New technology should help residents who want to comment on the Hermosa Creek management plan, officials with the U.S. Forest Service’s Columbine Ranger District said this week.
About 15 people gathered Tuesday at the San Juan Public Lands Center with questions about the interactive mapping application that was designed to accompany the Hermosa Creek Watershed Management Environmental Assessment.
Viewers are able to zoom in and out, turn layers off and on, compare alternatives and submit comments on the map. There are tabs for forest plan proposals and project-level recreation and travel management proposals.
“This will be a two-tiered decision. We have the forest plan and then we have individual project analyses. … As a companion, we created, for the first time, an interactive mapping application,” said project leader Cam Hooley.
The Hermosa Creek Watershed Management Environmental Assessment lists the proposed uses of wilderness and special-management areas north of Durango.
Former President Barack Obama signed the Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection legislation into law in December 2014, designating 37,400 acres as a wilderness area and 70,600 acres as a special-management area.
Hooley said minor changes were made to the proposal, including the introduction of two new official trails, the Cutthroat and West Cross trails, and the addition of a new campground near the upper Hermosa trailhead if the funds are available.
The public is encouraged to review the environmental assessment and use the mapping application to submit comments; the deadline is July 10.
“Decisions are not made based on popular vote. They are made by rationale and impacts to resources. We only take popular vote partially into account,” Hooley said.
mrupani@durangoherald.com
