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SUMMIT COUNTY — Plans to expand and improve a motorized trail system on Tenderfoot Mountain, between Dillon and Keystone, may be swamped by a flood of negative feedback from residents of the area.
About 50 people attended a county commissioner work session Monday to voice their opinions. Local officials have received more than 100 comments criticizing the proposal. In addition to opposing proposed new trails, many residents would like to see the existing motorized use curtailed.
Based on those community concerns, county planners wrote a draft comment letter to the U.S. Forest Service asking the agency to entirely halt motorized recreation in the Tenderfoot area from Dillon to Keystone.
Dillon Town Manager Devin Granbery said the town council has directed planners to explore options for curtailing access to the Tenderfoot area via land owned by the town.
The Summit County Open Space Advisory Council also is on record as opposing the expansion of motorized use on Tenderfoot.
The opposition is based on concerns about noise, wildlife impacts, damage to a fragile fen wetlands and potential fire danger, as well as lack of management and enforcement.
“We have almost 100 homeowners who are pretty upset,” said John Fitzgerald, president of the Summerwood homeowners association, which is concerned that the federal agency would legitimize trails created by rogue motorists. “We are really, really concerned. The Forest Service wants to take nine miles of illegal trails and legalize them, reward people for doing something illegal.”
Kent McGrew, one of the leaders of a local off-road group, was the only person to speak in favor the plan. He said there’s no evidence that motorized use leads to increased fire risk and pointed out that most of the current use is on shared trails that were developed long time ago as mining and logging roads.
Despite the overwhelming public opposition at the work session, the trail plan does have support from 350 members of the Summit County Off-Road Riders, a group that’s been recognized for its trail stewardship on public lands, McGrew said.
The group would step up to take responsibility for management of the trail system if it’s built, he said.
Issues such as noise and resource impacts would be addressed through design and trail construction, he added.
At stake is a preliminary plan by the Summit County Off-Road Riders and the U.S. Forest Service to create a motorized play area on the flanks of Tenderfoot Mountain. The off-road group has landed a planning grant to do the initial lay-out.
The motorized users and the agency believe they can minimize resource impacts and neighborhood concerns with a well-designed system, along with adequate signage, management and enforcement. The proposal is linked to completion of the White River National Forest travel-management plan.
But citizens aren’t so sure the motorized users and the Forest Service will live up to their promises to manage the proposed use carefully.
“The message is quite clear … Surely there is a better place away from the communities where these kids can recreate,” said Mike Clary, a member of the Keystone Citizens League board of directors.
The Snake River planning commission also has taken a stand against motorized use in the area, Clary said.
Paul Semmer, a lands specialist with the Forest Service, said the agency’s travel plan represents a compromise between protecting resources and providing opportunities for recreation.
“We’re loving our resources to death. We all need to give up a little bit,” Semmer said, describing the public comments as an opportunity to “tweak” the plan.
The county commissioners generally appeared to endorse the comment letter as written, through Commissioner Tom Long said he had a problem with eliminating existing uses on Tenderfoot unless somebody comes up with a replacement area.
“It concerns me that you all want to say no, but nobody wants to offer an alternative,” Long said.
Bob Berwyn can be reached at (970) 331-5996, or at bberwyn@summitdaily.com.
About 50 people attended a county commissioner work session Monday to voice their opinions. Local officials have received more than 100 comments criticizing the proposal. In addition to opposing proposed new trails, many residents would like to see the existing motorized use curtailed.
Based on those community concerns, county planners wrote a draft comment letter to the U.S. Forest Service asking the agency to entirely halt motorized recreation in the Tenderfoot area from Dillon to Keystone.
Dillon Town Manager Devin Granbery said the town council has directed planners to explore options for curtailing access to the Tenderfoot area via land owned by the town.
The Summit County Open Space Advisory Council also is on record as opposing the expansion of motorized use on Tenderfoot.
The opposition is based on concerns about noise, wildlife impacts, damage to a fragile fen wetlands and potential fire danger, as well as lack of management and enforcement.
“We have almost 100 homeowners who are pretty upset,” said John Fitzgerald, president of the Summerwood homeowners association, which is concerned that the federal agency would legitimize trails created by rogue motorists. “We are really, really concerned. The Forest Service wants to take nine miles of illegal trails and legalize them, reward people for doing something illegal.”
Kent McGrew, one of the leaders of a local off-road group, was the only person to speak in favor the plan. He said there’s no evidence that motorized use leads to increased fire risk and pointed out that most of the current use is on shared trails that were developed long time ago as mining and logging roads.
Despite the overwhelming public opposition at the work session, the trail plan does have support from 350 members of the Summit County Off-Road Riders, a group that’s been recognized for its trail stewardship on public lands, McGrew said.
The group would step up to take responsibility for management of the trail system if it’s built, he said.
Issues such as noise and resource impacts would be addressed through design and trail construction, he added.
At stake is a preliminary plan by the Summit County Off-Road Riders and the U.S. Forest Service to create a motorized play area on the flanks of Tenderfoot Mountain. The off-road group has landed a planning grant to do the initial lay-out.
The motorized users and the agency believe they can minimize resource impacts and neighborhood concerns with a well-designed system, along with adequate signage, management and enforcement. The proposal is linked to completion of the White River National Forest travel-management plan.
But citizens aren’t so sure the motorized users and the Forest Service will live up to their promises to manage the proposed use carefully.
“The message is quite clear … Surely there is a better place away from the communities where these kids can recreate,” said Mike Clary, a member of the Keystone Citizens League board of directors.
The Snake River planning commission also has taken a stand against motorized use in the area, Clary said.
Paul Semmer, a lands specialist with the Forest Service, said the agency’s travel plan represents a compromise between protecting resources and providing opportunities for recreation.
“We’re loving our resources to death. We all need to give up a little bit,” Semmer said, describing the public comments as an opportunity to “tweak” the plan.
The county commissioners generally appeared to endorse the comment letter as written, through Commissioner Tom Long said he had a problem with eliminating existing uses on Tenderfoot unless somebody comes up with a replacement area.
“It concerns me that you all want to say no, but nobody wants to offer an alternative,” Long said.
Bob Berwyn can be reached at (970) 331-5996, or at bberwyn@summitdaily.com.
