Friends of Fourmile - Chapter Page Update February 16, 2012
 |
OVERVIEW
Our specific objectives are to assist the BLM and USFS in implementing the area’s citizen-formulated Fourmile Travel Management Plan, including to
Friends of Fourmile is non-partisan with respect to favoring or promoting one type of recreational activity over another (e.g. motorized or non-motorized). It is focused simply on helping the land managing agencies implement their approved travel management plan, which is itself the product of a long public process involving all types of user groups. DOWNLOAD FOURMILE MAPS
FOR MORE INFORMATION
TO BECOME A FRIENDS OF FOURMILE CHAPTER MEMBER
PLEASE WATCH THIS PAGE FOR UPDATES ON FRIENDS PROJECTS |
 |
This
GARNA chapter consists of volunteers from the motorized and non-motorized
recreational communities who have special concern for the 100,000
ac Forest Service/BLM area in northern Chaffee County called Fourmile.
Our overall goal is good stewardship of the land’s resources (meaning a minimum of direct and indirect impacts) and maintenance of a balance among various recreational uses.REVIEW PAST CHAPTER UPDATES
Year 2010 Activities - Modest But Continuing...
Year 2009 - Activities and Emerging Issues
Spring and Mid Summer 2008 Update "Maintenance and New Directions"
Spring and Early Summer 2007 Update “Keeping up the good work”
Fall 2006 Friends Highlights “Driving Tour, Restorations and Midland Bike Trail”
Spring and Early Summer 2006 Update “Hiking and Biking Trails”
Year 2011 Activities – “More trail building, monitoring and responding to problem issues”
Chapter expresses views on proposals to open additional County roads to unlicensed OHVs In February, 2012 public meetings, the Friends of Fourmile is presenting its views on a proposal by local OHV enthusiasts to open some 21 Chaffee County roads to unlicensed OHVs (ATVs and off-road motorcycles), some of which are within or lead to Fourmile. As a group which does its best to represent all recreational users, from non-motorized to motorized, we are working hard to see both sides of this issue, as we have since our formation over 9 years ago. Having over this spanspent more than 10,000 volunteer hoursreaching out to user groups, contacting visitors, doing surveys, mapping resource issues, preparing and distributing brochures, trail building, sign maintenance, campsite control projects and in meetings with our Forest Service and BLM partners, we’ve gained a certain credibility with users and partners as well as elected officials. Here briefly is what we’re contributing to the discussion:
- Since a Travel Management Plan based on citizen input was approved in 2003, our Chapter, working with the agencies and other volunteer groups has made great progress in controlling earlier resource impacts associated with unregulated off-road driving and unmanaged camping sites, and in educating user groups how to appropriately treat public lands .
- This good management plus over 180 miles of available designated motorized routes and dedicated OHV trails has become well-known to both local and Front Range visitors, particularly OHV enthusiasts, whose numbers have increased at least two to three-fold since 2003. While there has been marked improvement in compliance about sticking to designated routes and treating other users courteously, the remarkable increase in numbers and the style of OHV userscamping in large recreational vehicles and trucks with trailers has led to dramatic increases in the number of camping sites, expansion of existing areas, and serious resource damage due to unregulated play by young OHV drivers. Excessive speed and aggressive driving by some motorcyclists remains a problem.
- Increased popularity of Fourmile with OHV users, especially on heavy use summer weekends when other users are also anxious to be out recreating, has led to alienation of some hikers, bicyclists, conventional 4x4 drivers and others seeking quieter human-powered forms of recreation. They now go elsewhere.
- Because the Chapter’s primary goals are good stewardship of the land and maintaining an equitable balance between different uses, we are expressing our concern over current proposals which would increase use by OHVsand keeping an eye on future trail proposals from the rapidly-expanding mountain-biking community. We feel that, although these activities are legitimate under the multiple recreational use policies of Fourmile’s FS and BLM managers, they should not be allowed to expand withoutaggressive attention to controlling their direct impacts (damage to existing roads and resources, or impacts of creating new designated routes) as well as their indirect impacts (campsite expansion and damage, crowding, new staging area development, and displacement of other users.)
- Our advice to County Commissioners who are considering granting requests of additional open routes in Fourmile is to proceed very cautiously and avoid the end result of “Loving Fourmile to death.” And although somewhat outside our mandate, we suggest the Commissioners look to the unintended consequences of having made Fourmile such a popular OHV area as a kind of heads up for other areas of the County where a similar story might unfold.
If interested in a detailed version of the Chapter’s position, including comments on specific roads, you can request it by emailing Alan Robinson at robinson@chaffee.net
Alan Robinson, Friends of Fourmile Publicity Coordinator/Board Representative, commenting during a discussion on OHVs on county roads.
OHV discussion on St Elmo/Alpine roads issues at Mt Princeton Hot Springs February 15, 2012.Fourmile volunteers join BLM, VOC and other local groups to build Ruby Mountain trail For the fourth time since 2005 the Friends of Fourmile had a major role in developing a new or rehabilitated hiking trail within Fourmile. This June 2011 effort, with the Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, was the culmination of 4 years of planning and design in conjunction with the BLM, Quiet Use Coalition, Backcountry Horsemen and others. It’s a 2 mile trail into the north end of the BLM’s Browns Canyon Wilderness Study Area (WSA), eliminating an unauthorized route that crossed private property. Since the WSA is managed as if it were designated Wilderness, the trail is open to hikers and horse users but does not permit motorized or mechanized vehicles, including bicycles. Starting at the BLM’s parking area just east of the Ruby Mountain AHRA campground it takes a moderately strenuous course south up and over a rocky ridge and offers spectacular views southeast over the WSA and Arkansas River as well as westward to the Collegiate Peaks. It was laid out by BLM, QUC and Friends volunteers to offer a rugged but easily followed trail consistent with the challenging conditions encountered in the WSA itself, where currently there are no maintained trails. Whether or not a wider formal Browns Canyon Wilderness is designated, this new trail will likely remain the most convenient and well-known northern entry into the WSA. In just the few months of the remaining 2011 summer, the trail has become well used and drawn high praise from local hikers.
Volunteers discuss trail alignment through a difficult section…
Trail is located east of Ruby Mountain (foreground) to avoid crossing its privately owned land…
The trail was designed to offer views of the Arkansas River and the Browns Canyon WSA to the east (right)…Leave No Trace designates Fourmile as "Hot Spot" to focus on educating visitors Late in 2011 the Chapter learned that Fourmile has been designated a “Hot Spot” from the nationally-known Leave No Trace program. This status will result in several thousand dollars’ worth of technical advice, training and educational materials which will assist local volunteers and agency staff in spreading the word of this very successful program, which seeks to educate public lands users on principles to follow in recreation and camping (http://www.lnt.org/programs/principles.php). In addition to national publicity through press releases, LNT staff will come to Buena Vista April 27-28, 2012 to do a local school program and then a training session in which volunteers from the Chapter and other local user groups as well as staff of the BLM and Forest Service will learn more about LNT principles, and more importantly, get advice on how to effectively communicate those lessons to the public during patrols and other visitor contacts. Over Memorial Day 2012 (see report below) the LNT folks will return to participate in visitor contacts and mentor volunteers as they deliver the LNT message. If GARNA members or others have a special interest in the Hot Spot training and wish to get involved, contact Lyn Berry and Jeanne Younghaus (jlarkriver@rockymountains.net).
LNT volunteers facilitating a youth activity to share principles of good camping and backcountry behavior. Courtesy: LNT Hot Spot website
Fourmile brochure to get updated and a new look Perhaps the most appreciated and successful activity of the Friends Chapter over the past 8 years has been production and distribution of large trailhead “kiosk”maps and an informational brochure. To date some 50,000 Fourmile brochures have been produced and distributed, with writing and design by volunteers and printing costs underwritten by the agencies, grants, and public donations. Of those 50,000 only a handful have been found discarded along the roads and trails. (Copies of the brochure as well as ones we’ve produced for the Whipple Trail system in Buena Vista and the 18 mile Midland Bicycle Trail can be downloaded from links in the Chapter Summary above.) Kiosk maps at eight different entry points have been maintained and maps updated as conditions change.
In 2012, before the summer season starts, we plan on a major revision of the Fourmile brochure, updating and expanding it to reflect the Forest Services’ Motor Vehicle Use Map (which shows routes designated for motorized and non-motorized use and is used in law enforcement) and any county roads that might be open to unlicensed OHVs. It will also contain Leave No Trace messages adapted to our situation, advice on how to behave responsibly while driving roads and motorized trails, safety and emergency information, and local area history. It may even go modern and include one of those little coded icons which can be scanned by a smart phone which leads you to the GARNA website and more information! We’ll give a link to the revised brochure as soon as it’s completed.Camping guidelines approved and posted in heavy use areas
After development and review with the agencies, a set of guidelines for responsible camping has been approved by both the BLM and Forest Service. With poster printing costs covered by the Chapter and the large wooden kiosks provided by the Forest Service, three such guideline kiosks have been installed at critical locations to encourage campers not to expand current impacted sites, to control young OHV drivers in camp, be safer with fire and how to deal with trash and sanitation. This is one tool in the agencies’ toolbox of measures to help control unintended consequences of rapidly increasing camping with large vehicles and groups that has become so popular.
Memorial Day Weekend surveys: contacting visitors and assessing changing use patterns For the past 8 years Fourmile volunteers have joined BLM, Forest Service and other volunteersin a concerted effort to patrol, observe and contact visitors on Memorial Day weekends. Overall these have been very positive events, well received by visitors, and they have confirmed many improvements in resource conditions and visitor compliance with regulations.In 2009 volunteers instituted informal “windshield” surveys to collect information on type of use, number of vehicles of different types, number of campsites occupied and other information which doesn’t require directly contacting visitors but merely observing and taking notes. Results for 2009 and 2010 have been reviewed in earlier updates. These concluded that Memorial Day is indeed the peak weekend for Fourmile, that up to 87% of users then are associated with OHVs, and that overnight camping is primarily by OHV users in family or friends groups with multiple large vehicles. Because these are windshield surveys (not objective counting) and do not cover many years, they don’t measure absolute numbers; but they do provide a good indication of a general trend to significantly increasing numbers of day visitors and campers. However, since 2007 there have been vehicle counters maintained by the BLM on two principal entry roads to north Fourmile (CR375 and CR304 at the Midland Bike trailhead). These are objective counting methods which show significant upward trends in vehicle counts (at 375) of 2 to 3 fold over that period. The 2011 CR375 car counters show a large jump over 2010, possibly related to weather conditions in the spring of 2011 where snow at higher elevations lingered and more Front Range origin OHVs turned to snow-free Fourmile. At the 375 entry point, where there is a large OHV staging area, and where many OHV parties enter to find camping sites inside Fourmile, it’s clear that these 2-3 fold increases are by motorized users.The CR304 counter at the Midland Trailhead parking area shows only small increases, confirming observations oflimited OHV entry there and reflecting the 20+ year traditional bicycle and hiker use of the popular (non-motorized) Midland Bike Trail.
An even more extensive effort on Memorial Day 2012 is being planned, incorporating staff from the Leave No Trace Hot Spot program (see above) with an “open camp” area in Fourmile where users can drop by for a hot dog and introduction to the LNT principles and face time with volunteers and agency staff.
The 2011 windshield survey was not conducted by exactly the same observers and has revealed problems in making consistent observations year to year. But basic results are the same, indicating that peak weekend use is predominantly by OHV parties (66% in 2011) and that many campsite issues like new sites, expansions, and damage from play in campsites takes place on peak days. For unexplained reasons the 2011 windshield survey did not detect the large increase in vehicle entries over 2010 that BLM car counter data did, but counters are a better indicator of absolute numbers.
Use of Fourmile by non-OHV users (hikers, mountain bikers, horseback riders, conventional 4x4 drivers, fishermen, photographers) is not centered on peak days like Memorial Day but is more evenly distributed throughout summer and even winter (for local residents). Indeed many non-OHV users indicate they avoid Fourmile on peak days because of potential conflict, and some have shifted completely away due to their perception that the area has been tacitly cededto OHV use. Other observations by volunteers indicate that although mid-week use by OHVs is still much lower than weekend or peak days, nevertheless the perceived image of OHV dominance seems to be widespread.
Information gleaned from Memorial Day surveys as well as thousands of other hours of visitor contact have informed the Chapter’s position on increased use by OHVs and others (see first update above).
Typical Memorial Day activity at OHV staging areaat the CR375 entrance.
Detailed map of concentrated camping sites used in windshield surveys.
Annual Fourmile guided hike: an under-subscribed opportunity but with a loyal following
For about the 5th year, Chapter volunteers have led an organized, advertised short off-trail day hike into one of the most attractive or instructive parts of Fourmile. This year’s hike was attended by only five or six, but nonetheless was enthusiastically enjoyed. The area was in “south” Fourmile (south of 285/24) off dead-end Forest Road 188A for a 4-mile shuttle-assisted crossing of some of our most favorite rock formations east of Castle Rock Gulch. Here are a couple of images:
Look for next summer’s guided hike in GARNA’s springtime-published schedule and join the fun!
Update submitted by:
Alan Robinson
Publicity Coordinator/Board Representative
Friends of Fourmile Chapter of GARNA
33700 Mt. Harvard Circle, Buena Vista, Colorado USA 81211
Tel/fax: (719) 395-3396 Cell (719) 221-1259
e-mail: robinson@chaffee.net
http://www.garna.org/Friends-of-fourmile.htm
