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BLM Requests Public Input on Sutey Ranch Management Plans

Bureau of Land Management

The public is asked to comment on three proposed management plans for Sutey Ranch by Monday, November 5. The preliminary environmental assessment is available here. Comments may be e-mailed to blm_co_sutey_haines_rmpa@blm.gov or mailed to BLM, 2300 River Frontage Road, Silt, CO 81652, Attn: Sutey Ranch Management Plan.

  1. Alternative one prioritizes wildlife by including a winter closure to all human activities from December to mid-April and designates the Sutey parcel as Priority Wildlife Habitat, prohibiting activities that disturb the surface like mining. This option includes limited livestock grazing and would also allow mountain bike access for summer months, but likely on only one trail.
  2. Alternative two emphasizes equestrian access by adding a new recreation management zone to the Red Hill Special Recreation Management Area that excludes mountain biking. Foot and horse travel would be allowed year-round and the Ranch would not be available for livestock grazing.
  3. Alternative three includes Sutey Ranch in the Red Hill Special Recreation Management Area and emphasizes mountain bike and hiking access. To benefit wildlife, biking would not be allowed from December to mid-April although foot and horse travel would be permitted year-round. This option allows grazing and manages irrigation field primarily for livestock benefit.

The BLM has identified the first option as its preferred alternative although the final proposal could include components from all three. The public will then have an opportunity to protest that decision.

Raleigh Burleigh was raised in the historic floodplanes of Satank. The Carbondale Rotary Club sponsored him as a youth ambassador to Chile the year before his graduation from Roaring Fork High School. He studied International Affairs and Journalism at the University of Colorado, Boulder then applied those studies traveling throughout South America the following year. Returning to Carbondale thereafter, Raleigh acquired an internship with KDNK News which led to the opportunity to serve as News Director from 2017 to 2019. After another trip to South America in early 2019, Raleigh Burleigh drew deeper into the confluence as Program Director at KDNK. Raleigh now serves on KDNK's board of directors and as editor of Carbondale's weekly newspaper, The Sopris Sun.