5280 Magazine – August 2019

AUGUST 2019 | 5280 | (^111)
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but trail users also need to adapt—
which means we’ll have to resign
ourselves to new norms. I’d rather
not give up nighttime rides on sin-
gletrack, but I probably should. I’m
even more reluctant to accept that
we probably can’t build many more
of the long-mileage, back-of-beyond
trails I adore: We’ve already sliced
up most of the land, and wildlife
desperately needs the few remain-
ing pockets of privacy to survive. We
all must prepare ourselves for more
traffic on existing trails. We may be
growing in numbers, but that doesn’t
mean trails can—or should—expand
at the same rate.
And I now expect the recreation
contingent to lead the way in wild-
life conservation, even if that means
accepting compromises to our
favorite outdoor activities. If I expect
it from loggers, grazing operations,
and energy developers—and I
do—I should be willing to join the
vanguard, too. m
Kelly Bastone lives in Steamboat Springs
and is a 5280 contributing writer. Email her
at [email protected].
and locations, which are keys to
identifying species’ declines—or
overabundance. (“Seeing a large num-
ber of one particular species doesn’t
necessarily mean that all is well and
balanced,” says Jeff Moline, resource
planning manager for Boulder County
Parks and Open Space.) Examining
that data alongside trail-use trends,
managers can observe correlations
and tweak policies accordingly. When
burrowing owls built a nest near a
popular regional trail, for example,
managers rerouted traffic around it—
though users complained about the
subpar temporary trail surface.
Some Coloradans, especially
those of us who have lived here
for a while, have come to expect
that we can recreate wherever we
like, whenever we like. But issues
such as the state’s skyrocketing
human population, development,
and global climate change simply
won’t let us sustain that sense of
entitlement any longer—not if we
truly want to keep our staggeringly
rich and abundant wildlife.
Land managers need to change
the way they build and oversee trails,
The recreating public embraced
the proposal as presented, and in
April 2018, part of the parcel opened
to anglers, cyclists, and hikers. Work-
ers will begin constructing trails
in 2020.
“I’ve been around a long time, and
this is the most progressive attempt
I’ve seen to balance recreation and
wildlife needs ahead of time, instead
of coming back after the fact and try-
ing to make it work,” says Wescoatt,
who adds that achieving that bal-
ance required compromise—and an
informed citizenry. “People want to
do what’s right for animals; there’s no
doubt about that. I just don’t think
the information was out there for
people to know what was happening
with wildlife.”
Wescoatt hopes that Brush Creek
Valley Ranch and Open Space can
serve as a prototype for future trail
development. “Ultimately, it’ll be what
the public wants to see,” Kirkman
says. “How do they want these lands
managed? How do they want wildlife
managed?” Education isn’t all that’s
required for collaboration: It takes a
shared consensus that nature is more
than pretty scenery. People have to
decide that wildlife matters.
NOT EVERY COMMUNITY gets a blank
slate of undeveloped land to shape
as Eagle did. Most land managers
have to work with trail systems that
already stress area wildlife, but even
in those places, I found evidence
that we’re getting better at manag-
ing trails—especially when we’ve got
good data on local fauna.
CPW just embarked on a two-
pronged, six-year study to examine
trail-use impacts on elk populations
in the Roaring Fork Valley and the
mountains above Steamboat Springs.
One part of the study fits elk with
tracking collars and vaginal implants
to monitor birth rates; the other
installs trail cameras to capture elk
behavior relative to human recreation
activity. “Our goal is to learn about
trail activity as it relates to wildlife, to
see if we can be smarter about those
trails,” says Eric Bergman, a CPW
wildlife research scientist.
Managers at Boulder County Parks
and Open Space and Larimer County
Department of Natural Resources
monitor population numbers
A trail in
Brush Creek
Valley
Ranch and
Open Space
in Eagle
County,
which has
some of
the most
progressive
trail man-
agement
policies in
the state
WALKING
ON
WILD
SIDE
THE