Plotting the Alpine Triangle

Dale Rodebaugh

A national river-conservation group is drumming up broad support for congressional protection of 126,000 acres in the San Juan Mountains where, a spokesman says, spectacular scenery, remnants of a rough-and-tumble past and recreational opportunities make the area a virtual paradise on Earth.

“The area is one of Colorado's most unique off-road and backcountry resources," said Ty Churchwell with the Five Rivers chapter of Trout Unlimited in Durango, who is heading the preservation campaign. “Our motto is 'Keep It Like It Is.'"

The target area - anchored by the towns of Silverton, Ouray and Lake City - is called the Alpine Triangle, although the shape more resembles a polliwog, with a long tail heading northeast down the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River. This high-country terrain, Churchwell said, attracts 300,000 visitors annually who hunt and fish, admire towering peaks and wildflowers, explore 195 miles of four-wheel-drive roads, camp and backpack and visit old ghost towns and abandoned mines. The number of visitors doesn't include those who arrive in Silverton by train, he said.

“We want to form a coalition that includes counties and municipalities, watershed groups, sportsmen, private landowners, recreational-vehicle groups and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad," Churchwell said. “They all have an interest in conserving our heritage and our economic viability."

Don Short with the San Juan Trail Riders said he could support the campaign. The club, Short said, has 300 to 400 members, mainly motorcycle and ATV buffs, who frequently ride in the Alpine Triangle.

“We four-wheel all over that country just goofing off for a day," said Short, the manager for geographic information system services at La Plata Electric Association. “We're a club that wants to keep the area for everyone to enjoy the benefits of the outdoors."

Churchwell said Trout Unlimited, the oldest (51 years) and largest river-conservation organization in the country (140,000 members), is a logical leader of the campaign to get the Alpine Triangle designated as a National Conservation Area. The group's members are middle-of-the-roaders, neither hardcore environmentalists nor free-use advocates, he said.

The organization's flexibility characterizes also the approach to forming a National Conservation Area, Churchwell said. The interests of many stakeholders must be considered, so early participation is essential, he said. Consider the treasures found in the Alpine Triangle:

• The headwaters of three rivers - the Animas, Uncompahgre and the Lake Fork of the Gunnison - all important trout fisheries.
• Big game - elk, deer and bighorn sheep - and grouse and turkeys.
• Dozens of historic mining sites and ghost towns reachable via Engineer Pass (12,800 feet) and Cinnamon Pass (12,620 feet).
• Sixty thousand acres - managed for 30 years by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management as de facto wilderness - that is prime to carry official wilderness designation. The virtual-wilderness areas are around Handies Peak (17,000 acres), Redcloud Peak (38,000 acres) and American Flats (5,000 acres).

There are 16 National Conservation Areas in the country, including three in Colorado - Gunnison Gorge, McInnis Canyons and Dominguez-Escalante.

All Alpine Triangle stakeholders are invited to give-and-take discussions, Churchwell said. Ideally, designation as a National Conservation Area would restrict new mining, limit new road construction, limit new timber sales and prohibit off-road vehicles from opening new cross-country routes. The only activity that is an absolute no-no is the use of motor vehicles in wilderness, he said.

The role of the BLM, which oversees the National Conservation Area program, is just that - management, Churchwell said. Congress, acting on recommendations from interested parties, decides what is to be protected.

“Federal legislation to create a National Conservation Area is flexible," Churchwell said. “We need all stakeholders in the process, so now is the time for them to get engaged and speak about what they see for the future."

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Source: http://durangoherald.com/sections/News/Earth/2010/03/04/Plotting_the_Alpine_Triangle/

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