BLM plan authorizes ATV users more access
James Bouknight
Daily Record Staff Writer
Under a proposed plan by the Bureau of Land Management, ATV users may soon gain access to 6,909 acres that were previously closed to them but will be required to use only designated routes.
BLM's decision to open the Deer Haven Area, located about eight miles north of U.S. 50 on Colo. 9, to ATV users is part of a more general "travel management plan" for the Gold Belt Area, affecting 138,600 acres of public lands north of Cañon City.
The plan results from extensive public participation and is two and a half years in the making. It also regulates dirt bike, equestrian, hiking, mountain biking and target shooting uses on BLM lands.
Travel is presently restricted to existing roads on BLM lands in the Gold Belt Area, but, in July, the agency will begin limiting access using a designated trail system, according to David Walker, BLM coordinator for the plan.
"New roads were cropping up every year," because of an increasing number of users, resulting in resource damage, including erosion and negative impacts on wildlife habitat, Walker said.
The old system also was legally ambiguous and in need of clarification. If a user departed an existing road, their front tires could be considered illegal but their back tires legal because they were in newly existing tracks, Walker said.
Possibly because of drought conditions, new trails were usually immediately visible, encouraging continued use, Walker said.
"After a year, it was just like any other road," Walker said.
The Penrose Commons Area, which is currently open to ATV and other motorized uses, also will be affected by the change to a designated trail system.
While developing the plan, the agency attempted to balance the needs of recreational users while still protecting sensitive plants and wildlife, Walker said.
In moving to a designated trail system, the plan specifies how individual trails may be used, whether by foot, horse or mechanical travel.
Although there was initially "a lot of suspicion" surrounding the agency's attempt to regulate motorized use, many people in the off-road vehicle community believe the agency's decisions are fair, said David Kemper, a member of the Colorado Off Highway Vehicle Coalition who was involved in the public input phase of the process.
"The motorized community didn't get everything they could have," Kemper said. But, "I understand that BLM was trying to make everybody happy."
Environmentalists who were involved in the process also seem to agree with the BLM's decision to move to a designated trail system.
"We would have made some minor changes, but overall we were satisfied with the outcome," said Jim Lockhart, conservation chair of the Pikes Pike Sierra Club based in Colorado Springs.
Specifics of the plan are open to an official protest process, but those comments may only be submitted by members of the public who already have been involved during the planning phase.
The plan is anticipated to go into effect by the end of July.
James Bouknight
Daily Record Staff Writer
Under a proposed plan by the Bureau of Land Management, ATV users may soon gain access to 6,909 acres that were previously closed to them but will be required to use only designated routes.
BLM's decision to open the Deer Haven Area, located about eight miles north of U.S. 50 on Colo. 9, to ATV users is part of a more general "travel management plan" for the Gold Belt Area, affecting 138,600 acres of public lands north of Cañon City.
The plan results from extensive public participation and is two and a half years in the making. It also regulates dirt bike, equestrian, hiking, mountain biking and target shooting uses on BLM lands.
Travel is presently restricted to existing roads on BLM lands in the Gold Belt Area, but, in July, the agency will begin limiting access using a designated trail system, according to David Walker, BLM coordinator for the plan.
"New roads were cropping up every year," because of an increasing number of users, resulting in resource damage, including erosion and negative impacts on wildlife habitat, Walker said.
The old system also was legally ambiguous and in need of clarification. If a user departed an existing road, their front tires could be considered illegal but their back tires legal because they were in newly existing tracks, Walker said.
Possibly because of drought conditions, new trails were usually immediately visible, encouraging continued use, Walker said.
"After a year, it was just like any other road," Walker said.
The Penrose Commons Area, which is currently open to ATV and other motorized uses, also will be affected by the change to a designated trail system.
While developing the plan, the agency attempted to balance the needs of recreational users while still protecting sensitive plants and wildlife, Walker said.
In moving to a designated trail system, the plan specifies how individual trails may be used, whether by foot, horse or mechanical travel.
Although there was initially "a lot of suspicion" surrounding the agency's attempt to regulate motorized use, many people in the off-road vehicle community believe the agency's decisions are fair, said David Kemper, a member of the Colorado Off Highway Vehicle Coalition who was involved in the public input phase of the process.
"The motorized community didn't get everything they could have," Kemper said. But, "I understand that BLM was trying to make everybody happy."
Environmentalists who were involved in the process also seem to agree with the BLM's decision to move to a designated trail system.
"We would have made some minor changes, but overall we were satisfied with the outcome," said Jim Lockhart, conservation chair of the Pikes Pike Sierra Club based in Colorado Springs.
Specifics of the plan are open to an official protest process, but those comments may only be submitted by members of the public who already have been involved during the planning phase.
The plan is anticipated to go into effect by the end of July.
