Forest Service environmental assessment of Mad Rabbit Trails expected this summer
Dylan Anderson/Steamboat Pilot & Nowadays
The long-awaited environmental evaluation for the Mad Rabbit Trails task could be released as early as July following lover agencies finish a evaluation of the project’s prepare, in accordance to the U.S. Forest Provider.
Michael Woodbridge, the Hahns Peak and Bears Ears district ranger, mentioned the Forest Company has shared a draft of the approach with both of those Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Colorado Division of Natural Means. These organizations are currently reviewing the prepare, and will submit opinions back again to the forest support.
“Once we get opinions from them and experience great about placing it out there, the following phase would be the public remark period,” Woodbridge stated.
When produced, the assessment will be the initial formal interaction about the prepare from the Forest Assistance because 2019. The setting up has observed numerous delays, with one particular of the most substantial currently being the absence of a district ranger in Steamboat. Woodbridge has been in his role given that March of 2021.
“When I confirmed up a yr ago we experienced a draft variation of it and we experienced a bunch of conferences with CPW to talk through their concerns,” Woodbridge mentioned. “Now we are at the place of final edits centered on input from our cooperating companies.”
The project traces back to a 2013 2A ballot measure that directed accommodation tax resources towards a particular checklist of trails outlined by the Steamboat Trails Alliance. Early ideas would have connected trails on Rabbit Ears Go with individuals close to Mad Creek north of Steamboat — the supply of the Mad Rabbit moniker for the challenge.
But a 2019 preliminary proposal didn’t contain several of the trails proposed around Mad Creek. That proposal would have established 51 miles of new trails mainly on Rabbit Ear Go and renaturalized 20 miles of unsanctioned, user-produced trails, numerous in the Mad Creek area.
Previous February, the Forest Service claimed extra do the job on the proposal would have to wait around right until the new district ranger was in place. Since then, Woodbridge mentioned they have been good-tuning the proposal and that it has altered due to the fact its 2019 iteration.
“At 1 issue, there were being proposals for trails cutting by way of the forest that are no extended on our proposal,” Woodbridge reported. “There’s been a quantity of iterations and we’ve been refining it and gotten to where by we are now.”
July would be the earliest the approach could be released, but it could be afterwards relying on the opinions from state partners, Woodbridge reported. If people businesses ended up to have major issues, that would additional delay presenting the plan to the community.
As soon as introduced, the remark time period would last at the very least 30 days, contain many group meetings and a presentation at the Routt Recreation and Conservation Roundtable, a stakeholder team that has been included in the trail proposal from the start out.
Woodbridge stated the conferences are most useful for presenting the plan to the public, but comments are most valuable when submitted on line.
“People have been conversing about this for a lengthy time,” Woodbridge explained. “We’re receiving nearer and we anticipate it coming.”
To arrive at Dylan Anderson, call 970-871-4247 or e-mail danderson@SteamboatPilot.com.
