Dear Editor:
The Rico-West Dolores landscape of the San Juan National Forest comprises 244,550 acres of prime wildlife habitat. It contains the headwaters of the Dolores River and stretches from elevations of 7,500 feet to peaks exceeding 14,000 feet. The landscapes value as wildlife habitat is undeniable, but habitat fragmentation and watershed degradation is resulting from motorized overuse and abuse on dirt-bike trials being used in violation of the management plan for the San Juan National Forest.
As hunters know from experience, too many motorized routes increase big game vulnerability and can result in shorter seasons and fewer available tags. Excessive road densities negatively affect elk and deer behavior, reproduction and survival. Too many roads and motorized trails in the wrong places also contribute to increased sediment loads in waterways that are important to wild trout.
According to the Colorado Division of Wildlife, Motorized vehicle use ... inhibits wildlife use of this important habitat by increasing fragmentation ... [It] bisects important elk habitat, e.g., calving, nursery and summering area. Put simply, without the proper protections from motorized traffic, habitat suffers and becomes less desirable for elk and deer, and the hunters who pursue them.
As a result, Colorado Backcountry Hunters and Anglers is seeking to correct that balance on 15 trails in the Rico-West Dolores landscape where unlawful motorized use is adversely impacting big game habitat. Given that there are some 2,800 miles of roads across the 1.8 million-acre San Juan National Forest (including 120 miles of single-track motorized trails in the adjacent Mancos-Cortez Travel Management Area), there is plenty of access for motorized users in the region.
Closing certain trails will benefit wildlife, hunters and the vast majority of outdoor enthusiasts who use this area.
Tom Sykes
Colorado Backcountry Hunters and Anglers
Dolores
