24,400 acres are being analyzed for travel management planning in central Colorado. BRC has been heavily engaged in camping and travel management planning in Chaffee County, Colorado in which we have seem substantial restrictions and closures being proposed. Bordering the previous planning areas, the BLM has initiated route inventory and public comment for travel management in the Three Peaks area in Northwest Fremont County.
BRC appreciates the BLM seeking input on routes before scoping and NEPA begins. This shows the BLM wants to start with an accurate starting point before they move on to further analysis of the area. According to our initial review of the route inventory we believe the BLM has missed routes. Satellite images show many clearly used routes as you can see below that were not inventoried. There are currently 37.6 miles of routes that the BLM has mapped (see image below) however we believe there are many more. We need members of the public to submit comments identifying missing routes. The BLM needs to start with an accurate baseline to ensure we don’t lose routes simply because they were not documented correctly as they move forward in the NEPA process to revise the travel management plan which will determine motorized and camping access into the area within for decades to come.
Comments are being accepted until June 30, 2023. Use the tool below to send a comment to the BLM letting them know that an accurate baseline needs to be determined and include any route specific comments if you are familiar with the area. Scoping will occur after the route inventory is completed.
