The Board meets the 1st Thursday of each month. The meetings begin at 7PM and generally last for about two hours. Board meeting locations vary from month to month. Contact any board member for meeting locations and agendas.

BATCO members and the public are welcome to attend. Please join us!

Articles In This Issue

This year's trail related activities have involved more talk than action and more planning than implementation. Continuing to be the exception to the "no new trails" rule, Boulder County opened new multi-use trails at Hall Ranch and the Rock Creek/Coal Creek trail systems and constructed additional components of the St. Vrain and Coal Creek trail systems. In addition, the County Transportation Department has applied for and received several DRCOG (Denver Regional Council of Governments) and federal grants for enhancements to the Coal Creek and Rock Creek trail system, the Boulder-Niwot trails, and the Diagonal Highway Bikeway.

The City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Visitor Plan discussions were perhaps the most visible and contentious of the year's many planning activities. An unfortunate decision by the Board of Trustees to exclude representatives of recreational groups from the plan's Advisory Committee created a great deal of controversy. As a result, last November's Open Space tax ballot issue faced organized opposition for the first time in Boulder's history and passed with a bare majority. BATCO supports all the County and City Open Space programs, but we have concerns about some management policies and practices. Hopefully these will be addressed as the planning process continues.

In other planning activities, the Forest Service completed a plan for the Caribou and West Magnolia areas that recognizes the important recreational qualities of the areas while defining actions to improve environmental protection of the resources. The US Fish and Wildlife agency began work on it's Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge management plan; and, the Boulder County Parks and Open Space held hearings on three major projects: the St. Vrain Trail Master Plan, the Gold Hill RPPA Acquisition Request, and the Caribou Ranch Management Plan.

All told, it was a busy and interesting year. BATCO was most actively involved and will continue to represent recreational interests as the various processes continue. We appreciate your support and encourage your active participation.

We've had another year of little progress on City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) projects. As we've previously reported, the OSMP Board of Trustees in their August 23, 2000 meeting adopted five "near-term" projects following a series of discussions of BATCO trail recommendations.

The first of these, a short (approximately 0.7 mile) connection north from Lookout Road to the Cottontail Trail was completed early in 2001. Subsequently alignments for the Greenbelt-Plateau-to-Coalton trail and a connection from Greenbelt Plateau to Flatirons Vista Trailhead were approved. We hoped to see these trails completed in 2002, but lack of funds and other complications have prevented either trail from being constructed.

The alignment for the Greenbelt-Plateau-to-Coalton Trail made some use of on the Highway 128 right-of-way. BATCO worked with the Open Space and Mountain Parks staff to develop this alignment in lieu of a configuration that was entirely in the highway right-of-way. Despite efforts by the OSMP staff to meet various CDOT concerns, CDOT ultimately did not grant permission to use the right-of-way. No additional progress has been made to define a new alignment. With the passage of the new Open Space tax we are hopeful we can bring new life to this trail connection.

Progress continues to be stalled on connecting the Greenbelt Plateau and Flatirons Vista trailheads through an existing Highway-93 underpass. OSMP recognizes the serious safety issues associated with crossing Highway 93, and has been actively negotiating to provide a safer alternative with FRICO, the company responsible for the Community Ditch. The most recent proposal features a bridge within the ditch underpass that would allow pedestrian and bicycle traffic without impeding the flow of ditch water. We support any improvements in the safety of the highway crossing and hope that the ditch underpass will be constructed in the future.

Another approved trail project, the Boulder Feeder Canal Trail from Boulder Reservoir to Niwot Road, has been on indefinite hold due to City of Boulder Utility Department concerns about water quality impacts. Despite offers from OSMP to take mitigation actions that could actually improve water quality, the Utility Department refuses to approve the project. Because of the importance of this regional trail, BATCO will continue to pursue the issues.

Progress continues on the Rock Creek and Coal Creek trail system. Ultimately, the system will consist of two trails following Rock and Coal Creeks from the west of Superior to the east County border, where the trails will merge. A large portion of the Coal Creek trail is already a reality. The trail stretches continuously from McCaslin Boulevard to 120th Street. Attention is now focused on the western end of the alignment and on completing missing connections along the Rock Creek trail.

A new 1-mile segment connecting McCaslin Boulevard in Superior to Dillon Road in Louisville was completed and open last summer. The County has also completed construction on an additional 1-mile segment west of McCaslin Boulevard on the Mayhoffer-Singletree Open Space. This segment will eventually connect with a future trail alignment along Coal Creek Drive and a north-south connection to the Coalton trail.

Significant progress has also been made on the Rock Creek trail components. As part of the construction of the C-470 Parkway, trail components were built within the highway right-of-way and underpasses. With the Parkway's completion, the County plans to use transportation tax and DRCOG grant funds to connect these trail segments (north to the Lafayette end of the Rock Creek trail this year and under Highway 287 to the County's Rock Creek Farm trails in 2005).

A connection west from the Rock Creek Farm to the RTD Park-and-Ride lot on 96th Street is also under consideration. The alignment is in the County of Broomfield and construction of this trail connection has not yet been scheduled.

Negotiations are ongoing between Louisville and Storage Tek regarding future development of the Storage Tek campus. A trail alignment along the west edge of the Storage Tek campus that would complete the connection from the RTD lot to the existing Superior trails has been included in the Storage Tek proposals.

Boulder County Parks and Open Space completed a small parking lot at the end of Antelope Road and opened a new 1.0-mile trail at the Hall Valley Ranch. The trail connects the northeast corner of the Bitterbrush Trail to Apple Valley. To minimize effect on the local neighbors, visitors should park at the main trailhead off Highway 7 and access the new trail via the Bitterbrush Trail.

This year Boulder County plans to use Transportation tax and DRCOG grant funds to complete trail connections at both the western and eastern ends of the Cottontail trail between Gunbarrel and Niwot. At the west end of the trail a connection will be made along the south side of the irrigation ditches to Lookout Road. To the east a trail will be constructed first east and then north to Highway 52 and an underpass will be built at Highway 52 to connect with the Niwot trail system.

County transportation tax and DRCOG grant funds will also finance enhancements to the bike lanes along the Diagonal Highway including improvements at the Highway 52 (IBM) and Airport Road intersections and a railroad underpass at the Boulder end of the highway which will connect the bikeways to the north with the Cottonwood trail.

Since 1999 the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Department has been working on a Visitor Plan. We've followed the process with great interest and have participated whenever possible.

During late 1999 and the spring of 2000, the first Visitor Plan Advisory Committee (whose members had been hand selected by the Open Space and Mountain Parks Department) developed a report which was published in March of 2000. We were somewhat disappointed in the results. We'd hoped that the committee report would add some needed balance to the department's approach to the recreational components of the Open Space charter and lead to enhancements and improvements in recreational opportunities on Open Space. The first committee's report attempts to prioritize the Open Space charter's environmental preservation component above all others. The recreational goals are said to be subject to the "overarching environmental values". Similar qualifications exist throughout the material. This prioritization does not exist in the Open Space charter for a good reason. If one use is given absolute priority over all others it tends to always preempt them and may ultimately exclude them. Thus we were concerned with the future development of the Visitor Plan.

A second Visitor Plan Advisory Committee was created at the beginning of 2003 to continue the process. The process started out on a positive note. Instead of having the committee members directly appointed by the department staff, the OSMP Board of Trustees asked for applications from interested members of the public. BATCO members and representatives of a number of other recreational groups (including the Access Fund, BOA, FIDOS, and BCHA) submitted applications only to discover at the end of the process that the Board had decided to disqualify any applicants that admitted an association with such organizations. Since we had been previously told that representation of such a group would get be a positive consideration during the selection process we were again disappointed.

Despite our unhappiness with the selection process, we continued to observe and attempt to interact with the new Visitor Plan Advisory Committee. We submitted our assessment of the present state of the Open Space and Mountain Parks properties and proposals for strategies to address visitor management issues

In June of 2003 the second Visitor Plan Advisory Committee published a report focusing on current OSMP conditions, critical concerns, and future management strategies. The report details five objectives and recommends strategies to meet those objectives:

1. Reduce conflicts between visitors and resources
2. Reduce conflicts among visitors
3. Engender stewardship among visitors
4. Maintain and improve trails and Infrastructure
5. Improve the quality of public discourse

The majority of the report focuses on the first two objectives (reducing conflicts). The primary strategy proposed to realize the objectives is a system of management zones and sets of corresponding visitor use rules and restrictions.

We are concerned that the Visitor Plan Advisory Committee focus was almost exclusively on negative visitor behaviors and perceived conflicts. Dog issues and off trail travel received a great deal of attention and several rather heavy-handed approaches were suggested to eliminate the perceived problems. Since the staff's own assessment of existing conditions is positive, we believe there is a real danger the committee's recommendations may lead to needlessly restrictive responses to minor problems with a resulting loss in public support and compliance.

Since the second Visitor Plan Committee Report was published BATCO has work with several other groups, including the Boulder Off-Road Alliance (BOA) and the Boulder County Horse Association (BCHA), to create a common set of proposals for the management of Open Space and Mountain Parks properties. In October the Boulder City Open Space and Mountain Parks Department held a public forum on proposals for management areas and strategies. At the forum representatives from BATCO, BOA, and BCHA presented our proposals and spoke with more than 100 interested citizens. Judging by subsequent public comments, our recommendations were positively received by a majority of those responding.

The Open Space and Mountain Parks Department will use the new Visitor Management Plan to determine visitor policies for at least the next ten years. If we want continued access to the existing trail system, new trails, and regional connections to County properties like Walker Ranch and Heil Valley Ranch, we need to be continuously involved in the process. Hopefully the staff's final Visitor Master Plan will support a balanced approach.

BATCO's detailed comments on the Visitor Plan Advisory Committee's reports, our OSMP Conditional Analysis, our Recommended Strategies, and our Management Area recommendations and strategies are available on-line at http://bcn.boulder.co.us/batco/

Adam Massey

In 2003, the Boulder Ranger District of the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest presented its Environmental Assessment for Caribou and West Magnolia Travel Management. The EA was the first step in determining the road and trail opportunities in the area and was followed by public comment and eventually a final decision. The assessment, which was produced with assistance from BATCO and other stakeholder groups, covered areas that have seen more than 100 years of historic use for logging and mining, and heavy recreational use in recent years for camping, OHV use, mountain biking, hiking, and equestrian activities. Past efforts have been made to limit camping and motorized vehicle use in some areas but this assessment was far more comprehensive. BATCO viewed our involvement as critical to the maintenance of some of the best recreational opportunities in Boulder County. Fortunately, the Boulder Ranger District's preferred alternative of its four EA proposals was quite acceptable, being both environmentally sensitive and supportive of current non-motorized vehicle use.

The West Magnolia (a.k.a. West Mag) area is south of Nederland and west of the Peak-to-Peak Highway and has been popular for years with equestrians and mountain bikers. The Boulder Offroad Alliance (BOA) considers the area's network of singletrack trails to be the best mountain biking in Boulder County. In recent years these trails have begun to deteriorate significantly as dirt bike riders have discovered the area.

The Caribou area is north of Nederland and west of the Peak-to-Peak Highway. The old Switzerland Railroad alignment, that runs south from Rainbow Lakes Road and through the new Boulder County Caribou Ranch Open Space property, is of particular interest to hikers and equestrians. Current planning would allow use of the Switzerland Railroad alignment by equestrians and hikers on the Boulder County Open Space property and by bicyclists, equestrians, and hikers on the Forest Service property to the north. The Forest Service section of the trail is a fun "out and back" mountain bike ride from the large parking area on Rainbow Lakes Road at the south end of the Sourdough Trail to the County's Caribou property (bikes are prohibited on the County property itself).

The public input process was the important step for BATCO, BOA, and BCHA. We mobilized our members to contact the Forest Service in support of the Switzerland Railroad alignment and the designation of more miles of non-motorized trails in the West Magnolia area. More than half the comments received by the Forest Service supported our positions with the remainder coming from a combination of OHV groups, local home and business owners, and environmental groups.

The Forest Service's final decision in September included everything we requested. It was a major success with more miles of designated trails in the West Magnolia area and the designation of the Switzerland alignment for all non-motorized users.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to attend an open house and/or send comments to the Forest Service in support of the BATCO/BCHA/BOA positions. Watch your newsletters from these organizations for opportunities to join us this summer on volunteer work projects to begin signing these trails as officially open to non-motorized users and to provide much needed maintenance.

For much of last year the Boulder County Parks and Open Space worked with two local consulting firms to develop a trail master plan for the St. Vrain Creek corridor from Longmont to Lyons. The plan's goal is to Identify trail alignments that achieve a safe, high quality recreational trail while minimizing environmental impacts within the two-mile wide project corridor.

In developing the plan the County used a two-stage process which we believe to be superior to the usual approach. Rather than developing a draft plan and than immediately submitting it for approval, the County published a draft plan in the spring, took public comment, and then spent the summer revising the initial plan before submitting it for final approval. The result was a significant improvement to the initial plan.

In response to public comment, the County revisited several alternatives that had been initially judged to be unfeasible and found them to be practical and desirable. It was also found to be possible to shorten the development time frame by almost ten years. Although this process took longer than the traditional approach, the result was a clearly superior product with enhanced public support. Hopefully future planning efforts will draw from this experience.

The latest level of the plan is available at http://www.co.boulder.co.us/openspace/management_plans/stvrain_mp.htm.

The County's application will be under discussion in the coming months. BATCO supports the acquisition of the BLM lands by the County, but we have concerns that the recreational components of the application may be insufficient to obtain the BLM grant. The BLM plans to schedule open houses to discuss the process and solicit input from the community. Watch your email and the local papers for more information and provide the BLM and Boulder County with your thoughts.

The draft application is available on-line at http://www.co.boulder.co.us/openspace/management_plans/gold_hill_rppa.htm

In 2001, Congress passed a bill establishing the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site as a future National Wildlife Refuge. Sometime after 2006, most of the Rocky Flats site between Boulder and Golden will come under the supervision of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In additional to providing urban open space buffers and a wildlife preserve, Rocky Flats' 6,000 acres could include a trail system to provide public opportunities for wildlife observation, photography, environmental education and interpretation. This trail system could connect to other trail systems in Boulder and Jefferson Counties.

Last summer, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service presented four management alternatives for Rocky Flats at public workshops. Alternatives B and D would allow various levels of public access. Alternative A ("the do nothing proposal") and Alternative C (the "ecological restoration proposal") would essentially ban public access. Only Alternative D allows horses. BATCO supported Alternative B with some enhancements we believe would better meet the Fish and Wildlife objectives. Specific items BATCO recommended include:

• Allowing equestrian access as is consistent with the surrounding public land regulations
• Moving trail alignments back from the site boundaries to isolate visitors from the impacts of adjacent roads and developments
• Providing a north-south trail connection along the eastern side of the property
• Providing a connection to the northwest to connect with the Boulder OSMP trails.

Suzanne Webel

Caribou Ranch is a spectacular new property north of Nederland, whose purchase from the Guercio family was initiated in 1996 by Boulder County and the City of Boulder. The property contains sweeping views of peaks and meadows, old mines and homesteads. The Switzerland Trail, a scenic railroad grade which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, traverses the property. Caribou Ranch has been especially important to the equestrian community of Boulder County since frontier days. It has been both a working cattle operation and a horse breeding and showing facility. Development of the Switzerland Trail at Caribou is essential to connect existing trails to the south near Nederland with the Sourdough Trail and other trails on Forest Service land to the north. At the time of purchase, recreational access to the ranch was deed-restricted to pedestrians and equestrians.

Trail advocates have been deeply involved in the management plan for this property. The Boulder County Horse Association (BCHA) is so enthusiastic about Caribou Ranch that this organization has committed to adopt the Switzerland Trail, offering volunteer time, expertise and resources to helping build and maintain it in perpetuity. This relationship would offer Boulder County an exciting new public/private partnership that would develop a sense of stewardship among trail users toward our shared public lands.

However, several recent developments may negatively affect the public’s ability to enjoy this spectacular park. Boulder County staff has recently proposed seasonal closures of the whole property for the entire months of April, May, June and September, in the name of monitoring and protecting elk and other wildlife. Many people feel these closures are excessive, since the wildlife consultants retained by BCPOS have explicitly stated that trails at Caribou Ranch will not have any significant adverse effects on the local ecosystem.

Research into the existing body of knowledge about elk management and discussions with wildlife managers make it clear that Rocky Mountain elk are not affected by pedestrians and equestrians passing through their habitat at any time of the year, nor are they ever aggressive in an open trail setting. A summary of this information, including references, is available on BCHA’s website at www.boulderhorse.org. Protests by BCHA caused the Commissioners to table a decision on this matter until staff could come up with a logical justification for its proposal. There will be yet another public meeting, perhaps in February, at which staff will lay out its most recent thinking on this subject.

In addition, staff has proposed that horse trailer parking for Caribou Ranch be sited at the nearby Mud Lake property. Negotiations for an off-road trail connection between the two properties have not yet been successful nor has a management plan for Mud Lake been completed. Staff has pledged to open horse trailer parking and a connecting trail as soon as possible. Finally, the County has been negotiating for public access over a northerly portion of the Switzerland Trail on Caribou Ranch, which has been retained by the seller. Staff says that the connection will eventually be made in Phase II of its management plan.

Boulder County has pledged to open a portion of the property in October of 2004, and has applied for a GOCO/State Trails grant to expedite this goal. Inasmuch as both BATCO and BCHA want to get trails built at Caribou Ranch in the very near future, we have supported the county’s application. We hope that if it is successful it will come with an exhortation to the County step up the pace of development of this park and to make it more accessible to the public.

BATCO memberships are for the calendar year. We ask that members renew in the spring. Memberships received during the last quarter of the year are considered paid in full for the next year. You can use the membership form in this newsletter to avoid the spring rush!