Summit County: Stakeholder group to take another close look at proposal for motorized trails on Tenderfoot Mountain

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Consensus sought on divisive plan to build new trails

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Local dirt bike riders hope to create a new system of challenging single-track trails.

Click here to read full Summit Voice coverage of the Tenderfoot issue.

By Bob Berwyn

FRISCO — The White River National Forest has hit the pause button on its proposal to develop a new motorized trail system on Tenderfoot Mountain. Before issuing a final decision on the plan, forest supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams will consider the input of a stakeholder group that’s meeting in a process facilitated by the Keystone Center.

The stakeholder group includes Forest Service representatives, local government officials and planners, conservation advocates, motorized users and local homeowner groups. The hope is to find some sort of consensus on the contentious plan, said Peech Keller, who coordinates environmental reviews for the Forest Service’s Dillon Ranger District. The group will meet about every two weeks through mid-June, she added. All the Forest Service documents related to the proposal are online here. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, Dillon Ranger District, Environment, Summit County Colorado, US Forest Service, White River National Forest | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Summit County: Forest Service requests $96,000 state trails grant for OHV management

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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The grant proposal includes examples of how the funding would be used.

Local stakeholders support idea of summer motorized trail crew

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — The Forest Service’s Dillon Ranger District is applying for a $96,000 state trails grant partly to patrol and maintain a trail system on Tenderfoot Mountain that hasn’t been approved or built yet.

An off-highway vehicle subcommittee heard the grant request earlier this month in the first step of a three-stage approval process.

The grant request has support from the Summit County Commissioners, the town of Breckenridge and several nonprofit stewardship groups in the area. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, Dillon Ranger District, recreation, Summit County Colorado, US Forest Service, White River National Forest | Tagged: , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Summit County asks for delay on Tenderfoot motorized trail decision and suggests collaborative planning process

Posted on December 23, 2012 by Bob Berwyn
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Can Summit County and the Forest Service find common ground for a motorized trail system on Tenderfoot Mountain? Bob Berwyn photo.

‘Rewarding illegal trail creation is not good public policy’

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Summit County commissioners continue to express concerns with a U.S. Forest Service proposal to build more than 10 miles of new trail primarily for motorized use on Tenderfoot Mountain, between Dillon and Keystone. All the Forest Service documents for the Tenderfoot proposal are online at this WRNF web page.

In a formal comment letter submitted last week, the BOCC asked the Forest Service to delay making a decision on the project pending a joint collaborative planning process with the county, and offered to come to the table with some funds for maintenance and management of a trail system.

“I don’t think anyone on the planning commission is opposed to finding a place … But I don’t think the Forest Service did its job in looking at other places and saying why they won’t work,” said Craig Suwinski, chair of the Snake River Planning Commission, representing those citizens potentially most affected by noise and other impacts a motorized trail system could have. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, Dillon Ranger District, recreation, Summit County Colorado, Summit County news, US Forest Service, White River National Forest | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Summit County: Forest Service says, ‘Give us a chance’ on proposed Tenderfoot Mountain motorized trail system

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

County officials feel slighted by federal bureaucrats

Motorized riders enjoy cruising a road near the Summit County landfill on lower Tenderfoot Mountain. Bob Berwyn photo.

Related stories

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — A plan by the U.S. Forest Service to build 13 miles of new trails for motorized use on Tenderfoot Mountain has put the agency on a collision course with local residents who have fought the plan from its earliest stages. Despite some changes from the original proposal, most residents of the affected area remain adamantly opposed.

Meanwhile, Forest Service rangers are asking the community to give the project a chance, claiming that motorized users will police themselves to make sure that impacts don’t spread beyond the trail system that would span about 1,800 acres on the hillsides above Highway 6 between Dillon and Summit Cove.

The Forest Service released an environmental assessment for the project in mid-November, triggering a 30-day public comment period. Based on the final round of feedback, agency officials will release a final decision on the trail system sometime this winter. All the Forest Service documents relating to the proposal, including comment information, are at this WRNF web page. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, Dillon, Environment, recreation, Summit County Colorado, Summit County news | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Summit County:Forest Service releases Tenderfoot trail plan

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Controversial proposal includes 13 miles of new single-track in an area generally zoned for non-motorized use

The Forest Service wants to build 13 miles of new trails on Tenderfoot Mountain for motorized use in an area already laced with trails and roads.

Related stories:

Summit County: Forest Service doing sound tests for proposed motorized recreation trail on Tenderfoot Mountain

Summit County: U.S. Forest Service hits pause button on several projects to assess the cumulative impacts to lynx

Summit County: Tenderfoot trail showdown looming

Summit County: Motorized trails proposed for Tenderfoot

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — The Forest Service has released a scaled-back version of a controversial plan for a new motorized trail system on Tenderfoot Mountain. Under the proposed plan, about 13 miles of new trails on a project area spanning about 1,800 acres already laced by a spaghetti network of roads and trails, including many renegade user-created trails.

In all, the system would encompass about 27 miles of trails (21 miles of single-track). About eight miles existing routes would be rehabilitated, while some other unsustainable routes would be decommissioned. According to the Forest Service, the net result is a multi-use trail system “that would be managed for non-motorized uses (hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding) as well as for single-track motorcycle use.” (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado, Dillon, Dillon Ranger District, Environment, recreation, Summit County Colorado, US Forest Service, White River National Forest | Tagged: , , , , | 2 Comments »

Summit County: Forest Service doing sound tests for proposed motorized recreation trail on Tenderfoot Mountain

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Agency says draft environmental study almost finished; plan sets up showdown between federal and state jurisdictions

A Forest Service scoping map for a proposed motorized trail system on Tenderfoot Mountain.

Motorized recreation on Tenderfoot Mountain, Summit County, Colorado.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Despite significant concerns and opposition from local neighborhoods, the U.S. Forest Service continues to push ahead with plans for a 30-mile motorized trail system on Tenderfoot Mountain.

According to the agency, the draft environmental study for the trail project is almost complete and scheduled to be released in the coming months.

As one of the final steps, the Forest Service is doing a sound test on June 21 to try and assess noise impacts to areas closest to the proposed motorcycle track, including the Tenderfoot Addition to Dillon, Corinthian Hills, Summerwood, Summit Cove, Tennis Townhomes, Saints Johns Condominiums, and The Enclave. The test will be done between 5 p.m. and 7:15 p.m.

An initial sound test conducted June 1o involved four motorcycles being ridden on trails closest to those neighborhoods. According to the Forest Service, a sound technician used a decibel meter to measure the sound — without success, primarily due to the background noise from traffic on Highway 6. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, Dillon Ranger District, Environment, public lands, recreation, Summit County news, US Forest Service, White River National Forest | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Colorado: Over-eager motorists damaging forest areas

Posted on July 2, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

Forest Service asking visitors to respect closures and wait for the snow to melt

The U.S. Forest Service is urging motorists to exercise restraint to protect natural resources on the forest as snow season lingers in the Colorado high country. BOB BERWYN/FILE PHOTO.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Over-eager motorists in Colorado are causing extensive damaged to roadside vegetation by driving around snowdrifts in the high country, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

“We know that people are anxious to get out and enjoy their National Forest over the July 4th weekend. This is an unusual summer.  The snow is usually gone and the roads dried out at this point,” said White River National Forest Supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams. “We urge everyone to respect our road closures and to remain on road surfaces rather than driving off road to get around gates and snow drifts.”

In a press release, the Forest Service said it has received reports of cut locks and damage to gates by people trying to gain access to areas for the forest that remain closed because of road and snow conditions. (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado, Environment, recreation, seasons, Snow and weather, Summit County snow and weather | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

ORV plan for Florida’s Big Cypress reserve triggers lawsuit

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

An alligator rests in the swamps of Big Cypress. PHOTO COURTESY USGS.

Conservation groups claim new trails threaten endangered species like the Florida panther and indigo snake

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Colorado is not the only place seeing conflicts between conservation and motorized recreation. In Florida, a coalition of environmental groups says it will challenge a federal plan to open up additional off-road vehicles trails in 146,000 acres of land added to  Big Cypress National Reserve in 1988.

Big Cypress has been operated as a multi-use area by by the National Park Service, providing access for ORV use and hunting. Click here to learn more about the Addition Lands.

But conservation groups say motorized use has resulted in severe damage to the area’s natural resources. In the lawsuit, the groups claim the federal government is not living up to its obligations to protect endangered species like the Florida panther and red-cockaded woodpecker, and threatened species, such as the Eastern indigo snake, which inhabit the area slated to be carved with ORV trails. (more…)

Filed under: biodiversity, endangered species, Environment, national parks, public lands, recreation, wetlands, wildlife | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Forest Service sued over roads on Pike-San Isabel NF

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

Conservation and recreation groups are suing the Forest Service over a decision to designate more motorized routes on the Pike-San Isabel National Forest.

Groups claim agency acted illegally in designating motorized routes without an environmental study and without public input

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — A coalition of conservation and recreation groups is suing the U.S. Forest Service over what they say is the illegal addition of 500 miles of motorized roads and trails on the Pike-San Isabel National Forest.

In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court, the groups charge that the agency sidestepped the law and ignored its own regulations by designating the roads as open for motorized use without showing any evidence that the decision was backed by environmental studies and without public comment. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, forests, recreation, Summit County Colorado, US Forest Service | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

County OKs moto-park plan for landfill property

Posted on June 23, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

A map for a dirt bike park shows the proposed trails in the upper left.

Off-roaders, hikers, residents collaborate and find common ground

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — The county commissioners this week approved a plan for a  dirt bike and ATV park on the landfill property after local motorized users, hiders and neighborhood residents worked together for several months to to address potential conflicts.

The network of trails is shielded in a shallow valley, preventing most of the noise from reaching the Summerwood subdivision, across Highway 6. Assistant county manager Thad Noll said a site visit to Summerwood helped convince residents that that sound impacts could be mitigation. The park could be ready for use within a few weeks, he added. See a full-size version of the map here.

As part of the agreement, the Summit County Off-Road Riders will reclaim closed trails, develop rules for the area and provide insurance that covers any potential Summit County liability. The off-road group will manage use of the area day-to-day and has also agreed to lead the charge on restoring wetlands in the area that have suffered from off-road use and other impacts. (more…)

Filed under: Summit County Colorado, Summit County news | Tagged: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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