jrsxj98
DILIGAF
- Location
- Crawlorado
Roads will be closed in Hayman fire area
By BILL McKEOWN - THE GAZETTE
The U.S. Forest Service will close or obliterate 55 miles of roads and all of the unofficial roads inside the area burned by the Hayman fire in 2002 — a move sure to anger some offroad enthusiasts.
The decision, to be announced today, will affect more than 50 dirt roads in Pike National Forest in Teller, Park, Jefferson and Douglas counties.
The most controversial part of the decision: About 11 miles of popular four-wheeldrive roads in scenic Wildcat Canyon that were closed after the fire will remain closed, said Sara Mayben, district ranger of the South Park Ranger District.
Besides closing or tearing out the 55 miles of marked roads in the burn area, the Forest Service will contour, reseed and block off all the informal roads that have been etched into the forest bed during the years. Those are estimated to span 35 to 70 miles.
Some of the formal roads that received regular maintenance in the past will be converted to motorized or nonmotorized trails.
The agency’s solution is a compromise: Fourwheel-drive clubs had urged the Forest Service to reopen the network of roads in the canyon, while environmentalists wanted the agency to make the canyon a roadless area.
Jerry Panek criticized the agency’s decision to make the canyon off-limits to motorized vehicles.
Panek, owner of Predator 4 Wheel Drive in Colorado Springs, a repair and equipment business, said his business has organized thousands of hours of volunteer time and raised thousands of dollars in donations and grants during 15 years for work to minimize damage and reduce erosion and sediment in the canyon.
He said the Forest Service decision will force hundreds of off-roaders onto already crowded four-wheel roads elsewhere in the region.
“There is no place else with that quality of fourwheeling plus that quality of recreation,” he said. “If not there, where? No other place that close to the Front Range has that kind of diverse activities.”
Mayben said the Forest Service is willing to let other public road agencies, such as Teller or Park counties, where the canyon is located, take over roads if they propose appropriate improvement and maintenance plans.
Panek said he and other four-wheel enthusiasts will lobby Teller County to do just that.
The Hayman Fire burned about 138,000 acres in the four counties, with half of that acreage burned moderately or severely. In the two years since, heavy rains and flash floods have caused extensive road damage and sent ash and silt into Denver’s water system.
Mayben said the road closures, many in low-lying areas near streams and gullies, are designed to reduce erosion, slow the flow of sediment into the South Platte River, lower the danger of flash flooding to motorists and reduce costs for the Forest Service.
Mayben said three other miles of roads in the forest will be closed in the winter to protect big game and habitat.
There are 260 miles of road in the Hayman burn area, but the Forest Service considered its options on only 130 miles. Of those, 69.5 miles will remain open with no change in use, according to the Forest Service record of decision.
Mayben said there is no schedule for the road closures, but some could start shortly after a required 45-day appeal process.
Other projects, she said, could take years to accomplish.
The agency has estimated it will cost $1.7 million to implement the road plan, with annual maintenance at $141,000.
DECISIONS
After an environmental assessment and a public comment process, the U.S. Forest Service has decided the following concerning 130 miles of roads within the Hayman burn area in the Pike National Forest:
- Keep 69.5 miles of classified, or formal, roads open year-round and maintain them as they are.
- Decommission 49 miles of classified roads or convert them to another use, such as a motorized or nonmotorized trail.
- Close six miles of classified roads to motorized vehicles yearround.
- Decommission all unclassified, or informal, roads, encompassing 35 to 70 miles.
- Increase road maintenance on 2½ miles of road.
- Impose seasonal travel restrictions on 3 miles of classified roads.
- About 79 percent of the 260 classified road miles in the Hayman burn area would remain open to public use.
TO LEARN MORE
- The U.S. Forest Service’s decision on road closures within the Hayman fire area can be viewed at www. fs.fed.us/r2/psicc/hayres, then click on the “Decision Notice” in the top left of the menu. To view which roads will be closed, closed seasonally or kept open, readers must open all five decision notices for the Pikes Peak, South Platte and South Park ranger districts.
- Interested persons or groups who submitted comments on the draft road plan are eligible to appeal the final decision. Each decision notice contains information on how to do that.
- Copies of the decision also can be obtained at the Pikes Peak Ranger District, 601 S. Weber St.
By BILL McKEOWN - THE GAZETTE
The U.S. Forest Service will close or obliterate 55 miles of roads and all of the unofficial roads inside the area burned by the Hayman fire in 2002 — a move sure to anger some offroad enthusiasts.
The decision, to be announced today, will affect more than 50 dirt roads in Pike National Forest in Teller, Park, Jefferson and Douglas counties.
The most controversial part of the decision: About 11 miles of popular four-wheeldrive roads in scenic Wildcat Canyon that were closed after the fire will remain closed, said Sara Mayben, district ranger of the South Park Ranger District.
Besides closing or tearing out the 55 miles of marked roads in the burn area, the Forest Service will contour, reseed and block off all the informal roads that have been etched into the forest bed during the years. Those are estimated to span 35 to 70 miles.
Some of the formal roads that received regular maintenance in the past will be converted to motorized or nonmotorized trails.
The agency’s solution is a compromise: Fourwheel-drive clubs had urged the Forest Service to reopen the network of roads in the canyon, while environmentalists wanted the agency to make the canyon a roadless area.
Jerry Panek criticized the agency’s decision to make the canyon off-limits to motorized vehicles.
Panek, owner of Predator 4 Wheel Drive in Colorado Springs, a repair and equipment business, said his business has organized thousands of hours of volunteer time and raised thousands of dollars in donations and grants during 15 years for work to minimize damage and reduce erosion and sediment in the canyon.
He said the Forest Service decision will force hundreds of off-roaders onto already crowded four-wheel roads elsewhere in the region.
“There is no place else with that quality of fourwheeling plus that quality of recreation,” he said. “If not there, where? No other place that close to the Front Range has that kind of diverse activities.”
Mayben said the Forest Service is willing to let other public road agencies, such as Teller or Park counties, where the canyon is located, take over roads if they propose appropriate improvement and maintenance plans.
Panek said he and other four-wheel enthusiasts will lobby Teller County to do just that.
The Hayman Fire burned about 138,000 acres in the four counties, with half of that acreage burned moderately or severely. In the two years since, heavy rains and flash floods have caused extensive road damage and sent ash and silt into Denver’s water system.
Mayben said the road closures, many in low-lying areas near streams and gullies, are designed to reduce erosion, slow the flow of sediment into the South Platte River, lower the danger of flash flooding to motorists and reduce costs for the Forest Service.
Mayben said three other miles of roads in the forest will be closed in the winter to protect big game and habitat.
There are 260 miles of road in the Hayman burn area, but the Forest Service considered its options on only 130 miles. Of those, 69.5 miles will remain open with no change in use, according to the Forest Service record of decision.
Mayben said there is no schedule for the road closures, but some could start shortly after a required 45-day appeal process.
Other projects, she said, could take years to accomplish.
The agency has estimated it will cost $1.7 million to implement the road plan, with annual maintenance at $141,000.
DECISIONS
After an environmental assessment and a public comment process, the U.S. Forest Service has decided the following concerning 130 miles of roads within the Hayman burn area in the Pike National Forest:
- Keep 69.5 miles of classified, or formal, roads open year-round and maintain them as they are.
- Decommission 49 miles of classified roads or convert them to another use, such as a motorized or nonmotorized trail.
- Close six miles of classified roads to motorized vehicles yearround.
- Decommission all unclassified, or informal, roads, encompassing 35 to 70 miles.
- Increase road maintenance on 2½ miles of road.
- Impose seasonal travel restrictions on 3 miles of classified roads.
- About 79 percent of the 260 classified road miles in the Hayman burn area would remain open to public use.
TO LEARN MORE
- The U.S. Forest Service’s decision on road closures within the Hayman fire area can be viewed at www. fs.fed.us/r2/psicc/hayres, then click on the “Decision Notice” in the top left of the menu. To view which roads will be closed, closed seasonally or kept open, readers must open all five decision notices for the Pikes Peak, South Platte and South Park ranger districts.
- Interested persons or groups who submitted comments on the draft road plan are eligible to appeal the final decision. Each decision notice contains information on how to do that.
- Copies of the decision also can be obtained at the Pikes Peak Ranger District, 601 S. Weber St.
