August 2002
Steamboat Update
Members of the Friends of the Routt Backcountry have been meeting this summer to strategize for next fall's meetings. Last year, this group felt as if it did not make any progress; in fact, rights of non-motorized winter recreationists seemed to lose ground. The group is determined to work even harder this year to ensure that this trend is reversed.
Leslie Lovejoy, Executive Director, has been invited to participate on the Committee that is working on issues in the North Routt. This committee includes State Parks personnel, guest ranch operators, snowmobile tour operators, and concerned community representatives of Hahn's Peak Village. The purpose of this Committee is to look at alternate routes for a proposed snowmobile route running next to the Historic Hahn's Peak Village. The chosen route will be important as it will lead into the National Forest and if there are to be non-motorized areas there, the location of this route must not intersect those areas.
No decision has been made on the Blue Sky Road at Buffalo Pass. This decision is expected soon. (In case you missed the alert, etc., this is a road that the snowcat operators created two seasons ago and to which they have requested access. The problem is that it travels right next to the designated non-motorized area in the Buffalo Pass agreement. Because it is a road, it will likely attract snowmobile traffic thereby ruining the non-motorized experience at Buff Pass.
Events planned for this year include the Annual Fundraiser on December 14 at the Depot and the Wooden Ski Festival-date to be announced.