Hundreds of miles of trails and roads crisscross the Rico-West Dolores region of the San Juan National Forest.

But who gets to use what?

Balancing multiple uses for recreation while protecting the environment, wildlife habitat, and hunting grounds is the job of forest managers, in cooperation with the public.

Since 2005, the Forest Service has been implementing travel-management plans on every forest in the West in order to better define recreation uses on local trails.

Locally, the Boggy-Glade forest travel management plan is complete, as is the Mancos forest district.

Now it's time for Rico-West Dolores, a massive public recreation area stretching from Dolores to Rico, and continuing from the West-Fork to Groundhog Reservoir and Lone Cone.

Open House

On Thursday, Jan. 15, at the Dolores Community Center from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., the Forest Service is hosting an open house on its recreation plan, called a proposed action. Forest managers will be on hand to take public input and explain the status of favorite motorized and non-motorized trails.

"We will have maps of the proposal and be asking the public to point out areas, draw on the maps, ask questions and tell us their concerns," said forest planner Deb Kill.

Kill reminds the public that Thursday's informal meeting is the beginning of a long process of community input and negotiations that could adjust the plan as needed.

The forest will be developing alternative proposals for the public to review based on input of the proposed action, she said. Additional environmental analysis will take place, and public input will continue into the summer.

"It is important to hear from people about what concerns them, with 'why' being the most important part," Kill said. "We want to know what is missing, did we go far enough, not far enough, what are the particular spots that are an issue for you, be specific."

'We can coexist'

Travel management plans include rules, signs, and enforcement. They inevitably cause some conflict among different users.

Motorized groups are disappointed with the plan, but hunters are happy with it.

Casey McClellan, of Timberline Trailriders, feels motorized users got short shrift, with multiple trails closed off, and a long seasonal closure.

"There are too many closures that don't make sense," he said. "Proposing to close the Horse Creek, Ryman, and Burnett trails to motorized is disappointing. They are very popular and are convenient to Rico hotels and restaurants."

The proposed opening of the Morrison Trail to single track motorcycle use is the one positive aspect of the plan, McClellan said.

"All the user groups have shared the trails since the 1960s," he added. "Closures are a Forest Service mindset, we can all coexist."

Hunters on the other hand are impressed by the proposal for a seasonal closure to all motorized trails from Sept. 9 through June 30.

The yearly closure would eliminate the overlap of motorcycle trail use with most of the big-game hunting seasons and big-game calving seasons in the spring.

"To be successful, a hunter drives to the end of a road and then hikes in a ways to find the game," says Matt Kenna, of Colorado Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. "If those trails have motorized uses, we have to walk in even further."

The closure allows for improved habitat conditions for elk and deer to overwinter with less disturbance, he said.

Lawsuit pending

Single-track motorized trails in the Rico-West Dolores area became the basis for a 2010 lawsuit filed by Colorado Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. (BHA)

The sportsman group challenged 14 trails designated for single-track motorized use, asserting that their impacts were not analyzed under the National Environmental Policy Act.

But a federal court disagreed, ruling in 2013 that the forest had authority to designate the trails for motorized use.

BHA appealed, and the case was heard last November in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.

"The goal of our case is to have these trails closed to motorized uses until the harms are properly analyzed," said Aaron Brynildson, an attorney who argued the appeals case.

Forest officials report the court's decision could have an impact on the travel management plan.

"It is a parallel situation," Kill said. "What comes from the lawsuit we may have to respond to."

jmimiaga@cortezjournal.com