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The Eldorado Mountain/Doudy Draw Trail Study Area is the second of eleven trail study projects planned by the OSMP staff between 2005 to 2008. Extensive details about the project are available on the OSMP website at OSMP Eldorado Mountain/Doudy Draw TSA. A map of the project area is available at Trail Study Areas Map.
BATCO has been extensively involved in the study project. We've attended all the public meetings hosted by OSMP and we have participated in a group effort by a number of recreational stakeholder groups (members of the Boulder Outdoor Coalition or BOC) to help develop a unified set of trail proposals for the area. More infromation about the coalition is available at Boulder Outdoor Coalition Website.
In May, 2006, the OSMP staff released a Draft Trail Alternatives Report for the TSA. The report lists many of the public recommendations for trail access and includes the staff's evaluation of the pros and cons of the public suggestions. BATCO's recommendations for the trail alternatives are available at BATCO Eldorado Mountain/Doudy Draw Trail Alternatives Recommendations.
The OSMP staff's Draft TSA Plan was released on August 2, 2006. The draft plan includes many of BATCO's recommendations for trail access. In particular, the staff's recognition of the importance of multiple use trails resulted in proposals to significantly improve mountain bike trail access in the Flatirons Vista and Doudy Draw Natural Areas. Other user groups will also benefit from the designation of new trails, but will have reduced off-trail access opportunities, especially within the Springbrook Natural Area and the Eldorado Mountain Habitat Conservation Area. In general BATCO is supportative of the draft plan. We did submit recommendations for some enhancements. These recommendations are available at BATCO Eldorado Mountain/Doudy Draw Draft TSA Plan Recommendations.
In mid August, the staff released additions to the Draft TSA Plan containing recommended management actions dealing with undesignated trails. BATCO again submitted recommendations for modifications to the staff's recommendations. These recommendations are available at BATCO Eldorado Mountain/Doudy Draw Draft TSA Plan Undesignated Trail Recommendations.
On December 8, 2006, the OSMP staff released the final TSA Plan for Eldorado Mountain and Doudy Draw. The plan strives to find a balance between preserving sensitive resources and providing reasonable public access. It protects the Eldorado Mountain HCA and the Springbrook portion of the Natural Area, while allowing recreational access via the construction of new trails and additional user group use of the existing trails.
New designated trails in the TSA are estimated to be 8.7 miles (more than doubling the existing 7.2 miles of trails to 15.9 miles). Opportunities for mountain bikers will be significantly expanded, including bike access to Eldorado Canyon State Park; stacked loop trail opportunities in the Doudy Draw, Spring Brook, and Flatirons Vista areas; and bike access to the Doudy Draw Trail. Providing new bicycle trails west of Broadway and Highway 93 is a departure from a long-standing previous policy of prohibiting new bicycle trails in this area. An area for hang gliders will also be provided at the northern edge of Flatirons Vista on an experimental basis.
To protect area resources, the TSA plan proposes closing and restoring more than 20 miles of existing undesignated trails and incorporates a number of new limitations on historical use patterns. In particular, bikes and dogs are prohibited on new trails within the Eldorado Mountain HCA, equestrians are limited to on-trail access in the HCA and Spring Brook areas, dogs are limited to on-leash, on-trail in the Spring Brook area, and seasonal closures are proposed for the northern Flatirons Vista and Community Ditch areas. Visitors who confine their activities to the designated trails will benefit from the extended TSA infrastructure, while off-trail users will have new limitations on traditional accesses.
The final TSA plan is available on the OSMP website at OSMP Eldorado Mountain/Doudy Draw TSA.