BLM land closures

[jd332001]

LAST EDITED ON Apr-23-15 AT 06:23PM (MST)[p]Anyone who hunts or rides ATV's or uses many of the recreational areas in Western Colorado should pay close attention to what is going on with the road closures on the Western Slope. An area where I hunt will not be close to ATV access but would still be open to "Permitted User's" which to me means outfitter's, private land owner's and public officials (BLM, forrest service officials, Parks and wildlife etc.) This particular area is shutting off thousands of acerage that has multiple uses. I do my fair share of hiking and packing in but these closures are going to hit home to many people who hunt on the western slope. Furthermore many areas will only be opened to motorcycles, mountain bikes, horses and foot traffic only discriminating against ATV's in my opinion. The bookcliff area north of Grand Junction is going to be hit hard (open unit which holds many hunters annually). The closures will in my opinion congregate a lot of hunters who can't get away too far to pack out an elk all competing for the same huntable area. Many of the off shoot roads that have traditionally been used will be shut down. Not going to be pretty in my opinion. Thoughts on the subject??? Anyone think these closures will be good?? Anyone with more knowledge of this than me can chime in. Thanks, Josh

 

[Elkduds]

JD, please post a link w more details. RU referring to Douglas Pass area?

 

[JimmyA]

Any additional information or links would be appreciated.

Thanks.

JimmyA

 

[jd332001]

LAST EDITED ON Apr-24-15 AT 04:52PM (MST)[p]Yes douglas area will be effected as well as 16 rd and baxter area how I see it. Here is an article on it in local paper.

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/arti...nds-to8232-strike-a-ba/#.VSfl-1tuPRA.facebook

Here is the link to the blm website that shows the diff alternatives. the one they are pushing for is alt b which will shut down a lot of roads. a and c are terrible. d would be great but highly unlikely. they also make these maps hard to navigate and almost imposibble to find out information. this could happen within the next year to my understanding and is in place for 20 years. again if someone has more knowledge let me know. thanks Josh

http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/gjfo/rmp/rmp/PRMP_Travel_Management_Maps.html

 

[Elkduds]

JDA, thanks for the link. Typical shallow Sentinel reporting: About 3,777 miles of routes now open to motorized vehicles on western Colorado land administered by the Bureau of Land Management would be reduced to as few as 2,375 under a proposal by the agency.

The Grand Junction office of the bureau today is to release its proposed resource management plan for about 1 million acres in Mesa and Garfield counties. The travel management section of the plan drew attention from off-highway vehicle riders, hikers, mountain bikers, horse riders and others.

The proposed plan increases the number of miles open to motorized travel beyond what had been contemplated under the preferred alternative that drew heavy public comment, BLM officials noted in a meeting with The Daily Sentinel?s editorial board.

Under the proposed plan, 59.4 percent of designated routes in the field office?s area will be open to motorized use. That's up from the 47.1 percent of routes that would have been designated for motorized use under the preferred alternative of the draft plan.

The proposal puts off ? until route designations are established for the most heavily used areas under the field office?s management ? the lands north and northwest of Grand Junction Regional Airport.

IMO, reducing atv use to fewer trails is generally good for hunting. The north Fruita desert is great for desert trail riding, not a lot to hunt out there. My read of this is that public pressure in the proposal process swayed BLM from their preferred alternative, w an increase of 12.3% (up from 47.1% to 59.4% of all routes designated for motorized use). So that is a net gain of 20% over the amount of trails BLM first proposed. The routes that are closed to motorized will be open to hiking, biking, horses. I saw nothing about industrial users having different access than public users.

And 27 1/4 Rd past the airport is so complicated, they don't know how to regulate that yet. Again, no hunting out there, but the shooting range is.

 

[elks96]

This is a really big deal! If I remember correctly there are over 1700 miles in the area they want to shut off to public. The real pisser is some of the areas will remain open to permitted users! So the average joe could hike in miles only to see outfitter with hunters flying down the road!

I am a member of the Grand Mesa Jeep Club and they have been working hard on this issue! Right now the BLM and the Recreational planner are not very motorized friendly. There are some very key places getting the axe.

The real crap is while this is happening, they are also starting the same process in the shite rover field office. This includes units all around meeker and in the NW

I would suggest anyone interested realize that the Jeep club is your best voice against road closures!

http://www.gmjc.org

 

[elks96]

I do know in area D and F they are closing down 2 access roads that make it a couple miles each into some really remot and rugged country. The problem is that when they close these 2 roads it will make it virtually impossible for the public to access some of the best country! They are not closing down all travel just the access point as a result the Big outfitter will still vehicle access off of private land making it virtually pointless to access by foot as the good hunting is already 2 miles off the road!

As mentioned the concern will be this, limit the roads so that those who can not access the back country get crowded. Then at the same time there will be a loss of access even for those of us who hike a ton. With all of that considered I would rather see the roads stay open and they put all this effort into enforcing the laws on the books!

 

[Elkduds]

Link to maps of proposed route regulations:

http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/gjfo/rmp/rmp/PRMP_Travel_Management_Maps.html

Administrative/Permitted use only routes are a major problem, as discussed above. Sounds like another big batch of Fed shenanigans that could give permitted users inc outfitters road access to areas that regular Joes and Janes have to walk or ride horse into. Lots of that country is rimrock canyons, so you can't just stroll over the hill to get into the next drainage.

 

[jd332001]

Elkduds that is exactly how I see it as well as far as the private landowners and the outfitters. I have called the BLM and they are very vague on what a "permitted user" will be. But based on everything else they do it will be you pay or you have private property and you get to use the public lands. In an area I hunt only the access is blocked off so it effectivly blocks it all off. Yet on their little maps they still get to count those trails as "open" when it is compared to their previous alternatives. They make it sound like they actually made significant changes? I know there are idiots that ride off the rodes and ruin it for everyone whether it be ATV's, motorcycles or vehicles but this is not going to be good for hunting. Furthermore once it happens here it will be a domino effect for Rio Blanco, Montrose and surrounding counties IMO. Here is a facebook link to a group that was very vocal opposing the shutdown last time and needs help this go in numbers if any locals can help. They also have a link to where to send comments.
Thanks Josh

https://www.facebook.com/#!/PLAA.co?pnref=story

 

[WoodsD9]

In my opinion a few bad eggs over that years that can't seem to follow the rules have managed to screw things up for the rest of us. I spend a lot of time up around Browns park in the spring and am expecting them to do something similar in the future as atv use has became a big problem.

The bad thing is this will only stop the law abiding sportsman and the rest will simply drive past the road closure signs!

 

[brooktrout]

I support the restrictions and hopefully some enforcement. I don't know about the areas north of I70 but the BLM on Glade Park/Pinon Mesa is abused by ATV's it is out of control.
I would look for clarification on the permitted uses as I don't think it includes outfitters.

 

[elks96]

>I support the restrictions and hopefully
>some enforcement. I don't know
>about the areas north of
>I70 but the BLM on
>Glade Park/Pinon Mesa is abused
>by ATV's it is out
>of control.
>I would look for clarification on
>the permitted uses as I
>don't think it includes outfitters.
>

Seriously you want to see over a 1,000 miles just taken away with out any concern with what is being taken away? I learned of a 3rd spot where hunters would all but loose access. Debque road G142. Nearly 50 years ago the state fought to gain access through an easement of private land to Public land on the other side. This is a large chunk of BLM that will otherwise be land locked and lost entirely to hunting.

The the issue that has been brought up is that there are several miles of trails being closed to Atvs and vehicles, but because they are still open to mountain bikes they are not marked as closed. So while you might not have an atv on the trail you could have a ton of mountain bikes, etc.

The truth is, there are lots of places where we can close off spurs, block short cuts and in some cases close off entire sections of access due to multiple access points. However in the small area if hunt in the field office I stand to loose a large chunk of access, again while the private land owners will have existing access through private property.

 

[jd332001]

Brooktrout, Another thing to keep in mind is that there will be no changes to the pinon mesa/glade park area. I assume the area you are talking about is up on the forest on the way to the Fruita Resevoirs? This will see no change from this. I agree that the ATV use up there is ridiculous because many of those corners up there are blind and weekend warrior campers drive these roads way too fast and it's not only ATVs. Another thing is if you shut down these other areas the recreational campers who like to get away will be forced to overflow these areas that are still open. It's the outlying areas that are used for hunting access that are getting hammered with this.

As far as the permitted use I would rather not wait and see like the BLM has suggested. I myself have called them and asked the definition of a permitted user and so have two of my buddys and all three times they were very vague with their answers and once even said we have not defined that yet? Outfitters pay a license fee to access the blm and forest so I assume they will be permitted? someone can chime in on this if you know otherwise.

Lastly how are they going to enforce closing down more roads? They can't enforce that laws they have now. If they could they would be writing tickets to the bad apples that ruin for the rest of us. These closures will just screw the law abiding folks and the people who break the law will continue. Just my thoughts on this.

 

[elks96]

I did some closer looks at the maps around and out of DeBeque. I have noticed a ton of roads closed to the public and yet still available for permitted use. As I looked closely I realized that many of the roads will be closed to the average Joe, but still open for Oil and Gas activities. So I will not be able to drive my jeep down the road, but they will be taking in Rig, Semis etc. That seems like a good plan... LOL!

 

[jd332001]

There is currently a petition to Gov Hickenlooper to not sign this. The official public comment period is up on the 11th of May. Please go and sign the petition to stop the BLM land closures. Check out the maps and see how you might be effected. I know a lot of you are non residents but this can have a negative effect on your hunting in the future as well. Here is the link:

http://www.plaa.co/

 

[elks96]

There is also a protest gathering on Saturday at the Junction Foeld office at 11 am. I hope people show up!

I know most of use agree that some closures make sense, while others make no sense at all.

We need to fight this as motorized recreation is important to many people and the economy!

 

[kittykiller]

In my experience, less roads means bigger bucks. Less fat turds is just a bonus.

 

[elks96]

>In my experience, less roads means
>bigger bucks. Less fat turds
>is just a bonus.

Well if that is all that matters then yes! But what about those of us who camp there every year and those who hike into the picnic spots with our families. There is plenty of ground with out roads and still good bucks in the area. It is short sided and selfish to only consider your personal goals when it comes with
And management!

Also it will not matter how many big buck are in some areas as there is no way for you to access them.

Not to mention there are already 4 wilderness study areas where you can escape the trucks and any given day of the hunting season I can leave the truck before dark and hunt all day with not seeing another person because it is so rough and rugged,

 

[Elkduds]

Any updates on this? Geting worried that a white pickup w Schlumberger or Haliburton on it will be the exclusive hunting pass to public land around Cameo/Debeque this fall.

 

[jd332001]

The comment period is over and now we just gotta hope there is enough opposition to get Hickenlooper to not sign the bill for the closures. If he does then litigation would start. It would only be able to be done by the county which is very expensive. Hopefully it doesn't get to that.

 

[elks96]

As mentioned the public comment period is over. The Mesa County Commissioners asked for a 6 month extension to better understand and look at the specific impacts of the RMP. I did not hear if that was accepted, but the MESA county commissioners did write a formal letter of protest to the BLM regarding the issue. It was a 13 page formal protest citing violations of the states right of way, also citing deception on the actual miles closed etc.

As of right now I am not exactly sure where it all stands, but I do know that it has caught the attention of the county commissioners, it also has the attention of state government and the local state level reps.

I have a feeling this is going to end up being a lengthy battle.