ShareTrails | Camping within Canyons of the Ancients National Monument

Located in Southwest Colorado, 174,000 acres make up Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. This monument is home to many pueblo and ancient Native American sites. The supplementary rule to the current management plan would restrict many uses such as pine nut gathering, climbing, geocaching and where you can camp. The rule is looking to restrict camping within the pueblo dwellings for obvious reasons however, it will also restrict camping within 300 feet of these sites, riparian sites or within alcoves.

The purpose of the rule is to protect the ancient dwellings however it is clear the BLM needs to have more camping opportunities available in order to accommodate the growing number of users and popularity for camping on public lands. If there are more roads available and less areas arbitrarily restricted like Wilderness Study Areas, this area would not be restricting users into archeologically sensitive areas.

Send a comment to the BLM in support of a 100 foot camping buffer zone and considerations of opening more areas to dispersed camping within the monument. Comments are accepted through June 5, 2023.