HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter from Wilderness Workshop to Pitkin OST and BOCC on Crystal Valley Trail March 2017.docx
March 23, 2017
Dear members of the Open Space and Trails Board and Pitkin County
Commissioners,
I am writing with regard to the proposed Carbondale to Crested Butte
Trail. Wilderness Workshop has a fifty-year history of advocating for
wild land protection and ecological integrity. The proposed trail
(regardless of alignment) is likely to impact, in part, the ecological
integrity of the Crystal Valley - specifically the quality and value of
wildlife habitat in the Valley. As a result the Wilderness Workshop will
be working to ensure that trail development, if it occurs, has the least
possible impact on wildlife habitat in the Crystal Valley.
Due to the high profile nature of this issue and the important wildlife
habitat in the Crystal Valley, Wilderness Workshop has hired a wildlife
biologist to conduct an independent assessment of the impacts of the
trail and then use the findings of that study to inform our position and
advocacy on the trail. Until the study is complete, we will not take a
formal position on the trail or trail alignments.
We have hired Rick Thompson of Western Ecosystems, Inc. to conduct
the study. Mr. Thompson has conducted over 400 ecological studies in
Colorado starting in 1982, including several in the Roaring Fork Valley
as well as authored numerous peer-reviewed studies. Locally he has
worked for the U.S. Forest Service, the City of Aspen and Pitkin County
and in close coordination with Colorado Parks and wildlife. Mr.
Thompon’s scope of work will include:
● A history of proposed Crystal River Trail proposals
as related to wildlife.
● Identification of affected wildlife habitats in the
vicinity of the trail corridors, including seasonal wildlife ranges
mapped by CPW and other wildlife groups (e.g., migratory birds
and small mammals).
● Analysis (qualification and quantification) of
potential, direct and indirect (including intended and
unintended) trail effects on wildlife resources along the trail
corridors.
● Recommendations of trail alignments/segments,
trail management, and mitigation that would be in the best
interest of wildlife.
“Going wild since 1967”
Federal Tax ID Number 74-1900412
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Wilderness Workshop understands that some may perceive our study as
oppositional to the County’s efforts. That is not our intent - we mean for this study to
add to the cumulative body of knowledge to ensure that decisions affecting
important recreation opportunities and wildlife resources in the Crystal Valley are
well informed. We have members on both sides of this issue and want to be able to
back-up any position we take on the trail or specific alignments with concrete
ecological data and analysis. We hope our study will be helpful to Pitkin County
Open Space and Trails, County Commissioners and the Forest service as all three
entities consider this issue. We have asked Mr. Thompson to make a public
presentation of his findings in Carbondale and Redstone in late May or Early June.
We would welcome coordination with the County, as we are aware of your extensive
public process and want to ensure there is no confusion from the public regarding
those presentations.
While Wilderness Workshop supports the concept of a trail up the Crystal Valley
from Carbondale to the top of McClure Pass, our concerns and engagement is limited
to how this trail may or may not affect quality and use of wildlife habitat in the
valley. We understand that there are numerous additional issues that the county will
have to consider when deciding whether to build a trail and if so which alignment to
utilize. These are likely to include cost, user-experience, engineering, safety, use of
easements or private property rights and community context of the trail. Our
engagement on this matter however is focused on providing an ecological voice in
the process and ensuring the ecological integrity of the Valley is maintained to the
greatest degree possible.
We look forward to working with Open Space and Trails and Pitkin County on this
issue and welcome any feedback from the OST Board or Commissioners.
Sincerely,
/s/ Will Roush
Will Roush | Conservation Director
Cc’ Gary tennenbaum, Dale Will, John Peacock, Sloan Shoemaker
“Going wild since 1967”
Federal Tax ID Number 74-1900412
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