To most of us, a ramp is something we'd use to launch our favorite toy into the air for those few fleeting seconds of fun that many of us live and breath for. In this case, the "Recreation Area Management Plan" or RAMP is what the BLM uses to balance the use of public land with the need to conserve and preserve the natural resources on that land for the future. In other words, this is the BLM's "bible" when it comes to making decisions on what we can or can't do while we enjoy our beloved Mother G.

If you've taken the time to download and try to read the rejected RAMP, you'll see it's a long and complicated document. That's because it is truly not an easy job to manage the land. The good thing is that this is a government document, which means we can all have an impact on what that document says. There will be several steps that go on to develop this, and we as a community need to be as involved as we can be along the whole way.

I did some searching for an easy to digest explanation of the process. Best one I can find is this one: http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/gfo/loop_plan.html You have to realize that this page is referring to another area, with different local issues, but the concept will be similar when applied to the ISDRA. Something to notice is the section on "the scoping process" which is where we are at right now. The public meetings have been announced, and for those that have questions of the blm, these will be good to attend.

However, the most important part of the scoping process will be for all of us to send the BLM our comments in writing before the deadline of May 31. So, for example, if you don't like the idea of "reservations" at the campgrounds at the ISDRA, now is the time to tell the BLM from your viewpoint as a user, this is a bad idea, as this is a RAMP issue.