A plan to expand Phil's World, a popular mountain bike park near Cortez, is undergoing environmental and cultural resource studies by the BLM.

After a year-and-a-half on the shelf, a proposal by the Kokopelli Bike Club to extend the nonmotorized trail system for 17 miles is being reviewed under the National Environmental Policy Act, reports Jeff Christenson, a BLM recreation planner for the Tres Rios office.

A map of the plan, released Nov. 6, shows a new loop in the Stinking Springs Canyon area, and additional loops and trails to the north of the park, including around Cash Canyon and Simon Draw.

"We've kicked off the NEPA process, and are setting up field trips with staff to look at the proposed routes, hopefully before the snow flies," Christenson said. "I like what the bike club has presented so far and appreciate their patience."

Recreation staff, along with an archeologists, wildlife expert, and range conservationist will begin conducting an Environmental Assessment this winter of the proposed trails to determine impacts, if any.

If there is a finding of no significant impact, and the plan gains approval by BLM directors, volunteer trail builders could begin by Summer 2014.

"The group did a good job of developing trails that fit the landscape that do not require a lot of engineering," Christenson said. "Our job is to view the plan through wildlife and archaeology perspective; to make sure a trail does not go under an bald eagle's nest or through a ruin."

Most of the proposed trails will be accessible from the Ledges Trail, and also from new trailheads at County Road L and M. In keeping with the format at the park, all new trails have directional designations.

The park currently features 30 miles of trails that wind their way through rolling pinon-juniper terrain, up and down mesas, and along technical rock outcroppings and slickrock.

The single-track mecca of Phil's World begins across from the county fairgrounds off Highway 160, and passes through state trust land before entering BLM.

It was established in the late 1990s, and has evolved into a wildly popular mountain bike destination that draws locals and riders from Durango, Telluride, Farmington, N.M., and Moab, Utah.

One of its original showcase features - the Rib Cage - launches riders through a series of fast and burly whoop-de-doos, a section so fun there is a cutoff to do it again.

To encourage the less experienced, a nonintimidating meadow loop was recently added, and for the more advanced, the Lemon Head, Ledges, and Stinking Springs sections have plenty of rocky technical challenges and steep climbs.

A new parking lot was also added, often with 80 cars full of empty bike racks on the weekends. Even so, once out on the trail, the vast landscape and multiple loops swallow up the riders, and it never seems too crowded.

"Having a regionally recognized mountain bike trail system on lands we manage is fabulous," Christenson said. "Not bad for a trailhead that is not signed on the highway."

He added the recreation area also demonstrates the multiple use ethos of the BLM. Designated ATV and motorbike routes criss-cross the area, and there are well-signed intersections where motorized and non-motorized trails bisect each other.

"We've seen very little of cyclists and motorized off of their prescribed routes," he said. "It has functioned really well."

jmimiaga@cortezjournal.com