Colorado Public Lands Day is coming up on May 18, and it’s important to consider how we balance multiple uses on our public lands. I envision a future where Colorado’s public lands have better protections in place for native biodiversity including wildlife, insects and plants.

I’ve spent 15 years studying biodiversity on the Colorado Plateau and one of the most valuable areas I know is the Dolores River Canyon Country of western Colorado. This red rock wilderness houses rare and endemic species in gypsum soils, critical overwintering habitat for big game, migration corridors for endangered and sensitive fish, and was found to hold the highest levels of biodiversity of any unprotected area in Colorado. The ecological value of this region is immense.

Unfortunately, the Dolores River Canyon Country currently lacks adequate protections for biodiversity. A litany of threats from uranium mining in sensitive areas to increased recreation pressures to solar energy development could harm this delicate ecosystem if not managed correctly. While our society needs resources, it’s important to preserve the little remaining wilderness that is left for biodiversity.

There have been local efforts aimed at finding this delicate balance between future needs, and the conservation of the river and canyons of the Dolores River for nearly 50 years. Currently, there are two tangible proposals that would help provide protections to the biodiversity of the Dolores River Canyon Country.

First is the legislation that would create a 68,000-acre Dolores River National Conservation Area below McPhee Dam to the Montrose/San Miguel County line. This legislation took more than 15 years to create, and puts an emphasis on collaborative management of the environment and highlights the importance of native fish species while remaining a popular, bipartisan proposal.

Second is an active community-led effort to designate a National Monument to the north of the NCA in Montrose and Mesa counties. This kind of designation could provide a level of protection against inadvisable development that could harm wildlife and fish habitat, and promote better management practices.

Both of these efforts would mandate federal land management agencies to develop a new Resource Management Plan encompassing the newly designated area. These administrative plans are extremely important in guiding how these lands are managed for more than a decade, and are an opportunity to prioritize the wildlife, insects and plants that make up the rich environment of southwest Colorado we all cherish.

I believe the NCA and NM are both important to protecting the biodiversity of western Colorado, while still leaving plenty of room for multiple uses of public land. Outside the NCA and NM are a plethora of lands still accessible for development, while inside historical uses such as grazing will continue. A new management plan will hopefully address increasing pressures from recreation.

The NCA and NM are our best chance to keep these lands as they are, rich and full of life. Biodiversity needs our voice for protections and I hope you will join me in supporting protecting the wild Dolores River Canyon Country. As Edward Abbey said, “The idea of wilderness needs no defense, it only needs defenders.”

Derek Uhey is an assistant teaching professor at the School of Forestry at Northern Arizona University.