 

recreation program.

Taking Stock in

Moving Forward

The three BLM Colorado Resource Advisory 

Councils developed recreation guidelines 

in 2000 to meet the Land Health Standards 

on BLM-managed lands in Colorado (see 

Appendix 5). These standards, which remain 

applicable today, were developed to set 

prescriptive guidelines to minimize and 

prevent adverse impacts to land health. They 

are complementary to the Recreation Strategy 

contained in this document. The guidelines 

were primarily developed for project- and 

activity-level planning, whereas the strategy is 

designed to articulate the focus of the overall 

recreation program for BLM Colorado.

BLM Colorado manages substantial public 

lands lying in close proximity to many sizes 

and types of Colorado communities. These 

include: 

1. Adjoining service communities such as 

Montrose, Craig, Meeker, Kremmling, 

Cañon City, Glenwood Springs and Cortez; 

2. Destination resorts such as Steamboat 

Springs, Telluride, Vail, and Gateway 

Canyons; and 

3. Metropolitan base camps, including 

Denver, Colorado Springs and Grand 

Junction. 

Actions of recreation-tourism providers 

within each of these communities are not 

only essential to the use and enjoyment of 

BLM public lands, but they also influence 

and determine the character of recreation 

opportunities found there.

BLM Colorado public lands offer extremely 

diverse kinds of recreation, distinctively 

different from those provided by other 

agencies. These public lands provide 

opportunities to reconnect with rural roots 

and get away from the intensive recreation 

“rat race.” BLM Colorado public lands offer the 

opportunity to trek up a 14,000-foot peak, 

drift down miles of pristine Class I-V rivers, 

hike a remote wilderness area, ride a technical 

single-track mountain bike trail, rock crawl 

on a challenging 4x4 route, ride along on a 

Wild West cattle drive, explore a remote red 

rock canyon, experience intact historic and 

prehistoric cultural sites, or drive along one of 

Colorado’s many Scenic and Historic Byways 

to view spectacular landscapes. Many other 

recreation experiences are also available, 

such as auto touring, driving OHVs, viewing 

wildlife, historic interpretation, exploration, 

examining fossil sites, Nordic skiing, rock 

climbing, hiking, backpacking, camping, and, 

of course, hunting and fishing. In partnership 

with over 800 commercial permittees, BLM 

Colorado offers safe, professionally guided 

recreation experiences for visitors of all 

abilities and provides significant economic 

benefit for local communities and regions 

throughout Colorado.

Several areas of BLM public lands have been 

deemed outstanding, legislated for special 

management by Congress with support by 

national and local constituencies. They 

include: Canyons of the Ancients National 

Monument; Gunnison Gorge National 

Conservation Area, which contains the 

Gunnison Gorge Wilderness Area; McInnis 

Canyons National Conservation Area, which 

contains the Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness 

Area; the Powderhorn Wilderness Area; and 

the Tabeguache Area. Recreation uses within 

these areas are mandated more specifically but 

provide a large portion of the overall recreation 

spectrum for BLM Colorado.
6

In addition, Colorado has 54 wilderness study 

areas which BLM is mandated to manage for 

their wilderness values until Congress makes 

a decision on their future. BLM Colorado 

also manages numerous SRMAs for specific 

recreation objectives. The designation of an 

SRMA is determined through the BLM’s public 

land use planning process.

Recreation and Tourism

in Colorado

Recreation and tourism in Colorado are big 

business – statistics show how significant 

and valuable recreation is to the Colorado 

economy, local communities, residents and 

visitors alike:

• 94 percent of all Coloradans engage in 

outdoor recreation.

• Over 90 percent of Coloradans are trail 

users.

• OHV registrations have increased 223 

percent from 1995 to 2003, an average of 

18 percent annually.

• Colorado has the nation’s highest alpine 

skiing visitation, garnering more than 20 

percent of the nation’s skiers in 2006. Our 

state’s ski resorts posted a record season, up 

by more than 500,000 skier visits from 

2005. Public lands adjoining resorts offer 

important recreation opportunities for 

product diversification, both by area and 

season. [www.media-coloradoski.com]

• Colorado also has the highest whitewater 

rafting visitation in the nation. In 2005, 

commercial rafting visitation was up 14.1 

percent at nearly 505,000 with 2006 

numbers roughly the same. [Colorado River 

Outfitters Association Annual Report]

• Colorado is the only state that offers 

unlimited over-the-counter elk hunting 

licenses.

• Many Colorado communities’ economic 

livelihoods are built around the fall biggame hunting seasons.

• Colorado public lands are a critical 

component to the recreation and tourism 

industry, and many rural communities are 

dependent on the recreation opportunities 

and settings afforded by adjoining public 

lands.

For the BLM, recreation and tourism have 

traditionally been viewed simplistically. 

Changing demographics, growth of destination 

resorts, diversification of products, and a 

vigorous Colorado Tourism Office promotion 

budget have changed the BLM’s perspective. 

BLM now has significant visitor, community 

resident, business, and other constituent 

demand for touring, resorts, special events, and 

opportunities to learn about and enjoy their 

heritage. This requires BLM to collaboratively 

work and plan with communities and 

interested publics while upholding our 

fundamental duty to meet or exceed land 

health standards.

The proximity of many BLM public lands 

to rural communities makes them vitally 

important to the quality of life of Colorado 

residents. These “community backyards” are 

readily accessible for getting outdoor exercise, 

escaping workplace stress, and enjoying the 

closeness of friends and family. The proximity 

of BLM public lands to communities is 

also an increasingly important outdoororiented lifestyle factor in the relocation of 

businesses from congested urban areas to the 

Intermountain West. The same factors that 

make BLM public lands enjoyable to visit 

make adjoining communities particularly 

desirable places to live and work. For affected 

communities, recreation areas on BLM public 

lands provide a higher sense of community 

satisfaction, greater sense of integration, 

connection to nature, alternative activities for 

youth, and improved local economic stability. 

Many factors, including population growth, 

recreation-tourism demand, and limited 

funding have challenged BLM’s ability to 

manage recreation in Colorado. 
7

A Recreation and Visitor Services Strategy 

Resource Impact

Concerns and Challenges

Multiple challenges are posed by Colorado’s 

population growth. Urban Front Range growth 

within an easy drive of BLM public lands 

accelerates destination recreation demand. 

Increased rural community growth from 

business relocations, second homes, and 

retirees creates corresponding increases in 

community-based recreation demand on 

readily accessible adjoining BLM public lands. 

Growth of tourism industry promotion and 

use likewise sends increasing numbers of 

outdoor adventurers to BLM public lands. 

Underlying these challenges is BLM’s dispersed 

recreation use and its need to maintain the 

distinctively undeveloped and open-space 

character of its recreation settings and the 

experiences and other benefits BLM public 

lands provide.

In addition, increased energy development 

throughout the state has stimulated rural 

growth in certain areas, which in turn 

generates greater recreation demand. The BLM 

must meet the challenges presented by the 

increase in energy development in many 

areas where recreation is also popular. In turn, 

the increased working population in nearby 

communities increases demand for quality 

recreation opportunities. 

BLM Colorado will fund studies to identify 

desires for public lands recreation areas 

and related activities during the resource 

management planning process. These 

studies will help BLM determine visitor and 

community resident desires for resulting 

experiences and other benefits, and the setting 

characteristics on which their sustained benefit 

realization depends.

Comprehensive travel management is a major 

challenge. New recreational vehicles are 

capable of negotiating terrain and reaching 

places that were considered inaccessible to 

these uses 20 years ago. To address consequent 

affects to public land health as well as user 

conflict, the BLM is involving affected users 

and interested stakeholders in comprehensive 

travel management planning. Related increases 

in use require addressing many resource issues, 

including fragmentation of wildlife habitat 

and the spread of invasive species and noxious 

weeds through all forms of travel on BLM 

public lands.

Another concern that BLM must consider in its 

planning efforts is maintaining the habitat and 

resources upon which recreation is dependent. 

For instance, water diversions could severely 

change recreational boating, fishing, and 

camping opportunities and drastically change 

the livelihood of individual businesses 

and communities. Energy development in 

heavy use and/or pristine recreation settings 

can irretrievably impact experiences and 

opportunities. Increased recreation and 

development can also have a negative impact 

on archeological and historical resources. 

These resources are of great interest to Heritage 

Tourism but how do we enjoy them without 

destroying them? New interpretation and 

education will be integral for the agency to 

address these concerns.

The tourism industry is increasingly looking 

for recreational experiences that will result in 

longer visitor stays in their area and provide 

opportunities for recreating during the spring 

and fall shoulder seasons. Local communities 

and their residents are also placing increasing 

value on maintaining the character of 

recreation settings to enrich their quality 

of life and lifestyles. BLM will continue to 

experience a growing demand to provide these 

types of opportunities.

BLM Authorities in 

Managing Recreation

The BLM’s authority to manage recreation 

is based on the Federal Land Policy and 

Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976. The 
8

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the 

Code of Federal Regulations-Title 43, and BLM 

Manuals also provide guidance in managing 

Colorado’s public lands. See Appendix 3 for 

additional information.

Land health standards were established for BLM 

in 1996. In 2000, Colorado’s three resource 

advisory councils recommended specific 

objectives and actions for BLM to consider 

when contemplating recreation projects to 

achieve land health standards. This strategy 

continues to embrace their work (see

Appendix 5). 

Strategy Framework 

The heart of the BLM Colorado Recreation 

Strategy—the seven objectives outlined below—

are synergistically interrelated; that is the 

objectives working together are greater than the 

sum of the objectives standing alone. The first 

three objectives unify Colorado’s Recreation 

program. All of these objectives, considered 

to be the framework for Colorado’s Recreation 

and Visitor Services Strategy, require managing 

all components of recreation, within the 

context of gateway community collaboration, 

for fair value and fair return. 

Management Objectives and 

Associated Actions

Objective 1

Manage Public Lands for 

Recreation Experiences

and Quality of Life

BLM Colorado will work with communities, 

service providers, interest groups and 

individuals to produce recreation opportunities 

and maintain setting and character for visitors 

and local residents that will provide access 

to users to achieve health and fitness goals 

and quality of life benefits from the public 

lands. Understanding and responding to the 

recreating public’s desired outcomes and 

priorities (individual, community, economic, 

and environmental) are of primary importance!

Objective 1: Actions

• All new planning efforts will shift focus 

from activity-based to BBM. 

• The shift to BBM further requires 

prescribing the setting conditions essential 

to produce the targeted outcomes desired 

by both land managers and the public. 

BLM recreation settings are typically 

more primitive and rugged, require more 

individual responsibility, and have an 

overall lower density and demand than 

lands managed by other agencies

• Planners and managers, in collaboration 

with communities and constituencies, 

will inventory and administer setting 

character to maintain a diversity of settings 

across the entire spectrum of recreation 

experiences, which include motorized 

uses such as motorcycling, four-wheeling, 

ATVing, snowmobiling and driving 

for pleasure; mechanized uses such as 

road biking and mountain biking; quiet 

recreation experiences such as hiking, 

Nordic skiing, horseback riding, fishing 

and backpacking; and Heritage Tourism 

options that keep the integrity of cultural, 

paleontological, natural history and 

historical locations while interpreting the 

stories of these important places. 

 • Implement and monitor plan objectives 

to ensure that benefits, experiences, 

maintenance of recreation setting character, 

and land health standards are met.

• Continue working with the business 

community, organized recreation groups, 

outfitters, communities, and interested 

individuals to instill a sense of pride and 

caring for public lands.
9

A Recreation and Visitor Services Strategy 

Objective 2

Encourage Sustainable Travel/

Tourism Collaboration with 

Gateway Communities

BLM Colorado will build sustainable tourism 

partnerships involving key service-providing 

businesses and local governments on whom 

the agency and its customers depend within 

gateway communities. While some BLM field 

offices have successfully collaborated with 

surrounding communities, more field offices 

will develop and maintain these valuable and 

essential relationships. 

BLM needs to improve and strengthen 

relationships with service-providing 

businesses and local governments so that all 

will understand the approved recreation setting 

prescriptions and management objectives, agree 

to them, and market public lands responsibly. 

If BLM does not have these relationships, we 

will continue to be reactive and unable to 

meet the tremendous public demand set for us 

by our surrounding communities and continue 

to sustain degradation of important natural 

resources.

Objective 2: Actions

• Engage the business community and local 

governments in collaboratively planning 

and managing sustained recreation-tourism 

use of public lands that meet or exceed 

land health standards, addressing needs of 

shared visitor and resident customers.

• Get involved in community-based 

planning to address mutual needs including 

communities (all local governments), 

service-providing businesses, and the BLM.

• Engage chamber of commerce/tourism 

groups, outdoor businesses, heritage 

organizations, outfitters, other private 

recreation providers, and organized 

groups for ideas and ways to disseminate 

information regarding suitable visitor 

destinations on public lands, maps and user 

ethics.

• Collaborate with the State Demographer’s 

Office and other agencies to identify 

statewide recreation-tourism economic 

impacts by county and place. Data of key 

economic sectors by distinct activities and 

markets 

would 

be useful 

to both 

gateway 

communities and 

field offices 

in collaboratively 

maintaining 

desired 

setting 

character

istics.

Objective 3

Provide 

Fair Value 

and Fair Return through Fees 

and Commercial Services

Colorado has the largest commercial recreation 

permit program in BLM and manages many 

developed recreation sites. To maintain the 

quality of recreation experiences and desired 

setting characteristics on Colorado public 

lands, BLM must ensure that fair return is 

collected on the services provided and that 

the recreation fee program is administered 

consistently throughout the state. The BLM 

will work through its Resource Advisory 

Councils, as well as the Colorado Recreation 

Resource Advisory Council in administering 

any fee changes, increases, or new fees in 

accordance with the Federal Lands Recreation 

Enhancement Act (see Appendix 4). As the 

steward of public lands, the agency will be 

accountable and ensure that funds are returned 

to support the sites where fees are collected. 

Objective 3: Actions

• Utilize the State Special Recreation Permit 

(SRP) team expertise to develop a consistent, 

fair, accountable and sustainable permit 

program.

• Work with communities and engage the 

public to identify potential areas where 

individual fees are needed to achieve 

management objectives and setting 

prescriptions.
10

• Evaluate recreation areas and other amenity 

sites to determine if appropriate fees are 

charged in accordance with the Federal 

Lands Recreation Enhancement Act.

• Propose new or continued user fees to 

ensure a fair return for services provided to 

benefit users following BLM fee policy and 

the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement 

Act.

• Where public lands recreation use requires 

local government infrastructure and/or 

private sector visitor services, explore 

joint fee programs to sustain all services 

essential to the attainment of desired 

recreation opportunities and outcomes.

• Continue to work with other agency 

cooperators, such as Colorado Division 

of Wildlife, U.S. Forest Service, and 

others—and across BLM’s own program 

and seasonal staff—to monitor and enforce 

permit requirements.

• Maintain existing statewide 

intergovernmental agreements to address 

outfitter violations (i.e. Law Enforcement 

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)).

• Disseminate information locally and at 

all fee sites and areas explaining how and 

why BLM uses recreation fee revenue and 

associated Recreation and Visitor Services 

appropriations.

• Encourage offices to develop and maintain 

partnerships that fulfill local needs 

while balancing recreational demands 

in administering public lands. A good 

example of one successful partnership 

would be the management agreement 

between the BLM’s Royal Gorge Field Office 

and the Colorado State Parks in managing 

the popular Arkansas Headwaters Recreation 

Area.

Objective 4

Establish a Comprehensive 

Approach to Travel Planning

and Management 

Comprehensive travel planning and 

management is integral to the character 

of recreation settings. Travel management 

decisions support the fulfillment of planning 

objectives which include desired recreation 

setting objectives to protect and/or enhance 

landscape character. In all new land use plans, 

travel will only be permitted on designated 

routes, except in established OHV open areas 

for motorized use. An interdisciplinary team, 

involving all affected lands and resource 

programs, will inventory routes, make 

travel management decisions, and install 

signage on designated routes in each BLM 

Colorado field office. Each office will work 

closely with communities, sister agencies, 

interest groups, and interested individuals 

to balance protecting the health of the land 

with providing appropriate public and 

administrative travel and access. See www.co. 

BLM.gov/travelmgt/index.htm for the status on 

BLM travel management plans and where the 

public can go to participate in specific travel 

plan processes.

The State Director has given specific policy 

direction found in Instruction Memorandum 

No. CO-2007-020, which explicitly directs 

BLM Colorado to accomplish comprehensive 

travel planning. 

Objective 4: Actions

• Develop a statewide interdisciplinary 

Comprehensive Travel Management Policy 

for BLM-managed lands within Colorado, 

including specific criteria to be met within 

given timeframes. Commit Management 

of Lands and Resources (MLR) programs to 

provide funding to support Comprehensive 

Travel Management. Commit to 

the completion of interdisciplinary 

comprehensive Travel Management 

Planning on BLM-managed lands within 

Colorado by 2015. 

• Transportation routes identified for 

recreation purposes will include 

opportunities and quality experiences 
11

A Recreation and Visitor Services Strategy 

for all user groups, including hikers, 

backpackers, equestrians, bicycles, 

motorcycles, ATVs, four-wheel-drive 

vehicles, motorcycles, hunters, fishers, 

Nordic skiers, and snowmobiles. However, 

this should not be interpreted that all users 

will be accommodated in all areas. 

• Work with interdisciplinary staff to 

broaden the scope of travel management 

to integrate with recreation management 

objectives and make it genuinely 

comprehensive for all BLM programs.

• Design sustainable travel systems that meet 

recreationists needs (i.e. providing loops, 

varying levels of difficulty), and where 

sharing multi-modal trails or routes will 

be the norm.

• Integrate Recreation and Visitor Services 

land use planning requirements and 

those for comprehensive trails and travel 

management so that travel management 

follows, rather than precedes, the 

development of benefit-based recreation 

management objectives and setting 

prescriptions.

Objective 5

Ensure Public Health and Safety 

and Improve Facility Condition 

and Accessibility

BLM Colorado will ensure facilities meet 

public health, safety, and accessibility 

standards. Proposed future sites will 

be evaluated carefully for public need, 

compatibility with recreation setting 

prescriptions, and future maintenance 

capabilities focusing implementation on NLCS 

units and SRMAs. New facilities will only be 

established to support dispersed recreation 

with a focus on preserving and maintaining 

the recreation setting.

Objective 5: Actions

• Develop facilities (such as trails, restrooms, 

and visitor centers) and resources that 

facilitate dispersed use through innovative 

partnerships for those systems that fit the 

BLM’s role and mission and that can be 

sustained with the BLM’s funding and 

staffing capabilities.

• Engage communities – including key 

enthusiasts – in the resolution of health 

and safety issues and other conflicts at 

BLM recreation sites or areas – especially 

in urban/community interface areas. For 

example, create a “neighborhood watch” 

program for public lands.

• Improve capacity to inform visitors about 

safety concerns (facilities, fire, high water, 

etc.), environmental conditions, and 

emergency situations, both on-site and by 

using web-based and other technologies.

• When possible, work with law 

enforcement officers and public affairs to 

publicize vandalism and convictions (e.g. 

Crime Stoppers program).

• Expand visitor education regarding human 

waste disposal, mandating a “pack it in, 

pack it out” policy (including human 

waste) whenever possible. Continue to 

mandate and educate the public regarding 

Leave No Trace ethics such as using 

firepans, camping ethics, etc. 

• Determine if existing facilities meet 

accessibility standards, management 

objectives, and desired future conditions. 

Existing facilities deemed critical will 

be maintained and/or modified to be 

accessible, to the extent possible, and safe 

for visitor use. Facilities not meeting 

management objectives and accessibility 

standards will be considered for removal.

Objective 6

Enhance and Expand 

Visitor Services Including 

Interpretation, Information,

and Education

BLM Colorado will work internally and 

externally with strategic partners at the local, 

state, and national level to connect residents 

and visitors to suitable recreation and Heritage 
12

Tourism opportunities that match visitors 

with desired experiences. BLM Colorado will 

improve availability, accuracy, and consistency 

of visitor information where future desired 

conditions have been determined and deemed 

appropriate. Land ethics and stewardship will 

be heavily promoted.

Objective 6: Actions

• Develop a BLM network at all levels for 

disseminating information to the public by 

working with partners to provide accurate 

information about recreation opportunities 

(experiences, benefits, settings, services 

and management controls) to match 

visitors with the experiences they desire 

and to support the goals and objectives of 

BLM and its community partners (local 

government and businesses). 

• Develop statewide leadership to provide 

front line visitor services staff with the 

tools and resources (appropriate web 

site information and recreation-visitor 

services briefing book) to respond to visitor 

needs and to articulate BLM policy and 

regulations by enhancing support from 

and communication with recreation staff, 

managers, and public affairs. 

• Build existing programs and staff 

capacity for environmental education 

and interpretation—working with other 

organizations (Colorado Association for 

Environmental Education, Universities, 

Division of Wildlife’s “Teaching 

Environmental Education Naturally,” 

National Association of Interpreters 

(NAI), user groups, etc.) and providing 

learning opportunities through student 

internships with academic recreation and 

tourism programs. Work with adjacent 

colleges, schools, and outdoor education 

programs to teach land use ethics. Identify 

opportunities to collaborate to secure 

funding to enhance visitor services at the 

local level—especially signing and maps. 

Focus on NLCS units and SRMAs.

• Working with partners, improve statewide 

website content to address recreation 

opportunities, recreation settings, and 

available visitor services such as consistent 

interactive maps and content adequate to 

enable visitors to plan trips that meet their 

needs. 

• Work integrally with other BLM specialists 

such as minerals, range, and wildlife so 

that authorized users can proactively be 

informed about recreation facilities, events, 

and users, and thus reduce confusion and 

conflict.

Objective 7

Encourage and Sustain 

Collaborative Partnerships, 

Volunteers, and Public Service

Develop and enhance partnerships with key 

groups and organizations. Partnerships and 

volunteers enhance and are essential to a 

successful BLM Colorado recreation program. 

BLM managers, volunteer coordinators, 

recreation staff and other program leads will 

ensure that all partnership and volunteer 

projects are preceded by and consistent with 

approved recreation management objectives 

and setting prescriptions and aligned with 

the appropriate individuals or groups which 

best fit the need for that specific instance. This 

ensures that relationships become sustainable 

over the long term and creates the greatest 

benefit for the volunteers, partners and the 

public lands.

Stay the Trail Colorado, a partnership with 

the Colorado Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition; 

Bicycle Colorado; Colorado State Parks; U.S. 

Forest Service; Colorado Division of Wildlife; 

Tread Lightly; and Leave No Trace are just 

a few of the successful partnerships BLM 

Colorado has formed. BLM will continue to 

work with these organizations and others to 

help promote responsible recreation and visitor 

safety.
13

A Recreation and Visitor Services Strategy 

Objective 7: Actions

• Continue to partner and collaborate with 

gateway communities and other partners to 

increase support, strengthen economies, and 

develop “friends groups” for NLCS units and 

other BLM recreation destinations.

• Continue and enhance partnerships with 

other federal and state agencies, such as 

the U.S. Forest Service- BLM “Service First” 

joint management agreements, Colorado 

State Parks, Colorado Division of Wildlife, 

and National Park Service.

• Identify opportunities for companies and 

community businesses to sponsor projects 

that achieve management objectives, 

maintain recreation setting character, and 

meet land health standards.

• Focus on identifying Heritage Tourism 

opportunities and work with local 

communities, partners, historic interest 

groups, and the tourism community to 

sustain and promote education about, 

and enjoyment, and protection of those 

opportunities.

• Expand the adoption of recreation 

areas (rivers, trails, etc.) by partners 

and volunteers, by including them 

in the planning process as well as in 

implementing actions and assisting with 

ongoing maintenance. 

Time to hit the Trail

Together with its field offices, partners, 

stakeholders, local and state governments, and 

other federal agencies, BLM Colorado now 

sets out to implement this Recreation and 

Visitor Services Strategy. Coordination and 

collaboration will be key to our effectiveness 

in successfully applying the identified 

objectives in order to accomplish the goals of 

the Colorado Recreation Program—to provide 

a framework, to sustain the recreation setting, 

and to increase funding.

BLM Colorado is addressing future budget 

needs with a dual approach. We are 

emphasizing continued and new collaboration, 

partnerships, and shared responsibility among 

public land agencies, gateway communities, 

key service providers, and the various 

constituencies who continue to play a vital 

role in managing public lands. In addition, 

BLM Colorado is mandating that field offices 

realistically plan through land use plans, 

activity plans, and agreements for a long-term, 

sustainable recreation program.

The capability of each office to implement this 

strategy will vary. As the next step, each field 

office will develop an action plan that will 

be updated each year that identifies specific 

actions to implement this strategy

The next five years will see important 

changes in how BLM Colorado manages its 

recreation program. A great deal of staff time 

was dedicated to developing this strategy, 

and a great deal more time and energy, by all 

involved with BLM public lands in Colorado, 

will be necessary in the coming years to take 

recreation to the next level. Achieving that 

desired level will require dedication from 

both those who work and play on BLM public 

lands.
14

Acronyms

ACEC Area of Critical Environmental Concern

ATV All-Terrain Vehicle

BBM Benefits Based Management

BMP Best Management Practice

 BLM Bureau of Land Management

CA Sub-basin and Regional Assessments

CFR Code of Federal Regulations

COA Colorado Outfitters Association

COTI Colorado Outdoor Training Initiative

CROA Colorado River Outfitters Association

DEIS Draft Environmental Impact Statement

DJ Land Use Plan (LUP) Evaluations

DN Preparation Plan

DO Scoping Report/Planning Criteria

DOW Colorado Division of Wildlife

DP Draft LUP/EIS

DQ Proposed LUP/Final EIS

DR Decision Record

DS Draft EIS Level LUP Amendment

DT Approved EIS Level LUP Amendment/Record of Decision

DU EA Level LUP Amendment

EA Environmental Assessment

EIS Environmental Impact Statement

EO Executive Order

EVAL RMP Evaluation

FAM Familiarization

FEIS Final Environmental Impact Statement

FLPMA Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976

FONSI Finding of No Significant Impact

MLR Management of Lands and Resources

MOU Memorandum of Understanding

NAI National Association of Interpreters

NCA National Conservation Area

NEPA National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended

NGO Non-Government Organization

NLCS National Landscape Conservation System

NOI Notice of Intent

OHV Off-Highway Vehicle 

ORV Off-Road Vehicle

PG Support Work for Understanding the Condition of the Public Lands

RAC Resource Advisory Council

RMP Resource Management Plan

ROD Record of Decision

SRMA Special Recreation Management Area

SRP Special Recreation Permit

TBD To Be Determined

T&E Threatened and Endangered

VCB Visitor & Convention Bureau

VOC Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado

WSA Wilderness Study Area

Appendix 1
15

A Recreation and Visitor Services Strategy 

Glossary

All-Terrain Vehicle: A wheeled or tracked 

vehicle, other than a snowmobile or work 

vehicle, designed primarily for recreational 

use or for the transportation of property or 

equipment exclusively on undeveloped road 

rights-of-way, marshland, open country, or 

other unprepared surfaces.

Area of Critical Environmental Concern:

Areas within the public lands where special 

management attention is required to: (1) protect 

and prevent irreparable damage to important 

historic, cultural, or scenic values; fish and 

wildlife resources, or other natural systems or 

processes, or (2) protect life and safety from 

natural hazards.

Code of Federal Regulations: The official, 

legal tabulation or regulations directing federal 

government activities.

Collaboration: A cooperative process in which 

interested parties, often with widely varied 

interests, work together to seek solutions with 

broad support for managing public and other 

lands. This may or may not involve an agency 

as a cooperating agency.

Comprehensive Travel Management: The 

proactive management of public access, natural 

resources and regulatory needs to ensure that 

all aspects of road and trail system planning 

and on the management are considered. This 

includes resource management, road and trail 

design, maintenance, and recreation and nonrecreation uses of the roads and trails. Travel 

activities in this context incorporate access 

needs and the effects of all forms of travel both 

motorized and non-motorized.

Cottage Industries: A cottage industry (also 

called the Domestic system) is an industry 

– primarily manufacturing – which includes 

many producers, working from their homes, 

typically part time.

Cultural Resources: Nonrenewable elements 

of the physical and human environment, 

including archaeological remains (evidence 

of prehistoric or historic human activities) 

and socio-cultural values traditionally held 

by ethnic groups (sacred places, traditionally 

utilized raw materials, etc.).

Cultural Site: Any location that includes 

prehistoric and/or historic evidence of human 

use, or that has important socio-cultural value.

Designated Roads and Trails: Specific roads and 

trails where some type of motorized vehicle 

use is allowed either seasonally or yearlong.

Developed Recreation Sites: Facilities will 

vary from site to site, but generally, BLM 

sites can include as little as a cleared opening 

off-trail for primitive camping, to off-loading 

ramps, informational kiosks and signs, vaulted 

toilets, campsites with cabanas and fire rings, 

and graveled access roads.

Dispersed/Extensive Recreation: Recreation 

activities of an unstructured type that are 

not confined to specific locations, such as 

recreation sites. Examples of these activities 

may be hunting, fishing, off-road vehicle use, 

hiking, and sightseeing.

Extensive Recreation Management Area: Areas 

where significant recreation opportunities and 

problems are limited and explicit recreation 

management is not required. Minimal 

management actions related to the Bureau’s 

stewardship responsibilities are adequate in 

these areas.

Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 

1976: Public Law 94-579. October 21, 1976, 

often referred to as the BLM’ s “Organic Act,” 

which provides the majority of the BLM’s 

legislated authority, direction, policy, and basic 

management guidance. 

Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act:

Signed into law by the President on December 

8, 2004, the Act gave federal agencies a longterm, multi-agency recreation fee program. 

Recreation fees provide crucial resources 

that allow the federal agencies to respond to 

increased demand on federal lands. The goal 

is to provide visitors with a quality recreation 

experience through enhanced facilities and 

services.

Appendix 2
16

Goal: A broad statement of a desired outcome. 

Goals are usually not quantifiable and may not 

have established time frames for achievement.

Habitat: A specific set of physical conditions 

that surround a species, group of species, or a 

large community. In wildlife management, the 

major constituents of habitat are considered to 

be food, water, cover, and living space.

Heritage Tourism: Traveling to experience 

the places, artifacts and activities reflecting the 

stories and people of the past and present.

Historic: Period wherein nonnative cultural 

activities took place, based primarily upon 

European roots, having no origin in the 

traditional Native American culture(s).

Implementation Plan: A site-specific plan 

written to implement decisions made in 

a land use plan. An implementation plan 

usually selects and applies best management 

practices to meet land use plan objectives. 

Implementation plans are synonymous with 

“activity” plans. Examples of implementation 

plans include interdisciplinary management 

plans, habitat management plans, and allotment 

management plans.

Land Use Plan: A set of decisions that establish 

management direction for land within an 

administrative area, as prescribed under the 

planning provisions of FLPMA; an assimilation 

of land-use-plan-level decisions developed 

through the planning process, regardless of the 

scale at which the decisions were developed.

Management Decision: A decision made by 

the BLM to manage public lands. Management 

decisions include both land use plan decisions 

and implementation decisions.

Monitoring: The periodic observation and 

orderly collection of data on (1) changing 

conditions of public land related to 

management actions, and (2) the effects of 

implementing decisions.

Multiple Use: The management of the public 

lands and their various resource values so 

that they are utilized in the combination that 

will best meet the present and future needs 

of the American people; making the most 

judicious use of the lands for some or all of 

these resources or related services over areas 

large enough to provide sufficient latitude 

for periodic adjustments in use to conform 

to changing needs and conditions; the use of 

some lands for less than all of the resources; a 

combination of balanced and diverse resource 

uses that takes into account the long-term 

needs of future generations for renewable and 

nonrenewable resources, including but not 

limited to recreation, range, timber, minerals, 

watershed, wildlife and fish, and natural 

scenic, scientific and historical values; and 

harmonious and coordinated management 

of the various resources without permanent 

impairment of the productivity of the lands 

and the quality of the environment with 

consideration being given to the relative 

values of the resources and not necessarily 

to the combination of uses that will give 

the greatest economic return or greatest unit 

output.

National Conservation Area: A congressionally 

designated public land area that contains 

important resources and whose management 

objectives are (1) to conserve and protect these 

resources, (2) to maintain environmental 

quality, and (3) to provide for present and 

future users within a framework of multiple 

use and sustained yield.

National Environmental Policy Act of 1969:

An Act that encourages productive and 

enjoyable harmony between man and his 

environment and promotes efforts to prevent 

or eliminate damage to the environment 

and biosphere and stimulate the health and 

welfare of man; enriches the understanding of 

the ecological systems and natural resources 

important to the Nation; and establishes the 

Council on Environmental Quality.

National Landscape Conservation System:

A system of Congressional, Presidential, or 

other designated areas managed by the BLM, 

the components of which include National 

Monuments, National Conservation Areas, 

Wilderness Areas, Wilderness Study Areas, 

Wild and Scenic Rivers, National Historic 

Trails, National Scenic Trails, the California 

Desert Conservation Area, and the Headwaters 

Forest Reserve.
17

A Recreation and Visitor Services Strategy 

Objective: A description of a desired condition 

for a resource. Objectives can be quantified and 

measured and, where possible, have established 

time frames for achievement.

Off-Highway Vehicle (Off-Road Vehicle):

Any motorized vehicle capable of, or designed 

for, travel on or immediately over land, 

water, or other natural terrain, excluding: (1) 

any nonamphibious registered motorboat; 

(2) any military, fire, emergency, or law 

enforcement vehicle while being used for 

emergency purposes; (3) any vehicle whose 

use is expressly authorized by the authorized 

officer, or otherwise officially approved; (4) 

vehicles in official use; and (5) any combat or 

combat support vehicle when used in times of 

national defense emergencies.

Open: Generally denotes that an area is 

available for a particular use or uses. Refer 

to specific program definitions found in law, 

regulations, or policy guidance for application 

to individual programs.

Open Areas and Trails: Designated areas 

and trails where off-road vehicles may be 

operated, subject to operating regulations and 

vehicle standards, or an area where all types of 

vehicle use is permitted at all times, subject to 

standards.

Plan: A document that contains a set of 

comprehensive, long-range decisions 

concerning the use and management of 

Bureau-administered resources in a specific 

geographic area. 

Planning Area: A geographical area for which 

land use and resource management plans are 

developed and maintained.

Public Land: Land or interest in land owned 

by the United States and administered by the 

Secretary of the Interior through the BLM, 

except lands located on the Outer Continental 

Shelf, and land held for the benefit of Indians, 

Aleuts, and Eskimos.

Quiet Recreation: Outdoor recreation 

enthusiasts such as hikers, skiers, mountain 

bikers, equestrians, bird watchers, hunters and 

anglers who seek the opportunity to enjoy 

natural soundscapes.

Recreation Management Zones: A planning 

process that provides a framework for defining 

specific geographic areas on the ground, each 

of which encompasses the outdoor recreation 

environments, activities, and experience 

opportunities.

Resource Advisory Council: A council 

established by the Secretary of the Interior to 

provide advice or recommendations to BLM 

management.

Resource Management Plan: A land use plan 

as prescribed by the Federal Land Policy and 

Management Act that establishes, for a given 

area of land, land-use allocations, coordination 

guidelines for multiple use, objectives, and 

actions to be achieved.

Scenic Byways: Highway routes that have 

roadsides or corridors of special aesthetic, 

cultural, or historic value. An essential part of 

the highway is its scenic corridor. The corridor 

may contain outstanding scenic vistas, unusual 

geologic features, or other natural elements.

Special Recreation Management Area: Areas 

that require explicit recreation management 

to achieve recreation objectives and provide 

specific recreation opportunities.

Stewardship Partners: Cooperation and 

collaboration among the BLM, partners, 

stakeholders, local and state governments, 

and other federal agencies for the purpose of 

effectively carrying out the Bureau’s mission to 

sustain the health, diversity, and productivity 

of the public lands for the use and enjoyment 

of present and future generations.

Strategy: Defined as the planning and directing 

of operations, specifically of maneuvering 

forces into the most advantageous position. 
18

Sustainability: The ability of an ecosystem to 

maintain ecological processes and functions, 

biological diversity, and productivity over 

time.

Wilderness Study Area: A designation made 

through the land use planning process of 

a roadless area found to have wilderness 

characteristics as described in Section 2 (c) of 

the Wilderness Act of 1964.

A congressionally designated area of 

undeveloped federal land retaining its 

primeval character and influence, without 

permanent improvements or human 

habitation, that is protected and managed 

to preserve its natural conditions and that 

(1) generally appears to have been affected 

mainly by the forces of nature, with human 

imprints substantially unnoticeable; (2) has 

outstanding opportunities for solitude or a 

primitive and unconfined type of recreation; 

(3) has at least 5,000 acres or is large enough 

to make practical its preservation and use in 

an unimpaired condition; and (4) may also 

contain ecological, geological, or other features 

of scientific, educational, scenic, or historic 

value.
19

A Recreation and Visitor Services Strategy 

BLM Authorities In

Managing Recreation

From the Federal Land Policy

and Management Act:

SEC. 102 (a) The Congress declares that it is the 

policy of the United States that . . .

SEC. 102 (a)(7): goals and objectives be 

established by law as guidelines for public 

land use planning, and that management be on 

the basis of multiple use and sustained yield 

unless otherwise specified by law;

SEC. 102 (a) (8): the public lands be managed 

in a manner that will protect the quality 

of scientific, scenic, historical, ecological, 

environmental, air and atmospheric, water 

resource, and archaeological values; that, where 

appropriate, will preserve and protect certain 

public lands in their natural condition; that 

will provide food and habitat for fish and 

wildlife and domestic animals; and that will 

provide for outdoor recreation and human 

occupancy and use;

SEC. 102 (a) (9): the United States receive fair 

market value of the use of the public lands and 

their resources unless otherwise provided for 

by statute;

SEC. 103 (c): The term “multiple use” means 

the management of the public lands and 

their various resource values so that they are 

utilized in the combination that will best meet 

the present and future needs of the American 

people; making the most judicious uses of 

the land for some or all of these resources 

or related services over areas large enough 

to provide sufficient latitude for periodic 

adjustments in use to conform to changing 

needs and conditions; the use of some land for 

less than all of the resources; a combination of 

balanced and diverse resource uses that takes 

into account the long-term needs of future 

generations for renewable and nonrenewable 

resources, including, but not limited to, 

recreation, range, timber, minerals, watershed, 

wildlife and fish, and natural scenic, scientific 

Appendix 3

and historical values; and harmonious and 

coordinated management of the various 

resources with the permanent impairment of 

the productivity of the land and the quality 

of the environment with consideration being 

given to the relative values of the resources 

and not necessarily to the combination of uses 

that will give the greatest economic return or 

the greatest unit of output.

SEC. 201 (a): The Secretary shall prepare and 

maintain on a continuing basis an inventory 

of all public lands and their resource and other 

values (including, but not limited to, outdoor 

recreation and scenic values), giving priority 

to areas of critical environmental concern. 

This inventory shall be kept current so as to 

reflect changes in conditions and to identify 

new and emerging resource and other values. 

The preparation and maintenance of such 

inventory or the identification of such areas 

shall not, of itself, change or prevent change of 

the management or use of public lands.

SEC. 201 (b): As funds and manpower are made 

available, the Secretary shall ascertain the 

boundaries of the public lands; provide means 

of public identification thereof including, 

where appropriate, signs and maps; and provide 

State and local governments with data from 

the inventory for the purpose of planning and 

regulating the uses of non-Federal lands in 

proximity of such public lands.

SEC. 202 (a): The secretary shall, with public 

involvement and consistent with the terms 

and conditions of this Act, develop, maintain, 

and, when appropriate, revise land use plans 

which provide by tracts or areas for the use 

of the public lands. Land use plans shall be 

developed for the public lands regardless of 

whether such lands previously have been 

classified, withdrawn, set aside, or otherwise 

designated for one or more uses.

SEC. 302 (a): The Secretary shall manage the 

public lands under principles of multiple 

use and sustained yield, in accordance with 

the land use plans developed by him under 

section 202 of this Act when they are available, 

except that where a tract of such public land 
20

has been dedicated to specific uses according 

to any other provisions of law it shall be 

managed in accordance with such law.

SEC. 302 (b): In managing the public lands, 

the Secretary shall, subject to this Act and 

other applicable law and under such terms 

and conditions as are consistent with such 

law, regulate, through easements, permits, 

licenses, published rules, or other instruments 

as the Secretary deems appropriate, the use, 

occupancy, and development of the public 

lands, including, but not limited to, long-term 

leases to permit individuals to utilize public 

lands for habitation, cultivation, and the 

development of small trade or manufacturing 

concerns.....Provided further , That nothing 

in this Act shall be construed as authorizing 

the Secretary concerned to require Federal 

permits to hunt and fish on public lands or 

on lands in the National Forest System and 

adjacent waters or as enlarging or diminishing 

the responsibility and authority of the States 

for management of fish and resident wildlife. 

However, the Secretary concerned may 

designate areas of public land and of lands 

in the National Forest System where, and 

establish periods when, no hunting or fishing 

will be permitted for reasons of public safety, 

administration, or compliance with provisions 

of applicable law.

SEC. 318 (d): In exercising the authority to 

acquire by purchase granted by subsection (a) 

of section 205 of this Act, the Secretary may 

use the Land and Water Conservation Fund 

to purchase lands which are necessary for 

proper management of public lands which 

are primarily of value for outdoor recreation 

purposes.

SEC. 603 (c): ...Once an area has been 

designated for preservation as wilderness, the 

provisions of the Wilderness act which apply 

to national forest wilderness areas shall apply 

with respect to the administration and use 

of such designated area, including mineral 

surveys required by section 4(d) (2) of the 

Wilderness Act, and mineral development, 

access, exchange of lands, and ingress and 

egress for mining claimants and occupants.

The Wilderness Act

SEC. 2 (a): In order to assure that an increasing 

population, accompanied by expanding 

settlement and growing mechanization, does 

not occupy and modify all areas within the 

United States and its possessions, leaving 

no lands designated for preservation and 

protection in their natural condition, it 

is hereby declared to be the policy of the 

Congress to secure for the American people 

of present and future generations the benefits 

of an enduring resource of wilderness. For 

this purpose there is hereby established a 

National Wilderness Preservation System 

to be composed of federally owned areas 

designated by Congress as “wilderness areas”, 

and these shall be administered for the use and 

enjoyment of the American people in such 

a manner as will leave them unimpaired for 

future use and enjoyment as wilderness, and so 

as to provide for the protection of these areas, 

the preservation of their wilderness character, 

and enjoyment as wilderness; and no Federal 

lands shall be designated as “wilderness areas” 

except as provided for in this Act or by a 

subsequent Act.
21

A Recreation and Visitor Services Strategy 

Federal Lands Recreation 

Enhancement Act

Summary

The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement 

Act was passed in the 2005 Omnibus 

Appropriations bill signed into law by 

President Bush on December 8, 2004.

The Federal Lands Recreation 

Enhancement Act benefits visitors to 

Federal public lands by:

• Reinvesting a majority of fees back to 

the site of collection to enhance visitor 

services and reduce the backlog of 

maintenance needs for recreation facilities 

(including trail maintenance, toilet 

facilities, boat ramps, hunting blinds, 

interpretive signs and programs); 

• Providing an interagency fee program 

that reduces confusion over differing fee 

programs and passes by reducing four 

national passes down to one. 

• Providing more opportunities for public 

involvement in determining recreation fee 

sites and fees; 

• Providing focused criteria and limits on 

areas and sites where recreation fees can be 

charged; and 

• Providing more opportunities for 

cooperation with gateway communities 

through fee management agreements for 

visitor and recreation services, emergency 

medical services and law enforcement 

services.

Many recreation activities and 

sites will continue to be free. The 

Act includes additional provisions 

that build on experiences from the 

Fee Demo program and improve 

the fee program by clarifying the 

circumstances in which fees may be 

charged. The Act prohibits certain fees 

for:

• General access to national forests and 

grasslands and Bureau of Land Management 

areas; 

• Horseback riding, walking through, driving 

through, or boating through areas where no 

facilities or services are used; 

• Access to overlooks or scenic pullouts; 

• Undesignated parking areas where no 

facilities are provided for 

• Picnicking along roads or trails; and 

• In addition individuals under 16 will not 

be charged an entrance or standard amenity 

fee. 

REA applies to Federal recreation lands 

under the jurisdiction of the following 

land management agencies:

• National Park Service 

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

• Bureau of Land Management 

• Bureau of Reclamation 

• U.S. Forest Service 

• All agencies except the Bureau of 

Reclamation have had fee authority 

under Fee Demonstration program and 

the Land and Water Conservation Fund 

Act. 

• The Act authorizes the Secretaries of the 

Interior and Agriculture to establish, 

modify, change and collect recreation fees 

at Federal recreation lands and waters as 

provided for in the Act. The Act will expire 

December 2004. 

Possible Fees as identified in the Act

The Act enables Forests and 

Grasslands to have three types of fees 

called Standard, Expanded and Special 

Recreation Permits. 

• Standard fees are typical day use fees. Sites 

or areas must have specific features and 

amenities in order to qualify as a fee site. 

• Expanded fees are fees that provide 

direct benefits to individuals or groups. 

They include things like developed 

campgrounds, cabin rentals, highly 

developed boat docks and swimming 

areas. They may also include services like 

hookups, dump stations, special tours and 

reservations services. 

Appendix 4
22

• Special Recreation Permits are for areas 

where natural and cultural resources 

need protection or where extra measures 

are required for the health and safety of 

visitors. Permits may be required for places 

like wilderness areas, shooting ranges and 

specialized trail systems. 

The America the Beautiful Pass 

The Act expands the National Park Pass by 

authorizing a new “America the Beautiful 

– National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands 

Pass”. 

• This pass will cover entrance fees and 

standard amenity recreation fees for all 

Federal recreation lands and waters where a 

fee is charged. 

• Existing National Park passes, Golden Eagle, 

Golden Age, and Golden Access passes will 

be grandfathered in under their existing 

benefits and will remain valid until 

expired. These passes will continue to be 

sold until the new pass is available. 

• Site specific and regional passes such as 

the Adventure Pass for National Forests in 

Southern California will remain valid and 

will continue to be available under this 

Act.

REA provides for a high level of public 

involvement in determining new fee 

areas and fee schedules by:

• Implementing the use of Recreation 

Resource Advisory Committees for national 

forest and BLM sites and areas to give 

communities additional opportunities to 

provide input on recreation fees in terms of 

new fees, changes or the establishment of 

sites; 

• Providing additional opportunities for 

public participation and prior notice prior 

to a new fee being established; and 

Communicating with the visiting public 

on how fee revenues are being spent to 

improve visitor facilities and services. 
23

A Recreation and Visitor Services Strategy 

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

COLORADO STATE OFFICE

2850 YOUNGFIELD STREET

LAKEWOOD, COLORADO 80215-7093

December 20, 2000

CO-931

8300 (P)

EMS Transmission 12/20/00

Instruction Memorandum No. CO-2001-011

Expires 09/30/2001

To: Field Office Managers

From: State Director, Colorado

Subject: Final Recreation Guidelines 

Attached is the following Recreation Guidelines to Meet Public Land Health Standards on Bureau of 

Land Management ( BLM) Managed Lands in Colorado. 

Please take appropriate action to include the guidelines in your Resource Management Plans. This can 

be accomplished through a plan maintenance action. The guidelines are being announced through a 

press release and will be posted on the Colorado BLM website.

If you have any questions regarding the guidelines, contact Tina McDonald at 303-239-3716, or 

Dennis Zachman at 303-239-3883.

Signed by Authenticated by

Ann J. Morgan Don Snow

State Director EMS Operator 

Attachment

cc: Deputy State Director - Colorado, Resource Services

Branch Chief - Colorado, Social and Cultural Services

External Affairs (CO-912)
24

Introduction

Colorado’s population has grown significantly 

in the past ten years - the state’s growth rate 

is among the highest in the nation. As the 

state becomes more crowded, an increasing 

number of people seek out undeveloped land 

to recreate. In addition, Colorado remains a 

popular destination for tourists, especially 

those seeking experiences in a backcountry 

or wildland setting. As a result, public 

lands administered by the Bureau of Land 

Management ( BLM) are absorbing increasing 

recreational use. In many areas, the increased 

use has resulted in user conflicts and damage 

to vegetation, soils, wildlife habitat, and other 

natural resources.

In February 1997, Standards for Public Land 

Health in Colorado (Standards) were approved 

by the Secretary of Interior and adopted as 

decisions in all of BLM’s land use plans, 

commonly referred to as Resource Management 

Plans (RMP). The Standards describe natural 

resource conditions that are needed to sustain 

public land health. The Standards encompass 

upland soils; riparian systems; plant and 

animal communities; special, threatened, and 

endangered species; and water quality. The 

Standards relate to all uses of the public lands. 

The full text of the Standards is found in 

Attachment 1.

Based on the increased awareness and 

understanding of the social and environmental 

impacts of outdoor recreation, the following 

establishes recreation management guidelines 

to help achieve and maintain healthy public 

lands as defined by the Standards. The 

guidelines are tools, methods, and techniques 

that can used by managers to maintain or meet 

the standards.

It is the intent of these guidelines to encourage 

and permit a variety of recreational opportunities 

and enjoyable experiences that are managed to 

avoid conflicts and serve diverse recreational 

interests, while at the same time minimizing 

and preventing adverse impacts to land health, 

ecosystems, and cultural or natural resources, 

including historic and archaeological sites, soils, 

water, air, vegetation, scenery, wildlife habitats, 

riparian areas, endangered or threatened species, 

and wilderness areas. Recreational uses are a 

highly regarded social value of our society 

which impacts our public lands, and accordingly 

BLM in Colorado will plan, manage, and pursue 

funding sources so that various services, areas, 

and activities are environmentally sustainable 

for present and future populations.

Recreation Management 

Guidelines

A. Standards 1 & 2:

Upland Soils and Riparian 

Systems

1. Manage recreational activities to maintain 

sufficient vegetation on upland areas to 

protect the soil from wind and water erosion 

and to buffer temperature extremes.

2. Minimize disturbances and manage recreation 

use in riparian areas to protect vegetation, 

fragile soils, springs, and wetlands.

3. Plan and locate routes, trails, and 

developments away from riparian and 

wetland areas, and highly erosive soils.

4. Reduce stream crossings to the minimal 

number dictated by the topography. Reduce 

sedimentation and compaction associated 

with stream crossings.

5. Manage watercraft types and uses as 

appropriate to protect riparian systems and 

water quality from adverse impacts.

Appendix 5 

Recreation Management Guidelines

to Meet Public Land Health Standards

on Bureau of Land Management Lands

in Colorado

December 11, 2000
25

A Recreation and Visitor Services Strategy 

B. Standard 3:

Healthy Plant and Animal 

Communities

1. Manage recreational use on public lands to 

promote the survival and health of native 

plants and animals.

2. Protect against the establishment or spread 

of noxious weeds.

3. Protect wildlife habitat by preserving 

connectivity and avoiding fragmentation.

4. Minimize wildlife disturbances and 

artificial attractions such as feeding wild 

animals or improper disposal of garbage.

5. Protect plant and animal communities by 

limiting recreational use by type, season, 

intensity, distribution, or duration.

C. Standard 4:

Special Status and Threatened 

and Endangered Species

1. Protect habitat for federal and state 

Threatened and Endangered Species and 

other special status species.

D. Standard 5:

Water Quality

1. Manage recreational uses in coordination 

with other uses on public lands to 

achieve or exceed applicable water quality 

standards.

2. Control water quality impacts resulting 

from recreational use, such as human 

waste, trash, and other elements.

E. Public Values and Education

1. Use information and interpretative services 

as major tools to protect public land 

health and significant natural, cultural, 

and recreational resources. As appropriate, 

improve public knowledge by locating 

kiosks, interpretive signs, and visitor 

information facilities at visitor contact 

points. Provide guidebooks and pamphlets 

for users.

2. Increase efforts to educate public lands 

visitors about an ethic of responsible use, 

through programs such as Tread Lightly, 

Leave No Trace, Project Archeology, the 

International Mountain Bike Association’s 

“Rules of the Trail,” and the Public Lands 

Watch program.

3. Communicate to the members of the public 

their individual rights and responsibilities 

in the use and preservation of public lands, 

including the recognition of the rights and 

responsibilities of others because public 

lands are our legacy for the future.

4. Initiate and maintain collaborative 

partnerships among government agencies, 

local governments, business communities, 

volunteers, user groups, stakeholders, 

educational institutions, individuals, and 

the private sector to achieve recreation 

management objectives and implement 

these guidelines.

5. Encourage the development of a concise 

educational program to be implemented 

at the initial point of contact with the 

public, to promote public land values, 

knowledge of rights and responsibilities, 

environmental awareness, communication 

between the BLM and the public, and 

changing management practices and 

policies.

6. In order to mitigate adverse impacts to the 

public lands, work with the private sector 

to integrate a responsible recreational use 

message with the goods or services they 

provide.

F. Recreation Management

1. Protect natural resources with a priority 

on management methods that effectively 

maintain healthy public lands. Utilize the 

least restrictive but appropriate limitations 

on public lands activities and users. 

Recognize that in some cases various levels 

of regulations and limits on users are 

necessary.
26

2. In the development of recreation plans, 

use the best current and sound recreation 

science practices to enhance public land 

health.

3. Develop and maintain updated inventory 

and monitoring information concerning 

both the resource and the recreational uses.

4. Use on-the-ground presence as a tool to 

protect public lands.

5. In order to prevent adverse impacts to the 

public land health, establish appropriate 

levels and types of recreational use. Utilize 

public participation in the development of 

these levels and types. Where long-term 

adverse impacts are created or anticipated 

by recreational uses, limit or control 

activities through specialized management 

tools including, but not limited to, 

designated campsites, permits, area closures, 

and limitations on stays and number of 

users.

6. Locate permanent facilities away from 

riparian areas, cultural sites, or other 

locations subject to adverse impacts, and 

relocate existing facilities away from areas 

that have been adversely impacted.

- If it is determined that a facility must be 

located in these areas, it must be properly 

mitigated. For example, if it is determined 

that a path must cross a wetland area, 

appropriate mitigation such as a wooden 

boardwalk may be constructed to avoid 

water quality problems and other wetland 

disturbance.

7. Manage recreational uses to protect 

cultural, historical, and archeological 

resource sites, and areas where there are 

unique wilderness or environmental 

values. Where appropriate, set aside some 

areas for certain scientific, environmental, 

and archaeological activities, and limit or 

prohibit other recreational uses in these 

areas.

8. Allow and manage dispersed recreation 

activities so that the nature and the 

frequency of such activities does not create 

adverse impacts to public land health.

9. Set aside areas, limited in number and size, 

for certain high impact recreational uses, 

such as off-road vehicles, motorcycles, and 

target practice to be relatively unrestricted. 

Establishment of such areas must be 

consistent with the Standards and other 

RMP decisions.

10. Manage activities associated with hunting 

and fishing to protect the resource from 

adverse impacts to public land health.

11. Often a land area is utilized by many users; 

implement feasible management methods 

to maintain the essential enjoyment 

elements of the various user groups.

12. Encourage public land recreational 

activities near population centers and 

highway corridors by placement of 

appropriate visitor use infrastructure. 

Provide restrooms and other facilities 

adequate for anticipated uses at designated 

campgrounds, trail heads, and other 

areas where there is a concentration of 

recreational users.

13. Build collaborative partnerships with local 

communities and the private sector to 

provide recreational support services on 

private land near public land access points 

where possible.

G. Routes, Trails, and

Travel Management

1. Work expeditiously toward the goal of a 

statewide inventory of routes and trails.

2. Place a high priority on developing local 

travel management plans with public 

participation. Travel management plans 

should consider all forms of travel in the 

affected area (i.e., motorized , mechanized, 

and non-motorized). The plans should 

address travel management prescriptions 

(such as open, closed, and limited offroad vehicle designations), and identify 

appropriate actions to meet or maintain 

public land health standards and meet the 

needs of the visitor.

3. Until local travel management plans are 

prepared and implemented, BLM will take 

prompt action using existing authorities to 

prevent the proliferation of roads and trails 

that have caused or will lead to conditions 

whereby the Standards are not met. Existing 

authorities include, but are not limited to, 

restrictions under the specific rules section 

for off-road vehicle use, amending land 

use plan decisions pertaining to off-road 

vehicles, and closure and restriction orders 

for other uses.

4. When developing travel management plans 

and/or implementing travel management 

decisions, managers should consider the 

following:
27

A Recreation and Visitor Services Strategy 

a. Where adverse impacts, user conflicts, 

damage to ecosystems, injury to the 

environment, or other conditions 

are anticipated or are occurring that 

would impair the health of the public 

lands and diminish recreational 

opportunities, restrict recreational 

travel to designated routes or take 

other appropriate action such as 

seasonal closures.

b. Cross-country travel (i.e., off of roads 

and trails) should only be permitted in 

areas that meet the designation criteria 

for “open” areas, and the Standards.

c. Where conflicts among recreational 

users can be minimized, combine 

multiple uses on one route instead 

of establishing parallel or alternative 

routes.

d. Where and when appropriate, plan, 

develop, and designate in cooperation 

with user groups new routes and 

trails, as well as selected areas for 

open travel, that enhance and expand 

recreational opportunities and 

encourage responsible use with little 

or no adverse impacts.

e. Relocate, abandon, or close routes and 

trails seasonally or temporarily that 

adversely impact riparian and wetland 

areas, wildlife, highly erosive soils, 

cultural sites, and sensitive ecological 

systems, and abandon routes that are 

duplicated or unneeded. Where routes, 

trails, or other facilities have been 

abandoned, provide for restoration and 

revegetation of the site.

5. Where adverse impacts or safety 

considerations warrant, limit or prohibit 

public access when authorizing specific 

routes to oil and gas locations, mines, 

timber sales, or other areas or sites under 

permit or lease.

6. Provide clear maps, signs, guidelines, 

descriptions, and other information for 

users of routes, trails, and other facilities 

or areas, including mileages and estimated 

hours of travel by type, limitations caused 

by travel surfaces and conditions, and 

availability of loop trails. Provide clear 

information to the public when closures, 

seasonal use, and other regulations or 

limits are placed on public lands.

Recreation Management 

Implementation Issues 

In addition to the implementation objectives 

included in the Standards, the following 

critical issues should be considered for 

successful implementation of the Recreation 

Guidelines:

1. The guidelines contained in this document 

are designed to provide direction, yet allow 

flexibility for local implementation of RMP 

decisions. Typically, decisions made in 

RMPs provide resource goals and objectives, 

allocate resources, identify land areas for 

limited, restrictive or exclusive use, and 

provide guidance for implementation. 

During the implementation process, 

additional planning may be needed to 

better define goals, make objectives more 

specific, and identify or add specific detail 

to implementing actions. Frequently, 

multiple guidelines may be used to 

maintain or achieve the land health 

standards. All implementing actions will 

be completed in consultation, cooperation, 

and coordination with local communities 

and the interested public.

2. Declining federal budgets challenge the 

ability of the BLM to provide services 

adequate to meet growing recreational 

demands, create difficult management 

concerns, and place the health of public 

lands at risk. Addressing current and future 

needs will require increased agency budgets 

as well as collaboration, partnerships, and 

shared responsibility among public land 

agencies and the various constituencies 

using public lands.
28

3. Increasing recreational uses of public 

lands create increased needs for funding, 

manpower, and other resources to 

simultaneously protect the environmental 

and ecological values of public lands 

consistent with multiple use and sustained 

yield principles. Management practices 

specifically tailored to recreational impacts 

are necessary to improve and expand 

recreational facilities and protect effective 

planning, maintenance, enforcement, 

monitoring, and programming of public 

recreational opportunities. Possible 

supplementary funding resources to meet 

these goals should be considered, including 

non-federal resources such as state, county, 

and local governments, non-profit entities, 

and private interests.

4. Important to implementing multiple use 

recreation management and environmental 

management objectives are: an achievable 

scientific approach to the inventory and 

analysis of biological and ecological data; 

gathering of accurate data on recreational 

needs, benefits, demands, carrying 

capacities, and trends; and developing 

consensus on difficult issues relating to 

economically sustainable programs, use 

controls, other limitations and resolution 

of user conflicts.

5. The involvement by the BLM of the public, 

other governmental entities, and various 

recreational constituencies is necessary 

throughout the planning, use, and 

evaluation cycle to establish appropriate 

management priorities. This involvement 

should encourage a high degree of public 

interaction, foster collaboration, educate 

and inform the public regarding important 

land use issues, and contribute to the 

successful implementation of the Standards 

for Public Land Health and Recreation 

Management Guidelines.

6. Not all RMP decisions require subsequent 

planning such as activity plans or 

transportation management plans. If the 

actions needed to implement RMP decisions 

are well defined, then only appropriate 

environmental assessment documentation 

may be needed. If, however, the decisions 

and information in RMPs do not contain 

enough detail, additional planning may 

be needed to better define goals, make 

objectives more specific, and identify or 

add specific detail to implementing actions. 

7. During the implementation process, it may 

be determined that existing RMP decisions 

are no longer valid or do not adequately 

meet the needs of the resource or the 

public. Therefore, it may be necessary to 

initiate a plan amendment to address the 

affected decisions in the RMP. 

8. It is not possible for each acre to achieve 

every standard. It is important to assess and 

consider the overall health of a landscape 

when applying the recreation guidelines. 

For example, when determining how to 

manage vehicle parking in a landscape, it 

may be determined to concentrate vehicles 

in a small confined area, rather that having 

uncontrolled parking throughout the 

landscape. In this example, this approach 

would result in improved resource 

conditions overall although the site specific 

impacts at the small parking area would be 

high (e.g., vegetation disturbance).

The guidelines contained in this document 

are designed as “tools” to assist managers 

implement recreation management decisions 

and actions. At this stage, the environmental 

effects of implementing the guidelines are 

too broad, speculative, or conjectural to lend 

themselves to meaningful environmental 

analysis under the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA). Furthermore, most 

implementing actions will be subject to further 

NEPA analysis. Therefore, adoption of the 

guidelines is categorically excluded from NEPA 

analysis. 
29

A Recreation and Visitor Services Strategy 

Glossary

Activity plan: A detailed, site specific plan for 

management of one or more resource programs. 

An activity plan provides additional specificity 

needed to implement RMP decisions. Activity 

plans are completed only if necessary. When 

multiple programs are addressed, activity plans 

may be called Integrated Activity Plans or 

Coordinated RMPs.

Guidelines, Recreation: Recreation 

management tools, methods, and techniques 

designed to provide activities, experiences, 

and benefits for the recreating public while 

maintaining or achieving healthy public lands 

as defined by the standards. The recreation 

guidelines contained in this document are 

directed toward maintaining or achieving 

public land health.

Landscape: A defined land area that forms a 

management unit or basis of analysis. 

Mechanized Vehicle: Any non-motorized 

vehicle capable of, or designed for, travel on 

or immediately over land. An example of a 

mechanized vehicle is a mountain bike.

Motorized Vehicle: Synonymous with offroad vehicle. Examples of this type of vehicle 

include all-terrain vehicles (ATV), Sport Utility 

Vehicles (SUV), motorboats, and snowmobiles.

Non-Motorized Use: Recreational human and 

animal foot traffic. Examples include horses, 

llamas and other domestic animals.

Off-Highway Vehicle: This term is 

synonymous with the term off-road vehicle 

(or ORV). Whereas off-road vehicle is used in 

the regulations and includes any motorized 

vehicle, the term off-highway vehicle (or OHV) 

is a more contemporary term.

Off-Road Vehicle: Any motorized vehicle 

capable of, or designed for, travel on or 

immediately over land, water, or other natural 

terrain, excluding: (1) any non-amphibious 

registered motorboat: (2) any military, fire, 

emergency, or law enforcement vehicle while 

being used for emergency purposes; (3) any 

vehicle whose use is expressly authorized by 

the authorized 

officer, or 

otherwise 

officially 

approved; (4) 

vehicles in 

official use; and 

(5) any combat or 

combat support 

vehicle when 

used in times of 

national defense 

emergencies.

Off-Road Vehicle 

Designations:

• Open area

means an 

area where 

all types 

of vehicle use is permitted at all times, 

anywhere in the area subject to the 

operating regulations and vehicle standards 

set forth in subpart 8341 and 8342 of this 

title. 

• Limited area means an area restricted at 

certain times, in certain areas, and/or to 

certain vehicular use. These restrictions 

my be of any type, but can generally be 

accommodated within the following type 

of categories: Numbers of vehicles; types 

of vehicles; time of season of vehicles use; 

permitted or licensed use only; use on 

existing roads and trails; use on designated 

roads and trails; and other restrictions. 

• Closed area means an area where off-road 

vehicle use is prohibited. Use of off-road 

vehicles in closed areas may be allowed 

for certain reasons; however, such use shall 

be made only with the approval of the 

authorized officer. 

Protect: To take actions to guard against injury 

or loss. 

Standards for Public Land Health: A 

description of conditions needed to sustain 

public land health; the standards relate to all 

uses of the public lands in Colorado. 

Recreation Support Services: Resource, facility, 

and visitor management actions taken to 

provide activities, experiences, and benefits for 

the recreating public. 
30

Resource Management Plan (RMP): A BLM 

multiple use planning document, prepared in 

accordance with Section 202 of the Federal 

Land Policy and Management Act, that:

a. establishes resource conditions goals and 

objectives to be attained;

b. allocates resources and identifies allowable 

uses;

c. identifies land areas for limited, restrictive, 

or exclusive uses; and

d. provides guidance for implementation of 

the decisions made in the plan. 

Transportation Management Plans: An 

activity plan that focuses on all aspects of 

transportation in a land area. Transportation 

planning can also be accomplished within 

Integrated Activity Plans, or Coordinated RMPs 

where multiple resource programs are planned 

for concurrently.

Visitor Use Infrastructure: Amenities such as 

roads, parking areas, and facilities, to protect 

the resource and support the recreation user in 

his/her pursuit of activities, experiences, and 

benefits.