Colorado

Samantha Abernathy

Conservationists trying to designate about 625 square miles of public land in central Colorado as wilderness areas are still whittling down the plan to address opposition from recreationists and the Colorado Army National Guard.

Four years ago, the Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign's proposal included about 650,000 acres in Pitkin, Eagle, Gunnison and Summit counties. The proposal is now at nearly 400,000 acres and could continue to shrink, the group said.

The Bureau of Land Management wants to eliminate off-trail travel by motorized vehicles and bicycles on more than 400,000 acres of federal land in western Colorado to reduce the environmental impacts associated with the increasingly popular recreational activity.

Prohibiting "open" travel in the Uncompahgre field office's jurisdiction is intended to prevent the creation of new trails, as well as the widening of existing routes, BLM officials say.

Dennis Webb

Off-trail travel by motorized vehicles and bicycles would be prohibited on hundreds of thousands of acres south of Grand Junction under a proposed decision by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

The agency’s Uncompahgre Field Office has released a plan eliminating what is referred to as an “open” travel management designation for 410,351 acres within the field office’s jurisdiction.

I have been living in this wonderful part of the world for a little longer than five years. There are countless reasons why I love to live here, and one of them is the wildness and natural wonder that surround me.

I am a supporter of the Hidden Gems wilderness campaign. My belief is that every single person in this great state of Colorado benefits greatly from having wilderness, and these proposal areas deserve wilderness protection. I feel extremely lucky to be in the position to support a new addition of land that fits the characteristics of wilderness.

Colorado legislators are taking a hard line against damage to public lands. Last week, Sen. Mark Udall and Rep. John Salazar introduced federal legislation to clamp down on illegal and reckless activities on public lands.

Public lands recreation has exploded throughout the West, and especially in Colorado. Along with increased visitation, there has been an accompanying rise in damage caused by careless or reckless uses. However, agencies have had their hands tied when it comes to off highway vehicle abuse, vandalism, arson and other misuses of public lands. For example, federal law prevents the BLM from assessing a fine greater than $1,000 – even if the damage from violations costs thousands more to repair. Udall and Salazar’s bill seeks to modernize the law, which has remained unchanged for a quarter of a century. It would increase fines and penalties to as much as $100,000 and 12 months in jail for violations. 

There sure are a lot of letters to the editor in response to the Hidden Gems proposal. As a person that spends a lot of time in the outdoors, I don't know why it is even being proposed or opposed.

There isn't a “closed” road anywhere in western Colorado, that isn't littlered with ATV tracks regardless. Anything short of land mines, helicopters, and guard towers isn't going to stop ATV abuse of “closed” areas. There are no real penalties for taking an ATV into a closed area, so people don't care, and you cannot regulate ethics. Put up a gate and they will go around it, put up a sign and it will disappear or get shot.

Howard Pankratz

The destruction of public lands by off-road vehicles and fires caused by carelessness has prompted legislation that could result in stronger penalties for those responsible.

U.S. Sen. Mark Udall and U.S. Rep. John Salazar, both Colorado Democrats, have introduced legislation designed to deter damage to public lands caused by illegal or reckless activities.

Erika Stutzman

In today`s economic reality -- getting more money from the state of Colorado is akin to blood from a stone -- we need to be smarter with fee allocation in the environment.

Off-highway vehicles pay $22.25 in registration fees to the state, almost all of which is allocated to creating and maintaining the trails that they use. This is grossly inappropriate: The public lands belong to all of us. So while anglers and hunters pay fees that support their specific pursuits, but also go to wildlife preservation and law enforcement to enforce the rules, 95 percent of more than $3 million in off-road vehicle users fees go to build and maintain their own roads.

David Petersen

Colorado's public lands have experienced an explosion in off-road vehicle (ORV) use in the past few years. Most riders are responsible, but a significant number of reckless riders continue to venture off marked trails to cause extensive and lasting damage to watersheds and fish and wildlife habitat, while deeply eroding the quiet, meditative backcountry experience sought by hunters, hikers, backpackers, and other traditional non-motorized recreationists.

Currently, Colorado charges $25.25 in annual registrations fees for each ORV, which raises some $3.2 million annually for the state ORV Program. Logic demands that a portion of that fat purse goes to ORV law enforcement to assure public safety and prevent further resource damage, with another share dedicated to repairing the damage already done. But when it comes to ORVs, logic fails. As a recent Durango Herald editorial pointed out, virtually every penny of ORV "sticker fund" monies goes to maintaining, improving and in some cases expanding motorized trails on public lands, and to various forms of ORV self-promotion.