The San Juan National Forest has finalized its Recreation Site Analysis (RSA) and Plan of Work for management of the forest's 129 developed recreation sites. Those range from trailhead parking areas with very limited development, to full-service recreation facilities with amenities such as drinking water, flush toilets, electrical, and sewage treatment facilities.
The Final RSA and Plan of Work, and associated documents, data tables and maps are available online at http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/sanjuan/RSA.
"Our analysis and plan of work represent the culmination of nearly two years of work incorporating public feedback to best balance our projected staffing and funding levels with the interests of our constituents," said Brian White of the San Juan National Forest recreation staff.
Across the 1.8-million acre National Forest, the RSA Plan of Work calls for the management of 51 sites to remain as is, 14 sites to receive improvements, and 19 sites to be closed/removed. The anticipated cost savings for operations and maintenance is expected to be about $35,000 per year forest-wide, or a reduction of about 15 percent from current costs.
The goal for the RSA is to identify a reasonable array of recreation sites that can be managed to high standards and within budget without compromising the quality of services, public safey, or creating undue impacts to natural resources.
Plan highlights include:
. The toilets along the U.S. Highway 550 corridor on Molas and Coal Bank passes are expected to remain open under site-maintenance partnerships with local entities. However, if partnerships cannot be developed and implemented prior to January 1, 2018, the toilets would be removed.
. The free-use camping area at Little Molas Lake will remain free of charge, but its toilet will be removed. Campers will be able to use the nearby toilet at the Colorado Trailhead, which would remain open until mid-September as it has in the past. This toilet is about 600 feet from the camping area. (For reference, a typical design layout for a fully developed and hosted fee campground would include a toilet within 300' walking distance from paid campsites, whereas these are free sites.)
. No significant changes will be made to the operating seasons for Little Molas Lake and Andrews Lake recreation sites. The spur road leading from U.S. Highway 550 to Little Molas Lake and the Colorado Trailhead will remain open to motor vehicles from May 1 to Nov. 30. The spur road leading to Andrews Lake will remain open from June 1 to Nov. 30. Toilets at these sites are typically opened in May after snowmelt, and are locked in mid-September as the summer season ends.
. A floodplain delineation and evaluation will be conducted in 2017 within the South Mineral drainage to determine if any of the five free-camping areas are within the identified floodplain. Findings of that evaluation will help inform which specific actions should be taken at these popular summer camp areas.
. The toilet at the Junction Creek trailhead (Colorado Trail) will remain open in the near-term under continued care of long-term volunteers. If the volunteer effort ceases, the site would be added to the partnership effort described above. If the partnership model were to prove unviable, the toilet would be removed.
. The Lower Hermosa Campground will become a concession-operated fee campground with modestly improved services served by an on-site campground host.
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis will begin soon to analyze the actions to be implemented at the recreation sites. The public will have the opportunity to comment on how significant changes planned for individual developed recreation sites will be undertaken. For more information, please contact White at 385-1246 or brianwhite@fs.fed.us.
