TO: John Oppenlander, USDA Forest Service

FROM: Boulder Area Trails Coalition Board of Directors

DATE: August 8, 1999

SUBJECT: Travel management plan for Winiger Ridge, WestMagnolia, and Caribou

We are very concerned about the proposed travel management plan for the Winiger Ridge, West Magnolia, and Caribou. The plan would close many historic recreational trails without providing any alternative accesses. The closures go well beyond the requirements for a Type 3.5 Forested Flora and Fauna Habitat and are inappropriate and unrealistic for these Boulder County forests.

The primary human use of Boulder County National Forest is recreation. The Winiger Ridge, West Magnolia, and Caribou areas have seen significant recreational use in the past and are experiencing increased use presently. We support your efforts to protect the forest environment and to provide optimal flora and fauna habitats. However, we are convinced that the proposed travel management plan will not meet these objectives unless the Forest Service proactively manages recreation. The extensive recreational trail use in these areas can not be ignored.

Trails are not roads. The impacts of hikers, equestrians, and bicyclists are not identical to those of off-road motorized traffic. A plan that closes 60% of the roads and essentially all of the trails lacks balance and is unworkable. Provision must be made for trail users. The plan must provide access to a sufficient set of designated trails to satisfy recreational pressures. Otherwise, attempts at closures will be unsuccessful and will only lead to conflict, the proliferation of inappropriate social trails, and increased, rather than decreased, ecological damage.

To be successful, we believe the travel management plan must include at least the following elements (see the attachment for additional details):

1. Trail connections along Winiger Ridge between Nederland and Gross Reservoir (as defined in the County Comprehensive Plan ).
2. A recreational trail system in the West Magnolia Area incorporating the Boy Scout trail system to the north of West Magnolia and east of the Peak-to-peak Highway and a subset of the existing trails to the west of the Peak-to-peak Highway.
3. A trail corridor in the Caribou Area following the Switzerland Trail from the Rainbow Lakes Road to Eldora with provisions for one or more recreational trail loops.

These modifications to the travel management plan are essential. If appropriate allowances are made for recreation, we believe the recreational community will accept the majority of the proposed closures. Without these allowances, we will lose the support we need to make the plan successful.

We recommend a trail alignment running from West Magnolia Road, roughly parallel to Magnolia Road and the current Boot Trail, continuing east through the Dot-matrix Trails, then crossing Magnolia Road and following the Winiger Ridge Trail (including re-routes from the current alignment as necessary), connecting to Colorado Road 68J, and then east to Walker Ranch. Eventually this alignment would connect to a multi-user (hiker, equestrian, and mountain bike) trail from Walker Ranch down to the valley floor and through Eldorado Canyon State Park.

In addition, the Forest Service should establish connections northward from 68J to Twin Sisters and the Magnolia Road and northward from BCPOS Meyers Gulch trail to the Magnolia Road.

There are presently a number of undesignated social routes in use to make these connections. These include a patchwork of official trails on public land, roads, social trails, and private property. We can eliminate these routes by defining sustainable alignments that would minimize environmental impacts.

Recognize the existing network of trails in the West Magnolia area (south and east of Nederland) and make provision for a set of trails for recreational use. (Note that the Winiger Ridge regional trail would make use of some of these trails.)

A well thought out, stacked-loop system should be identified from the exisitng social trail network west of Peak-to-Peak Highway. There is a maze of trails in that area. Some are redundant social trails, which may be eliminated, but others are crucial connectors to other trails in that area. A trail route should remain open to Tennessee Mt, the Eldora Ski Area vicinity, and west to the Continental divide.

Define a stacked-loop system in the existing Dot Trail Matrix area. These trails should incorporate appropriate portions of the Boy Scout trail system (the Dot-matrix trails). The system should include at least the Blue-dot and Black-dot trails and appropriate connections from Nederland and the associated trails to the west of the Peak-to-peak Highway.

If we define sustainable trail systems in these areas, we will remove much of the pressure on the rest of the forest.

Historical mining activity and modern recreational use, both motorized and non-motorized, have heavily impacted this area. We support closure and obliteration of many of the duplicative roads that have sprung up over the years. It is essential to maintain access from Eldora to Caribou Mountain through Caribou Flats (CR 128J), to keep at least one loop trail around the mountain (505.1A, 128J and an alignment rejoining 128J at Caribou Flats), and to keep access to the town of Nederland (CR 128) and to Rainbow Lakes (116J).

In addition, the northward extension of the Switzerland Trail (H141.2 and 141.2) through Boulder County's Caribou Ranch should recognized and keep open to pedestrians and equestrians. The Switzerland Trail offers the only north-south connection from Nederland to all points north including the Sourdough Trail, and could eventually be a regional trail northeast to Gold Hill.

Again, we believe these modifications to the travel management plans are essential. They provide the balance necessary to make the plan work. Without these provisions to proactively manage recreation the proposed travel management plan will not meet its objectives.