A recreation-permit proposal to allow paying "city slickers" and cattle ranchers to drive cattle from the Bradfield Bridge area to the town of Slick Rock drew questions and strong opinions from local residents over the past month.

"Cattle drives are not compatible with the wilderness experiences of the Dolores River Canyon," stated one comment among the written opinions received by the Mancos-Dolores Ranger District in response to the proposal. "The BLM should do a formal inventory of the river corridor’s wilderness character to create a baseline assessment in order to measure against changes in use."

The permit proposal was a collaborative effort between East Pines ranchers Al Heaton of Cortez and David James of Durango.

Heaton said that people frequently ask if they can help him round up cattle on his existing BLM grazing permits. If the plan were approved, Heaton could make a profit from tourists wanting to experience an Old West cattle drive. "If there’s people interested and I’m out there doing it anyway - maybe it would be worthwhile to pursue," said Heaton.

During the public-comment period, the BLM Dolores district received 156 comments from letters, faxes, e-mails, and phone calls submitted from residents of Dolores, Cortez, Durango, Dove Creek, and national environmental organizations.

Penny Wu, a BLM recreation planner, said that comments were submitted both for and against the proposal.

Wu said that most of the comments against the proposal addressed the cattle’s impacts on water quality, watershed health, and riparian areas along the Dolores river.

The comments in favor addressed the proposal’s educational and scenic values for the public.

If approved, the dude ranching would occur in three separate stages throughout the year. The winter permit would last from November to April, when 200-400 cattle would graze on land northwest of Slick Rock. Six dudes and three cowboys would manage the cattle during these months.

The cattle would then be trucked to East Pines on April 1, where they would graze from the Dove Creek Pump Station to Slick Rock until late July or early August.

In addition, a new seven-day permit would be issued for 200 cattle, six clients and three cowboys to run cattle from Doe Canyon, about eight miles north of Bradfield Bridge, to Dove Creek.

The run includes areas along the Dolores river corridor that have not been grazed for almost 15 years, and have been considered for wilderness designation by legislators.

Heaton said that they requested to run cattle in Doe Canyon when the plants have fully matured and the cattle drive is least likely to affect other users.

Despite environmentalists’ criticisms, Heaton said that he would continue to manage the cattle with the land in mind. "I’m out there every day, and therefore we can pretty well control how the cattle respond to different areas," he said.

The BLM will now form an interdisciplinary team of experts to review the comments and analyze the proposal over the next few months.