offers the perfect get-away for busy folks who want a quick escape from the Grand Valley. Opportunities for recreation include photography, horseback riding, hunting, fishing, backpacking, picnicking, camping, hiking, and
more.Close proximity to Grand Junction and low elevation makes Bangs Canyon accessible to a number of people who would otherwise be unable to enjoy Colorado's wilderness areas including families with young children and the
elderly.
The BLM's own Wilderness Study Policy directs agency managers to give greater importance to potential wilderness in close proximity to population centers (
Final Wilderness Environmental Impact Statement, Grand Junction Resource Area, p5-5). But the BLM excluded Bangs Canyon from Wilderness consideration in 1980 citing, incredibly enough, lack of opportunities for
recreation!
Bangs Canyon—located between CO 141 and Little Park Road—extends from Douglas fir and aspens on the Uncompahgre Plateau to desert grasslands on the west bank of the Gunnison River. Bangs is a
beautiful example of the Morrison and Entrada sediments with brilliantly colored hideaways on the flanks of the Uncompahgre Uplift.
Bangs Canyon roadless area provides critical winter range and migratory routes for
Colorado's prized wildlife. The BLM has identified the west bank of the Gunnison as a nesting site for bald eagles.
Most of Colorado's wilderness exists above 9,000 `. Lower elevation wildlands provide the missing
component in Colorado's wildlife habitat system.
The BLM has identified numerous cultural resources, including several important petroglyph panels, within the Bangs Canyon roadless area. A portion of the area is a
Class 1 Palentological area (most likely of producing fossils).
Wilderness is an excellent means of protecting cultural and paleontological resources. Such resources also add an outstanding feature for people seeking
the peace and solitude of wilderness. That such opportunities exist so close to an urban area makes Bangs Canyon a true wilderness treasure. BLM should amend their management of this area accordingly.
