Recreationists ticketed during wilderness sting

SUMMIT COUNTY - The Summit County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Forest Service cited more than 30 people recently for violating wilderness recreation rules in the White River National Forest, according to a release from the Summit County Sheriff's Office.

The two entities collaborated on Jan. 6-7 to enforce federal and state laws in areas of high recreation use where there have been compliance issues in the past.

Ten officers saturated a popular area near Spring Creek Road past Heeney and the Vail Pass Recreation Area.

"There has been consistent trespassing by snowmobilers into the wilderness near Spring Creek and that is something that should not be tolerated," said Forest Service law enforcement officer Jill Wick.

Officers contacted 237 individuals using the areas for all sorts of recreation activities including snowmobiling, snowshoeing and skiing.

Approximately 15 percent of those people received citations for various violations including failure to pay area fee, no snowmobile registration, and snowmobiling in a closed area.

The most frequent violation encountered was the failure to display snowmobile registration, which calls for a $75 fine, the release said.

The cost to register a snowmobile is about $15 and can be done online at www.parks.state.co.us or at most motor sports stores. The fine for snowmobiling in a closed area is $100. All of the violations are federal misdemeanors with possible penalties up to six months in jail or a $5,000 fine.