September 2003
Friends of the Routt Backcountry - Steamboat Springs Chapter
Summer is coming to an end, but the work for the winterized travel management plan never seems to end! The FORB ended last winter with an intense weekend retreat where we invited all interested members to join us in developing a forest wide vision of how we would like to see the Routt National Forest to be in future years.
This retreat came at the end of a long winter of work up in North Routt working with the Steamboat Lake Snowclub putting in "non-motorized" input into their winter travel management recommendations. All recommended nonmotorized areas continued to show increasing motorized violations and it became apparent that officially designated boundaries are vital for us to enjoy the sort of winter backcountry experience we desire and have fought for so many years.
Vera Smith from the Colorado Mountain Club came up to give us some advice and we began the process in creating this "Vision." The Routt N.F. was divided into sub-areas and values and desired future condition of each of these sub-areas was discussed and mapped out. The official mapping part of this project continues and will be complete in a few short weeks, with the help of Jim Linville heading this important project.
FORB met with our Forest Supervisor Mary Petersen in June, along with our District Ranger Kim Vogel and the newly appointed Recreation Director Ray George and talked to her about some of our concerns. Our primary concern is that the scoping process to begin this Winter Management Travel Plan is not delayed any longer.
FORB wishes to extend many thanks to all of the people and organizations who have backed us, taught us, supported us in working to create quiet areas in which to recreate in the winter. When we began this group five years ago we had no idea how to go about this process. With the help and encouragement of the BSA and then later the Winter Wildlands Alliance we were able to create a grassroots group of people representing all of the non-motorized winter recreationalists in the nation in helping to create a plan for winter travel management for this national forest. I would encourage anyone who has these same goals and aspirations to contact the BSA for help in your area and most important, JOIN the BSA.
Our next fundraiser will be our infamous Backcountry Ball coming up December 6th, 2003 at the Depot in Steamboat Springs. Come up and dance the night away in a continuing effort to preserve quiet spaces in the backcountry.
Leslie Lovejoy
Friends of the Routt Backcountry
http://www.forb.info/
friendsofroutt@mindspring.com