Save Hermosa trails!!!!

The last time we see this? (MTBs on the CO Trail within the proposed area)

The San Juan Forest Service and BLM have released their draft management plan. The Plan includes a proposal for Wilderness Designation for over 50,000 acres of the Hermosa Roadless Area. While the Hermosa Creek Trail itself will be unaffected, this WILL close a 20 mile section of the Colorado Trail to MTB's as well as several other great trails in the drainage including the MTB favorite, Corral Draw Trail.

Here are the public comment times/locations, link to the plan and fax/address for sending your comments (I've also included some facts you may want to drop in your letter):

Public comments about the plan will be taken for the next 90 days, and these public meetings will be held at 6:30 p.m.:

• Cortez - Jan. 16, Cortez Conference Center, 2121 East Main.

• Durango - Jan. 23, Durango Community Recreation Center, 2700 Main Ave.

• Pagosa Springs - Jan. 29, Pagosa Springs Community Center, 451 Hot Springs Blvd.

• Silverton - Jan. 31, Silverton Town Hall, 1360 Greene St.

• Rico - Feb. 6, Rico Town Hall, 2 North Commercial St.



The documents are available at ocs.fortlewis.edu/forestplan or on compact discs by contacting Laura Stransky at 385-1216 or lstransky@fs.fed.us.

Comments will be accepted until March 12 by fax at (916) 456-6724, or by mail to San Juan Plan Revision, P.O. Box 162909, Sacramento, CA 95816-2909.

A few facts you might include in your comment letter:

- The San Juan Mountains already have (4) very large Wilderness Areas: Weminuche, South San Juan, Piedra and Lizard head

- The Weminuche is the largest Wilderness area in Colorado at 500,000 acres....plenty

- Countless studies have listed mountain biking as a much less impactful activity that horseback riding, which is currently allowed in Wilderness areas.

- Mountain Biking wasn't even invented when Congress slapped the blanket "non-mechanized" on Wilderness

- The historical use of this Hermosa area is dominated by mountain bikers. Corral Draw Trail, Big Bend Trail, Salt Creek Trail.....and of course the 20 mile section of the CO Trail. It will be impossible to manage as Wilderness.

- The above stated, this area sees relatively light usage. This area does not need protected status. Wilderness would merely mean exclusion of a passive user group, mountain bikers.- Managing it as "primitive; non-motorized" is a terrific option, but do not exclude mountain biking.

- The Colorado Trail segment from Molas Pass to Durango is one of the premier, contiguous, backcountry trail options for mountain bikers. This should be intact.

- The Forest Service has been quoted as saying, "Other areas of the Colorado Trail are closed to MTB's because of Wilderness." This argument holds NO water. Just because the Colorado Trail has historically been routed through Wilderness areas does not make any case for adding this 20 mile section. Zero logic.