BLM Little Snake Resource Area Office

One of the most important local outlets for information about outdoor activities is the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Little Snake Resource Area office. Even though the southwestern corner of Moffat County lies within the management authority of the White River BLM office, most of the public land questions I receive pertain to the Little Snake area. Moffat County is something over 3,000,000 acres in land area of which over 1.7 million acres are public and managed by the BLM.


The most requested informational documents for outdoor recreation on BLM property in our area are the four BLM land use maps that encompass the Little Snake Resource area. It seems an obvious statement, but the ability to distinguish between public and private land is critical when planning an event or trip or simply navigating around the county. The land status maps, when used with a county road map and perhaps a hand-held GPS navigational device, make it possible to determine a location in the county to a very accurate degree. The Little Snake website also offers GPS coordinates for numerous locations around the county and numerous survey markers are evident when traversing BLM land as well.

The Little Snake Resource office also has available a very good selection of informational publications other than maps. Information about mining, grazing, recreation, historic sites, and other topics can be obtained from the local BLM office or the Craig Chamber of Commerce.

Elk Traps

I went out with the Division of Wildlife last week to set elk traps. The purpose of the effort is to capture a number of cow elk and fit them with radio collars, then monitor their movements as the year progresses. Currently, we haven't seen very much success; only 8 elk have been trapped, with 3 of those being cows. We've seen a large number of elk, but the mild weather and lack of snow cover are impeding progress. A hay-baited trap is just not that attractive, I guess.

In contrast, the DOW folks tell me that 70 elk were trapped last year in a two-week span. The difference is that last year the winter was much more severe with much more snow cover. They also say that the animals were much more docile and easier to approach, which is not the case this year.

The DOW biologist for our area, Jamin Grigg, provided me with maps of last year's radio- collared cow elk locations. The Division put collars on 35 cows last year and it's interesting to note that they were still in higher terrain near the Routt National Forest this past December.

It sounds like the DOW may have to change tactics if greater success is not forthcoming with the traps. It may be necessary to trap elk from the air and if that becomes the approach, it will bring a different set of circumstances into play.

First Post

This is the first post for the Craig Outdoors blog. My name is Terry Carwile and my title is Sportsman Information Officer for the Craig Chamber of Commerce in Craig, Colorado. Although a large part of my job is to provide hunting and fishing information for people all over the country, I've enjoyed hiking, biking, river rafting and other outdoor pursuits in northwest Colorado over the years.



I also work with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, Colorado State Parks, U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and other organizations to help disseminate information about outdoor recreation opportunities to the general public through our chamber of commerce. Although the organizations mentioned all have their own ability to provide information to the public, the Craig Chamber of Commerce is uniquely positioned to field questions of a general nature or guide more specific inquiries to the most appropriate information source.



In my initial postings, I'll offer a recap of the recently completed big game hunting seasons and as the Division of Wildlife provides harvest information, I'll summarize some of that as well. Winter recreation is in full swing with skiing, snowmobiling, ice fishing and some small game and lion hunting underway.

As the year progresses and the weather gets better, I'll talk about some of the other activities that make northwest colorado a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts.