After more than two decades of work, the effort to designate Browns Canyon of the Arkansas River as a national monument may come down to a single meeting Saturday. The Interior Department and Department of Agriculture will host a public open-house meeting at 1 p.m. Saturday at the SteamPlant Event Center in Salida (220 W. Sackett Ave.) in order to gauge public support for national monument designation for the rugged canyon between Buena Vista and Salida. Colorado Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet will be on hand to promote their efforts to establish the 22,000-acre monument, which includes a recent letter asking President Barack Obama to use his authority under the Antiquities Act to designate the monument after legislative efforts have repeatedly stalled. Multiple conservation groups have echoed the request. Anyone with an opinion on the issue is encouraged to attend the meeting. Scott Willoughby, The Denver Post
