On Sunday, May 31, Western Slope Conservation Center (WSCC) supporters and staff took to the Gunnison River. As part of the annual Riverfest celebration, more than 40 floaters launched from Pleasure Park in the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area (GGNCA) and took out at Orchard Boat Ramp, approximately 6.5 miles downriver.
The GGNCA is a fascinating area notable for its outstanding geologic, scenic, wilderness, scientific, and recreational resources. Designated by Congress in 1999 as a National Conservation Area (NCA), diverse landscapes ranging from desert shrub and sagebrush lowlands, rugged pinon-juniper forest, and the spectacular double canyon of the Gunnison Gorge Wilderness define this area.
The NCA is part of the National Landscape Conservation System, better known as the National Conservation Lands, a 39.5 million acre collection of lands in 904 federally recognized areas. These lands, managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), are considered to be the crown jewels of the American West. The GGNCA lives up to this reputation. Geologic formations within the gorge span more than a third of the age of the earth, over 1.7 billion years.
Totaling 62,844 acres with a 17,784 acre Wilderness Area at its heart, the area is fascinating not just for its geology, but for its cultural artifacts and resources. Prehistoric artifacts at Eagle Rock Shelter indicate Archaic, Fremont, and Ute peoples have inhabited the area for at least 13,000 years. This land remains sacred to the Ute Nation and is an important connection to its members’, past and present.
The area is remarkable for its recreation, including world-class trout fishing, whitewater boating, mountain biking, motorized off-roading, hiking, and horseback riding. Unlike its adjacent neighbor, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, several good hiking trails descend to the Gunnison River, including the Chukar Trail, a one-mile hike to the water. Although boaters must pack in supplies, there is a seasonal commercial horse-packing service available, making this accessible to users of all levels and abilities.
According to the BLM’s “FY2024 Manager’s Report,” nearly 200,000 visitors come to the NCA annually. For sparsely populated, rural western Colorado, this visitation is an economic force. The nearby communities of Delta, Hotchkiss, and Paonia rely on tourism and outdoor recreation following decades of resource-extraction dependent economies.
Although located in the GGNCA, Pleasure Park boat ramp, where WSCC floaters launched, was recently determined to be on private land. Gunnison Forks Day-Use Recreation Site, located just a few hundred yards upriver, offers public launching and take-out on BLM land, but access is far more challenging making Pleasure Park the desired boat ramp for river enthusiasts of all ages and ability levels, including local commercial outfitters. The federal Gunnison Outdoor Resources Protection (GORP) Act legislation provides a solution to this issue.
In 2022, when the property and outfitting business Gunnison River Expeditions, located at Pleasure Park, changed ownership, the transaction revealed the boat ramp to be on private property. With the formal support of Delta County Commissioners, in 2024 a provision was added to the GORP Act legislation to guarantee public access to the favored Pleasure Park boat ramp in perpetuity.
The GORP Act, otherwise known for permanently protecting over 730,000 acres of public lands in western Colorado, at this time also adopted provisions for restricting oil and gas development on most surface-managed BLM lands in Delta County and placed non-surface occupancy restrictions on roadless areas in the upper North Fork Valley Watershed. Adhering to stakeholder input and community values, the proposed bill supports traditional land uses and long-term economic resilience while protecting what makes the Gunnison Basin distinctive, rare, and, frankly, unforgettable.
In exchange for public boat ramp access at Pleasure Park, and outlined in a memorandum of understanding, Delta County would help the new business owner secure a continuation of their permit to operate a once-daily motorized jet boat. “This jet boat brings an incredible amount of money into the economy. If we lost this, it would be felt in the economic side of Delta County,” says Don Suppes, former Delta County Commissioner. Managed tightly by the BLM, the permit has been allowed as an existing use without adverse impacts on the river or surrounding landscapes for 20 years, pre-dating the designation of the NCA.
On WSCC’s Riverfest float trip, boaters had the chance to learn and experience the benefits of the public boat ramp at Pleasure Park first hand. Because of collaborative across-the-aisle work, or in this case, across county lines efforts, the GORP Act has the potential to permanently guarantee public access at the idyllic and accessible Pleasure Park boat ramp, while also continuing to support local businesses and a transitioning Delta County economy. In the words of GORP Act sponsor Senator Michael Bennet, it’s a “win-win.”
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