Join us as we celebrate #WomensEqualityDay, a day to reflect on milestones in women’s efforts to gain equality in the workplace. Susan Semenza is thought to have been the first woman range conservationist in the Bureau of Land Management ➡️ ow.ly/fggO50T6yJm. @blmoregon

Everyone deserves the right to experience and access their public lands. That's why we're working hard to ensure that our recreation sites have accessible parking, toilets, picnic tables, campgrounds, and boat ramps. Learn more ➡️ ow.ly/v9oL50T8YAO.

Today, we're proud to announce our proposed roadmap for solar energy development on public lands, designed to ensure efficient and environmentally responsible solar project permitting across the West. Learn more: ow.ly/znnI50T91vs. @interior

In the past, you've seen us stock fish into Colorado waters by truck, plane, OHVs, backpack and even by horseback. But each year, we also team with Bureau of Land Management Colorado on a special rainbow trout fry stocking trip on the Gunnison Gorge by aid of mules and rafts. Check this🧵

The fish are Gunnison River Rainbow trout, an important strain that has shown resistance to whirling disease. The Glenwood Springs Hatchery and biologists spawn wild Gunnison River rainbow trout at the East Portal near Montrose. The eggs have been used to establish a broodstock.

GRR trout show characteristics suitable for survival in a wild river setting and are helping rebalance the Gunnison River through the Gorge, which is predominantly full of brown trout. The Glenwood Springs hatchery delivered 100,000 of these fry down a burly 4WD road to meet us.

The fish are netted out of the truck, weighed and placed into oxygenated bags for transport down a steep 1.2-mile hike into the canyon from the Chukar Trailhead. Montrose area aqautic biologist Eric Gardunio and his team loaded the bags with hatchery water, fish, ice and oxygen.

Then, the trout were loaded into saddle bags on the horse and mule team. Those that float fish or whitewater raft the Gunnison Gorge can use these same mules/horses to load boats down into the canyon. The mule team loaded six Bureau of Land Management Colorado rafts down into the Gorge the night before.

The mule team made two trips to carry all 40 bags of trout down into the Gorge. There's a lot of tricky footing going down the Chukar Trail, but it's always a beautiful downhill hike.

The bags of fish were quickly loaded onto the rigged rafts. Then we pushed off from the put-in in search of ideal stocking locations for each bag. We looked for areas along the banks with grassy cover and rocks the rainbow fry could use for cover from big brown trout.

After running a few rapids at the low flows (around 650 cfs), we find some great locations and start to stock the trout into the Gunnison River. Bureau of Land Management Colorado River Ranger Carleton released this bag.

Bureau of Land Management Colorado Here’s a video of stocking these fish in another location. Each raft had seven or eight bags on board, and the fish were well distributed both above and below Ute Park.

Once the stocking was complete, it was time to fully enjoy one of the most beautiful places in all of Colorado. It’s REALLY tough to beat the Gunnison Gorge.

It's #NationalToastedMarshmallowDay! If you are planning to visit #YourPublicLands to close out American Adventures Month, be sure you always #RecreateResponsibly and know the area's fire restrictions before making s'mores. doi.gov/blog/10-tips-p…

Going camping? Remember the public plays a vital role in #WildfirePrevention. #Knowbeforeyougo if there are fire restrictions in place. If campfires are allowed, make sure yours is dead out before leaving it. Visit WestSlopeFireInfo.com for information on fire restrictions.

Deadline to apply for the 2025 Canyons of the Ancients Artist-in-Residence Program has been extended through 9/15! 🔸Two-week Feb. residency open to all applicants 🔸Two-week June residency open to Indigenous applicants Visit swcocanyons.org/artist-in-resi… to learn more and apply today!

The BLM Grand Junction Field Office will begin a wild horse gather on or around Sept. 11 on the Little Book Cliffs Wild Horse Range near De Beque, Colorado. For information about gather operations, and RSVP instructions for public viewing, visit blm.gov/LBCgather2024.

Crikey! What a beauty! Today we not only celebrate #NationalWildlifeDay, but the memory of the Croc Hunter himself! You won't see crocs on #YourPublicLands, but you'll find collared lizards! Please always #RecreateResponsibly and enjoy the wildlife from a distance.

We wanted to share a reminder that there is a comment policy for BLM Colorado social media pages! If you would like to familiarize yourself with the policy, please follow this link: blm.gov/media/social-m…

#NationalFireNews: The National #PreparednessLevel has increased to a 5 (PL5) as of 7:30 a.m. (MDT) today, September 6.