By Linda Gibas Browns Canyon National Monument is a unique and rugged area which is also Colorado’s newest monument. Its journey to become a monument began when it was determined by Congress that certain Bureau of Land Managment (BLM) lands had wilderness characteristics. After studying and performing inventories, the BLM concluded in 1980 that 6,614 acres in the Browns Canyon area did qualify for protection as a Wilderness Study Area (WSA). After the WSA was established, numerous efforts were made to protect approximately 22,000 acres as a designated wilderness area, due to the wild and undisturbed nature of the surrounding ...
