The U.S. Bureau of Land Management on Wednesday will reopen several areas around Durango that have been closed to provide winter range for deer and elk that is untraveled by humans.
All trails in the Twin Buttes, Grandview Ridge and Animas City Mountain areas will be available again for public use.
The BLM recently adjusted its trail closure dates in its new management plan, which was released in late February. The closures are now set in stone from Dec. 1 to April 15 and “may be extended to April 30 if conditions and wildlife needs are warranted.”
When the winter closures were started in December 1996 – put in place because of a large increase of trail usage on Animas City Mountain in the early 1990s – they were set to run from Dec. 1 to April 15, based on conditions. If the wildlife wasn’t being forced to lower elevations by heavy snows, the closures wouldn’t go into effect. Once the closure went into effect, it would extend until at least March 1, but no later than April 15.
Since 1996, the closures had remained on that schedule until the new plan was recently released. This past winter, for instance, the closures didn’t go into effect until Dec. 15.
But the BLM’s new management plan changed those “soft” closures to “hard” closures. In other words, next year the closure will occur Dec. 1 no matter the conditions and will extend until April 15, or even April 30.
The closures were altered with backing from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said agency spokesman Joe Lewandowski. He said data collected, including big game wearing radio collars, indicate the closures should be fixed. Elk and deer don’t move on the same schedule as humans.
“They do stay lower into this time of year, into April, even though it’s been a real warm winter,” Lewandowski said. “Keeping this closure is best for the big game of Southwest Colorado.
“This gives the public a clearer expectation on when things are open and when things are closed.”
The Twin Buttes area actually falls within the city of Durango’s jurisdiction, and the city decided last fall to go along with the BLM’s “hard” closures. But the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and possibly the Natural Lands Preservation Board could look at the issue again this coming fall.
Parks and Recreation Director Cathy Metz said she hadn’t heard any complaints about the revamped closure dates.
When the closure went into effect in 1996 under a partnership between the BLM and Colorado Parks and Wildlife, it targeted just Animas City Mountain. But a few years later, the Grandview trails were developed and later the Twin Buttes trails. Both areas in the so-called urban interface were included in the closures.
“Every year, the city and the BLM close these areas to recreational use to ensure protection for the wildlife that are so important to our quality of life here in Southwest Colorado,” Connie Clementson, BLM Tres Rios field manager, said in a news release. “We appreciate the public’s support and adherence to the closures, and we look forward to seeing people enjoying the trails once again.”
Trails 2000 Executive Director Mary Monroe Brown said she understands it is easier for the BLM to manage the lands when the closures are set in stone. She also said she’s talked to trail users who are having difficulty getting their heads around the closures when there’s no snow around and the trails are dry.
Among the areas to reopen Wednesday will be Sale Barn, Big Canyon and Three Springs trailheads, the South Rim and Sidewinder trails, BLM trails accessed from the Carbon Junction trail, trails in the upper portion of Animas City Mountain and trails in Twin Buttes.
Assuming the user is willing to deal with snow, ice and mud, other local trails continue to be accessible year-around, including the Horse Gulch trails, the lower part of Animas City Mountain, Dalla Mountain Park, Overend Mountain Park, the Carbon Junction Trail and Crites Connection.
Further information is available at the BLM’s Tres Rios field office at 882-7296 or the Durango Parks and Recreation office at 375-7321.
johnp@durangoherald.com
