Public Lands and Rural Resilience

Perspective by Pete Kolbenschlag, director -

In the mornings I watch the dawn arrive from beyond Mt Gunnision, a jagged and prominent massif in the West Elk Mountains, which rises to 12,775.’ On the left, a bit more distant, the Ragged Mountains of the Elk Range silhouette against the lightening sky.

Directly out my kitchen window Mt Lamborn fills the view, not too lofty at 11,402,’ but half the pair of local peaks that sit above the North Fork Valley. 

The West Elk Mountains frame the southeast horizon above the valley of the North Fork of the Gunnison River in Delta County, Colorado.

The North Fork Valley is named for a tributary of the Gunnison River. To the north the Grand Mesa (“world’s largest flat-top mountain”) rises abruptly and collects the snowmelt and rain in hundreds of pools, ponds, lakes and reservoirs above its basalt cap. 

At its eastern edge, the broad tail of the Grand Mesa connects to Huntsman Ridge, where CO 133 climbs over McClure Pass, and extends in expanses of aspen and high meadows, north toward the Battlements. On this side, the Grand Mesa’s waters gather into the North Fork River which–together with the flows from the Raggeds and the West Elks–flow in a westerly, southwesterly direction, before joining the Gunnison’s main stem at Pleasure Park and then gathering in the Uncompahgre River at Delta.

There the Gunnison River, usually one of the three largest tributaries (by flow) to the Colorado River, turns north-northwest through canyons toward Grand Junction and its confluence with the Colorado River. To the south the Gunnison River basin reaches all the way up into the San Juan Mountains on the Lake Fork and Uncompahgre rivers, and to the east sweeps in the North Fork and major Gunnision headwaters like the East and Taylor rivers.

Mt. Gunnison, that I watch throughout the day, also sits near the Thompson Divide. This beloved area spans the upper reaches of the North Fork watershed and those of the Crystal and Roaring Fork rivers, which join the Colorado River in Glenwood Springs. Although expansive, my view is just a small frame of a broad panorama of public lands that secures a great treasure of resources, and provides immeasurable value to Colorado and to America. 

The eastern face of Mt Gunnison rises above headwaters of the North Fork on the Gunnison National Forest in the vicinity of the Thompson Divide.

This wealth of public lands includes the West Elk, Maroon Bells, and Ragged Wildernesses, the cherished Thompson Divide and the eastern reaches of the Grand Mesa. The Curecanti National Recreation Area, Black Canyon National Park and the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area are here too, marking the eastern edge of the Colorado Plateau. 

The public lands and the natural functions they provide safeguard drinking water supplies and irrigate our farms, provide important habitat values and connectivity, and strengthen resilience to, and help mitigate impacts from, climate change. Critical to our survival, these lands are a resource of incalculable value. And unlike extractive resources, their value cannot be "gotten" only secured. They must be conserved in place. 

Irreplaceable Ecosystem Services

In some understandings, these types of values – vital ecological functions - or “ecosystem services” - are not so readily quantifiable as board-feet or barrels might be. They are certainly notoriously difficult to square up sometimes with an expectation of immediate return. But science shows that the conservation of these lands and the maintenance of the ecological services that they provide to us, is of the utmost importance even to our bottom line. 

Intermixed with the Western Slope’s public lands and along valley floors, lie a necklace of beloved Colorado towns - including those of the North Fork, where the Colorado Farm and Food Alliance is based. Clustered among the small towns of the Western Slope are hundreds of small to medium ranches, farms, orchards and vineyards. Healthy public lands benefit all who live here.

What these lands provide in critical ecological functions like watershed health and protecting biodiversity is of immeasurable value. In a time of disruptions, when human, political and natural systems seem vulnerable, the conservation of public lands can be a strategy to prosper.

The public lands that sit at the spoke of our Western Slope communities are more than just awe-inspiring and character-defining. Of course, they are a core part of our identity and of this place. They are certainly a draw for residents, visitors and business alike.

But these public lands are more than just exceptional fly-fishing streams and prime hunting grounds. They are worth more than just the business, or enjoyment, they bring with an offering of trails, climbing routes, whitewater, ski runs and jeep roads. All these things make these lands immensely valuable to western Colorado, and must be properly weighed against any new use that might harm them. But the real human utility of these nationally significant public lands is not so easily evaluated on a ledger sheet as are visitor days.

Evening light on the West Elks.

Here in this amazing region, here at the nation’s headwaters, here as I look out at the evening sky lighting up the mountains framing my valley and view, I see that communities like those found here have solutions not only for ourselves, but also to benefit America. 

The North Fork’s ranches, vineyards, farms and orchards rely on the water supplies that well-managed public lands help to secure. As the ditches are starting to flow, and as we look at the snowpack up on the public lands surrounding our farms, considering the season ahead — The value of our watersheds that the public lands secure are as tangible as the food on our tables.

Conservation of public lands is an asset to all this activity and can boost the economic resilience of rural Colorado. Ensuring that our remaining natural public lands regions - America’s “natural capital” - remain healthy and intact is simply common sense.

”Conserve” is the root of both conservation and conservative. One of the best ways to ensure rural places and mountain communities remain intact and can thrive into the future, is through public lands conservation that promotes watershed health, habitat protection and economic security. 

Protecting public lands is an investment in a more resilient future that pays immediate dividends today. The conservation of public lands is a strategy to mitigate against and strengthen resilience to the disruptions coming from climate change. 

We are stewards of a mighty asset. These public lands are a national treasure and a vital local resource. Left intact these lands secure our well-being today and better leave that possibility alive for the future.


Protecting our public lands supports the farms and people that depend on the many benefits these lands and healthy ecosytems provide, and that these lands can continue to provide, but only with some wisdom, humility and our prudent care.