May 2002
Wolf Creek Task Force Meetings
The Wolf Creek Task Force met five times this winter to discuss winter use on the pass. Seventeen people from the motorized, non-motorized, and hybrid communities, and agencies managing the land and highway corridor met biweekly and discussed where the different groups liked to recreate and why. Issues of concern were safety, quiet, and ease of access.
The non-motorized community wanted the area on the North Side of the highway (160) to become non-motorized. Snowmobilers were ready to concede this area. However, hybrid users (those that use a snowmobile to tow snowboarders and skiers into the backcountry) felt that this was the prime spot for them to recreate on the pass. To this end, the outcome of the meetings is that snowmobile use on the north side of the pass will be confined to the Lobo Road that goes up to the radio towers. Other minor changes consist of putting up signs to keep motorized users off of the ski area and reserving one portion of the parking lot on the north side of the pass for non-motorized users. In addition data will be collected to determine who uses the area, what they like about it and why, and what (if any) changes could be made to enhance their experience. This will form the basis of renewed discussions about use for next year.
The task force will continue to meet this summer and likely next winter to determine how to implement this change and collect data. Your input is welcome. Please review the minutes of the meetings to give you a feel for what happened in the discussions this winter. Those can be found at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/riogrande/visitor/wcpwrtf/wcpwrtf.htm. Contact us with your comments.