May 2005
Wolf Creek Pass Decision Left to Forest Service
After four years of meetings with interested user groups, outfitter guides, and the ski area concerning winter use at Wolf Creek Pass, the group has split on its recommendation to the forest service for use of the north side of the pass. About half of the task force members asked that the north side of the pass be restricted to nonmotorized use. The other half asked that the voluntary separation keeping snowmobiles to the Lobo Road be kept in place and more education to users be conducted by the task force and other users. That group would like to see the area remain open to motorized use and be self policed. Thanks to grants from Patagonia in 2001 and 2004, and the Sonoran Group in 2003, the group was facilitated by a third party to determine the interests, brainstorm options, compare the options to standards voted on by the group, and come up with a recommendation for the forest service. Options ranged from no restrictions anywhere, to closing the north side of highway 160 to motorized use, to finding a new place where nonmotorized users would have a nonmotorized trailhead, to creating a new 3 mile nonmotorized corridor on each side of the highway.
The original intent of the task force was the following: the Wolf Creek Winter Recreation Task Force seeks to work cooperatively in a spirit of mutual respect, look at a wide variety of mutual and shared recreational opportunities and seek viable solutions to areas of concern. This may take into consideration improving expected recreational experiences, managing for mutual use, geographical boundaries, impacts on wildlife and environment, public education, and various kinds of solutions for enforcement, safety, and funding.
This is a big disappointment for nonmotorized users who would like some small place at Wolf Creek Pass to be restricted to nonmotorized use. The forest service is still interested in your opinion, so please write a letter describing your own experiences. Send it to Tom Malecek, District Ranger, Rio Grande National Forest; 1803 West Hwy 160; Monte Vista, CO 81144.