{"id":51400,"date":"2020-09-22T13:34:22","date_gmt":"2020-09-22T19:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/mountain-bike-park-controversial-dirt-bike-route-approved-in-silverton\/"},"modified":"2020-09-22T19:34:22","modified_gmt":"2020-09-22T19:34:22","slug":"mountain-bike-park-controversial-dirt-bike-route-approved-in-silverton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/mountain-bike-park-controversial-dirt-bike-route-approved-in-silverton\/","title":{"rendered":"Mountain bike park, controversial dirt bike route approved in Silverton"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"A
A new plan calls for nearly 30 miles of new trails just north of Silverton, geared toward boosting mountain biking.<\/span>Courtesy of Silverton Singletrack Society<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

About 30 miles of new trails in Silverton geared at mountain biking were approved Monday, along with a controversial route for dirt bikes through the San Juan Mountains.<\/p>\n

Since June 2019, the Bureau of Land Management has been re-evaluating its system of trails in the mountains around Silverton, in what is called a \u201ctravel management plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

For years, advocacy groups for mountain bikes have called for the implementation of a trails plan that would add about 30 new miles of trail<\/a> in an area just north of town to be called \u201cBaker\u2019s Park.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of about 30 miles of trail, the plan proposes about 24 miles for shared use between mountain bikers and hikers. About 6 miles would be one-way trails specifically for mountain biking.<\/p>\n

The trails would be located in an area just north of town, known locally as Storm Mountain and Boulder Mountain.<\/p>\n

Silverton Singletrack Society President Klemens Branner said the plan would provide much-needed mountain biking terrain around Silverton, which currently has only 10 miles of official single-track routes open.<\/p>\n

As an added benefit, Branner said more mountain biking options are likely to bring in more tourists, which should help boost Silverton\u2019s tourist-dependent economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore people doing stuff outside, that\u2019s a good thing,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s one of Silverton\u2019s greatest assets, all of the land around us. We just need to use it responsibly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The plan was not without opposition<\/a>, however, from some members of the public who raised concern that the new trails would lead to damage on alpine tundra and slice through prime, undisturbed wildlife habitat, primarily for elk and deer.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Bureau of Land Management recently announced the approval of a new mountain bike park just north of Silverton, which will feature nearly 30 miles of new trails.<\/span>Courtesy of Silverton Singletrack Society<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The BLM on Monday approved the Baker\u2019s Park project, taking it a step further by adding on the allowed use of e-bikes \u2013 an aspect the original plan developed by mountain bike groups did not call for.<\/p>\n

BLM spokesman Brant Porter said the effects to wildlife are being addressed through a timing restriction on trail use to minimize disturbance to lynx habitat.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese trails would not be groomed in winter and the trail system will close for the season when sufficient snow accumulates to prevent mechanized travel,\u201d he said. \u201cThe trails would reopen for the season once they dry after snowmelt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Branner said other than one trail located above tree line that was removed for supposed impacts to wildlife, the trails plan aligns with what user groups asked for.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re super excited about it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Baker\u2019s Park will mostly be built by fundraising and volunteer efforts, Branner said. He said construction could start as early as next summer. At full build-out, the new park could cost $1.4 million.<\/p>\n

Porter said the BLM will have a role in oversight of trail construction<\/a> and adherence to the environmental compliance documents.<\/p>\n

\u201cBLM also regularly works with partners and granting organizations to secure funds in order to build new trails, trailheads and restroom facilities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Dirt bikes<\/div>\n

The BLM\u2019s announcement on Monday also included the approval of a controversial new 1.6-mile dirt bike route over alpine tundra at the top of Minnie Gulch, essentially connecting County Road 24 and Forest Service Road 917.<\/p>\n

As it currently stands, County Road 24 dead-ends up Minnie Gulch. In the 1.75 miles or so between the county road and Forest Service Road 917, there is little trace of a trail, which is open to non-motorized use.<\/p>\n

The proposal to build a new route for dirt bike travel has raised concerns<\/a> that it will compromise the fragile high country and degrade prime elk habitat by creating more traffic.<\/p>\n

San Juan County commissioners unanimously opposed the proposed route in a February letter to the BLM.<\/p>\n

\u201cSan Juan County has clearly demonstrated our support of motorized trails throughout the county,\u201d they wrote. \u201cThe upper portion of Minnie Gulch is a very tranquil location. This is one of the few locations where you do not hear any traffic noises.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several Native American tribes, including the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute, also raised concern the new road would negatively affect culturally important sites, such as an old Ute trail used for traveling the high mountain passes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cumulative effects of the change in authorized use from single-track mechanized to single-track motorized on (Minnie Gulch Trail) would cause irreversible adverse effects to the cultural landscape and therefore result in an adverse effect to tribal concerns,\u201d a BLM report said. \u201cThe overall impacts to Ute tribal concerns in and on Minnie Gulch Trail cannot be mitigated, according to current information provided by the tribe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dirt bike advocacy groups, however, argued that motorized use was allowed in the area in question until it was closed off in 1997. The groups say connecting the two roads would create a loop to allow for more dirt bike travel.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not asking for something we didn\u2019t already have, we were just asking for it to be reinstated,\u201d said Gary Wilkinson with San Juan Trailriders. \u201cIt\u2019s obviously good news for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The BLM in a statement said \u201cthe rerouted trail will avoid sensitive landscapes and ecological areas to balance recreational opportunity and protection of resources.\u201d<\/p>\n

Porter said BLM will implement a season of use \u2013 no earlier than July 1 each year until snow closes the route \u2013 to avoid impacts to the elk calving season and reduce trail and resource damage.<\/p>\n

Lastly, the BLM formally designated about 12 miles of existing routes for public use as part of the decision.<\/p>\n

jromeo@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

to put small town on map as biking destination<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":51401,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,977,29,976,1562,327,629,810,195],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-51400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-mountain-biking","tag-newsletter","tag-outdoor-recreation","tag-san-juan-county-colorado","tag-silverton","tag-southern-ute-indian-tribe","tag-tourism-recreation","tag-u-s-bureau-of-land-management"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51400\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51400"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=51400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}