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What's going on with the Gulches?

subzali

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I don't check the RS Facebook page much, but I cruised over there and saw postings that say the Gulches are closed or in the process of being closed as we speak. I went to Predator's page and found this: http://www.predator4wd.com/halomegu.html

Update: IMPORTANT Update August 28, 2020


This has been a busy year for the fight to reopen Wildcat Canyon! Early this year, Predator 4WD and Colorado Offroad Enterprise (CORE) hired an attorney to file a FOIA request about the Forest Service’s actions with respect to the Park County trails in Wildcat Canyon.

Through the internal Forest Service emails we received in response, we discovered that South Park District Ranger Josh Voorhis not only helped block Park County from being granted an easement back in 2014, but he is currently collaborating with the anti-motorized environmental group Wild Connections to circumvent the ongoing travel management process and permanently close and obliterate the roads on the western side of the canyon.

Voorhis purchased metal barriers to block access to the Park County roads last summer and was still searching for a contractor to install them as of late 2019. Then this July, he gave Wild Connections permission to do a work project (funded by a grant from Park County) later this summer to remove all the old signs and fencing along the Park County trails.

This metal removal project was the first step toward full decommissioning in the plan Mr. Voorhis announced in an internal memo in 2018, which caused another Forest Service employee to say, “If our leadership wants to know why the motorized community does not want to cooperate with the forest service, this is a great example of why they don’t trust us. I don’t blame them for their outrage.”

Once those signs and fences (originally placed by Predator 4WD decades ago) are removed, it will be much easier for the Forest to obliterate the roads from the ground, and much harder for us to get them reopened. The Forest Service is allowing Wild Connections to proceed with this project despite the personal assurances of Forest Supervisor Diana Trujilo that no decommissioning work would be done on the roads in Wildcat Canyon this year.

This is unfortunate as it shows the Forest has no interest in partnering with or maintaining the trust of motorized groups who wish to see these trails reopened, and has already predetermined to close them regardless of public demand for motorized recreational opportunities in Wildcat Canyon. At this point we have no choice but to assume the Forest has not been proceeding with good faith in this matter, and to prepare for inevitable objections and likely litigation over the Forest Service’s malfeasance regarding these roads.

Call to Action

We call on all motorized recreationists to write to Supervisor Trujillo expressing extreme disappointment over her decision to allow Ranger Voorhis and Wild Connections to proceed with decommissioning these roads before the travel management process is even complete. We also ask that you write to Congressman Doug Lamborn, Senator Cory Gardner, and the Park County Commission about these trails. This is an election year, and enough attention from motorized users could persuade the county commissioners to reverse their current position that they want nothing to do with this controversy and will defer to the Forest Service’s decision to close these roads.

The fight is not over yet, and the offroad community in Colorado is hopeful that these treasured roads will once again be open motorized travel. Click here [link to full article] to read the full story of the battle for Wildcat Canyon.

Contact
Forest Supervisor Diana Trujillo - Send Email
diana.m.trujillo@usda.gov

Congressman Doug Lamborn - Contact Information
https://lamborn.house.gov/zip-code-lookup?form=/contact/email-me

Senator Cory Gardner - Contact Information
https://www.gardner.senate.gov/helping-you/help-with-a-federal-agency/other-issues

Park County Commissioner Mike Brazell -
Contact Information
https://parkco.us/FormCenter/Contact-Us-4/Contact-Commissioner-Brazell-182

Park County Commissioner Dick Elsner - Contact Information
https://parkco.us/FormCenter/Contact-Us-4/Contact-Commissioner-Elsner-180

Park County Commissioner Ray Douglas - Park County, CO
Park County Commissioners Office
PO Box 1373
Fairplay, CO 80440
Phone: 719-836-2771
Fax: 719-836-3273



This seems like a good time to go to battle over some of our favorite trails, but I just hadn't seen any update here yet...anyone with current info of what's happening on the ground there?
 

Hulk

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MDH33

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Im speaking from another state, but its absurd that any of these counties can have sway over state law. Get state on board, and local policy means zero. We see it all the time where i`m at. Local policies like this that take years to pass are overturned in a few days by state.
 
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