N.T.S.

Canyons of the Ancients National Monument (Monument) is embarking on a multi-year planning process that will

result in a resource management plan (plan) for the Monument. The plan will reflect significant public involvement

from interested parties from inside and outside of Colorado, in addition to tribal, state and local governments. The Bureau

of Land Management (BLM) is proud to be responsible for administering the Monument, but we need your help. This

bulletin informs you about our planning process for the Monument and how you can become involved.

The Monument encompasses 164,000 acres of federal land administered by BLM, identified in the map below. The

Monument is located in the Four Corners region of southwest Colorado, about 45 miles west of Durango, 3 miles west of

Cortez and 12 miles west of Mesa Verde National Park. The Monument was designated on June 9, 2000 by Presidential

Proclamation to protect cultural and natural resources on a landscape scale.

The Monument contains the highest known archaeological site density in the United States, with rich, well-preserved

remnants of native cultures. The archaeological record etched into this landscape is much more than isolated islands of

architecture. The more than 6,000 recorded sites reflect all the physical components of past human life: villages, field

houses, check dams, reservoirs, great kivas, cliff dwellings, shrines, sacred springs, agricultural fields, petroglyphs, and

sweat lodges. Some areas have more than 100 sites per square mile. The number of sites is estimated to be 20,000 to

30,000 total.

Canyons of the Ancients

National Monument

Planning Newsletter #1
Planning Process

BLM has been entrusted with management

responsibility for this new National

Monument. The purpose of the plan is to

determine the management approach for the

Monument. The primary responsibility of

the plan is to provide protection for the

values for which the Monument was

created. It will stress management

objectives, identify areas where different

types of opportunities and experiences are

available, and establish management

standards and guidelines for specific

program areas. The plan will be completed

under the authority of the Federal Land

Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) and

will be accompanied by an environmental

impact statement (EIS) that will comply

with National Environmental Policy Act

(NEPA) standards. The plan will also be

completed in compliance with other

applicable laws. The plan will emphasize

the scientific resources of the Monument

and identify opportunities and priorities for

scientific research and educational

opportunities related to the values for which

the Monument was created.

Monument Advisory Committee

The purpose of the Committee is to advise the Secretary of the Interior

and BLM on the development and implementation of the plan for the

Monument. With this purpose in mind, the Committee will, among

other things, gather and analyze information; conduct studies and field

examinations; hear public testimony; advise BLM in establishing

Monument resource management priorities and landscape goals and

objectives; develop recommendations for implementation of ecosystem

approaches to management within the Monument; and achieve

collaborative approaches to Monument management.

As noted, the first Committee meeting was held on July 29, 2003.

Upcoming Committee meetings include the following:

Scoping

Issues

Develop Management

Strategies, Scenarios

and Alternatives

Draft Management

Plan/Draft EIS

Public Comment Period

Proposed Management

Plan/Final EIS

Approved Plan/

Record of Decision

Plan Implementation and

Adaptive Management

Planning Process Overview

Date

October 21, 2003

November 14, 2003

Location

Anasazi Heritage Center

Dolores, Colorado

Anasazi Heritage Center

Dolores, Colorado

Time

9:00 am to

3:30 pm

9:00 am to

3:30 pm

Planning Process Steps

The figure to the left provides an overview of the seven major steps in

the planning process. BLM is currently at the beginning of the planning

process, in the scoping phase. Some tasks in the process that have been

completed to date include publishing a notice of intent in the Federal

Register on April 24, 2002 to both prepare the plan and initiate the

public scoping process. To assist with the development of the plan,

services of the consulting firm Jones & Stokes were procured on

September 9, 2002. A project planning meeting was held from

November 4-6, 2002 to assemble an interdisciplinary Monument

planning team consisting of specialists from BLM, the Forest Service,

and Jones & Stokes. On June 6, 2003, in accordance with a directive

from the Secretary of the Interior, a Monument Advisory Committee

(Committee) was established, and the first Committee meeting was held

on July 29, 2003. Lastly, a public participation plan has been

completed.
Scoping Comment Submittal

Written scoping comments can be submitted to: Monument Planner, Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, 27501

Highway 184, Dolores, Colorado 81323, or faxed to 970-882-7035 or emailed to: Colorado_CanmScoping@co.blm.gov.

Scoping comments can also be submitted by completing and mailing the inserted Scoping Worksheet. The deadline for

submitting comments for the formal “scoping” process is November 28, 2003. Comments mailed should be postmarked

on or before this date. Comments submitted on or before this deadline will be most useful to the Monument during the

development of plan alternatives, and will be incorporated into the Scoping Report. However, comments, suggestions

and ideas will continue to be accepted and processed throughout the planning process.

Public Involvement in the Planning Process

At present, work on a variety of initial planning tasks continues, including the

formal scoping process. “Scoping” is a term from NEPA that describes the

process by which federal agencies ask the public for help in determining the

"scope" of issues to be addressed in the planning process. For several months,

BLM has been soliciting ideas and comments about the Monument through the

mail and the Internet. To further ensure a collaborative planning process, BLM

has scheduled three public scoping workshops at the locations listed below.

These meetings will provide further opportunity for public involvement and

comment.

Committee Members

The Committee consists of 11 members living in, or within reasonable proximity

to, southwest Colorado. They were selected based on their knowledge and special

expertise in the category of interest they were nominated for, and will serve for

four years. The 11 Committee members and the category of interest they

represent are as follows:

6 Montezuma County Commission Representative - Glenn (Kelly) Wilson;

6 Dolores County Commission Representative - Duane Gerren;

6 Two Tribal/Pueblo Representatives - Tito Naranjo and Selwyn Whiteskunk;

6 Two Cultural Resources Representatives - William Lipe and Mark Varien;

6 Livestock Grazing Permitte in the Monument Representative - Chris Majors;

6 Fluid Minerals Development Representative - Robert Clayton; and

6 Three people representing any of the following:

Date

October 21, 2003

October 22, 2003

October 29, 2003

Location

Koko’s Conference Center

at 2121 East Main, Cortez, CO

Durango Community Recreation Center

at 2700 Main Avenue, Durango, CO

Holiday Inn Denver West

at 14707 West Colfax Avenue, Golden, CO

Time

6:30 pm

6:30 pm

6:30 pm

Private landowners in or adjacent to the Monument, recognized national or

regional environmental or resource conservation organizations, off-road

vehicle use, commercial recreation, and/or representing statewide perspectives

with no financial interest in the Monument - Elizabeth Tozer, Chuck McAfee,

and Howard Poe.

Collaborative Efforts

Our commitment to developing an

interactive and dynamic planning

process which involves input from

the widest possible area has led to

meetings with many individuals and

groups. In order to foster this

collaboration, team members

continue to meet with interested

groups and individuals. Some of the

groups with which the team has met

or is in contact include: Colorado

Historical Society, Colorado

Department of Natural Resources,

Montezuma and Dolores Counties,

Native American tribes, USDA

Forest Service, National Parks

Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife

Service and others.
How You Can Be Involved

If you received this planning newsletter by mail or email, you are currently on the Monument mailing list. As a result,

you will continue to receive future planning newsletters. If you did not receive this planning newsletter by mail or email,

you are not on the Monument mailing list. To add or remove your name from this list complete the contact information

located on the inserted Scoping Worksheet, and follow the directions for mailing it to the Monument. If you live in

Colorado, please watch and listen for announcements in the local papers and on the local radio stations. While the

planning team welcomes your comments and suggestions at all times, please remember that your input is particularly

important in the early stages of the planning process, (e.g. scoping).

Planning Process Schedule

The proposed schedule for producing the major documents during the planning process is as follows:

Planning Document

Preparation Plan

Analysis of the Management Situation

Scoping Report

Draft RMP/EIS

Proposed RMP/Final EIS

Approved RMP/Record of Decision

Estimated Date of Availability

January 2001

February 2004

February 2004

October 2004

June 2005

September 2005

Bureau of Land Management

Anasazi Heritage Center

27501 Colorado Highway 184

Dolores, CO 81323

How You Can Remain Informed

If you have access to the Internet, you can follow the

progress of the planning process on the Monument's NEW

plannning website at www.blm.gov/rmp/canm. Our

dedicated website offers another avenue to submit comments

electronically and view and download geospatial data. The

site also offers a complete listing of scheduled public

meetings and Committee meetings (also open to the public),

in addition to other items such as text of the Presidential

Proclamation, Interim Guidance, and the Preparation Plan.

Thank you for your interest in this important process. We

look forward to working with you. For further information,

please contact:

Steve Kandell, Monument Planner

970/882-5600

www.blm.gov/rmp/canm (Monument planning website)

www.co.blm.gov/canm (Monument website)

PRESORTED

FIRST-CLASS MAIL

POSTAGE AND FEE PAID

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

PERMIT NO. G--76
4:15 p.m.), Monday through Friday, except holidays

at the

Anasazi Heritage Center

27501 Colorado Highway 184

Dolores, CO 81323

Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If

you wish to withhold your name or address from

public review or from disclosure under the Freedom

of Information Act, you must state this prominently at

the end of your comments. Such requests will be

honored to the extent allowed by law. Comments

from organizations or businesses will be made available for inspection in their entirety.

Consider the questions on the reverse side of this

page, then write down your thoughts about the

future management of Canyons of the Ancients

National Monument (Monument). Responses to

these questions will be used during the development

of plan alternatives.

Attach additional pages if necessary. Once you have

completed the worksheet, fold, tape, and mail by

November 28, 2003.

Public comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, will be available for public

review during regular business hours (7:30 a.m. to

Canyons of the Ancients

National Monument

Scoping Worksheet

Canyons of the Ancients National Monument

Attn: Steve Kandell

27501 Colorado Highway 184

Dolores, CO 81323

Canyons of the Ancients National Monument

27501 Colorado Highway 184

Dolores, CO 81323

Place

Stamp

Here
1. What do you value about the Monument and why?

Resource Management Plan for the

Canyons of the Ancients National Monument

Scoping Worksheet

2. What activities or uses on the Monument are important to

you and why?

4. How would you like to see the Monument's scientific,

traditional, recreational, cultural, natural, and other resources

managed?

To make comments electronically, please email us at colorado_canmscoping@co.blm.gov. For more information on the Monument

planning process, visit our planning web site at www.blm.gov/rmp/canm. Thank you for your interest in planning the future of

the Monument.

Name:

Address:

Email address:

Add my name to the mailing list

Note corrections to my name or address

Remove my name from the mailing list

Withhold my name and address from public review

5. Is there anything else you want to tell us?

3. What concerns or problems would have to be resolved before your vision of the Monument could be fulfilled?

Organization/Title (if applicable):

Planning Newsletter Hard Copy Digital Copy

If you would like to receive information related to the Monument's resource management planning process, please identify the type of

planning newsletter you would like to receive when they become available and complete the contact information below.