On April 22^nd, the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA), an administrative appeals body within the Department of the Interior, granted a motion from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that allows BLM to rescind its previous approval of a new motorized trail in a pristine alpine valley in the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado.  In 2020, BLM had approved the construction of a new motorized trail in Minnie Gulch outside of Silverton, Colorado.  Minnie Gulch is a undeveloped and quiet valley that ascends to the Continental Divide and is an area of cultural importance to the Ute Tribes.  Based on BLM’s deficient environmental review and tribal consultation processes, San Juan Citizens Alliance, a citizens’ organization in southwest Colorado, filed an administrative appeal challenging the approval represented by Firm attorneys Lori Potter and Sarah Judkins.  While the administrative appeal was pending, over the course of many years, San Juan Citizens Alliance, with support of Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell, persisted in seeking to maintain the pristine and quiet nature of this culturally important area.  This advocacy was critical to BLM’s recent decision to file a motion asking the IBLA send the decision back to the agency to allow it to rescind its prior approval, which the IBLA has granted.  Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell is proud to have represented San Juan Citizens Alliance in this appeal and resoundingly positive result for quiet and culturally-important areas in southern Colorado.