Park County Commissioner False Statements

Commissioner Elsner in Park County has been making numerous false statements concerning The Gulches and the Colorado Offroad Community in general. Read the open letter correcting the written record and then email the commissioners with your concerns. **If you own property, a business, or live in Park County please tell them you don't support their actions**

delsner@parkco.us

mbrazell@parkco.us

rdouglas@parkco.us

This letter was sent to all three commissioners disputing the false statements:

Dear Commissioner Elsner, 

 My name is Marcus Trusty, and I am the Founder and President of CORE and the President of the Colorado Off Road Trail Defenders. But you already know who I am. I have communicated my group's background, intentions and offered to help your county for the last 18 months concerning the Wildcat Canyon Area and specifically The Gulches Trail System. 

 Unfortunately, you have failed to make any attempt to contact me or to have any type of dialogue. Additionally, you have even gone so far as to offer your own incorrect and baseless conclusions about how the offroad community works and what our capabilities are. 

 You have avoided all opportunities and requests for discourse. This letter is a written response to your many false claims, accusations, and a general misunderstanding of the offroad community and the many 4x4 organizations in Colorado. 

 Your statements: 

 The offroad groups have no plan, just waiving hands saying we've got good people and we'll do it.

 I sent you and the Park County Commission a letter of intent on February 18, 2019. The letter discussed our background, intentions, examples, and offered to become a partner with Park County. The message closed with this sentence: "We are looking to become a partner with the county, and we would like to schedule a work session to discuss these ideas in detail." We have also made two additional work session requests through the Park County Government Website. We received no response from the first request, and County Manager Tom Eisenman emphatically denied the second. Until the commission agrees to discuss options, you can't claim we have no plan while simultaneously suppressing discussion. 

 No one in these offroad groups is from Park County, and nobody from Park County has emailed you in support of The Gulches. 

 This statement is entirely false. A CORE Board Member with a long family history in Park County, who owns private property within the county, and a business spoke directly with you and Commissioner Douglass concerning The Gulches outside your office in April of 2019. Your own 2019 county press release also refutes this false statement. In the press release, the commission claimed to have heard from many offroad groups concerning Wildcat Canyon. I was blind copied on most of the emails you received at that time and most of the recent emails you have received. I have seen Fairplay residents, Park County residents, business owners, property owners, and people with disabilities directly email you asking you to work with CORE to find a solution for The Gulches. 

 Holy Cross Jeep Trail was well maintained for 4-5 years by the 4x4 clubs, then they lost interest, and it was destroyed. ATVs have destroyed Texas Creek in Taylor Park.

 These two statements are meant to detract from the real issue, finding a solution for Wildcat Canyon, and are being used to paint motorized users in a negative light. The first statement is false. The Big Horn Jeep Club adopts the Holy Cross Jeep Trail, and they still hold this adoption currently. Big Horn, Mile-Hi Jeep Club, and CORE performed volunteer work on the trail this summer, and we are working with the Eagle/Holy Cross district to conduct more extensive work next summer. One of our board members is the President of Big Horn Jeep Club, and we will be working together next summer on many areas of the trail. The second statement is vague and lacks context. Several regions in Taylor Park are used extensively by motorized users. CORE and Stay the Trail Colorado are currently working on a mapping/education project to be rolled out next year. This project will address many concerns in many areas of Taylor Park. When advocates and motorized users come together to solve a problem, we have a much better chance at a positive outcome. 

 To open the roads, the county would have to take them back, and that costs money. 

 This statement, while mostly accurate, is EXTREMELY misleading. Yes, it would cost money for road maintenance. However, Park County's easement application set the road maintenance cost at $3,869 per year. Park County just gave Wild Connections a $35,000 grant for a single project to remove road infrastructure in this area. That one grant would have funded road maintenance for over nine years. The application for this grant was submitted by someone living in Arapaho County, representing a group based in El Paso County. Still, you have claimed only to represent people living in Park County when discussing The Gulches? Additionally, 4x4 clubs would cover the bulk of the funding and provide the volunteers for ongoing maintenance on these trails just as they do for five additional adopted 4x4 trails in Park County and the roads in Teller County. 

 Teller County is on the record stating that it costs the county precisely 20 hours of administrative time each year for coordination on their section of roads. Teller also says Predator 4x4 pays for ALL materials needed for maintenance and improvements on their 15.6 miles of road. That is nearly six more miles of road than the mileage in Park County, just under 10 miles. 

 Offroaders say they'll take responsibility, but the first time a vehicle rolls down there, the county sheriff will have to investigate it, and it will take county resources (search and rescue, fire) to pull them out. 

 This suggestion is false and also misleading.  All recreational activity in National Forests has risks and thus can require some county resources.  Thus, this is not a valid argument against motorized recreation.  In addition, there are several non-profit offroad volunteer organizations within Colorado; one is a state-sanctioned SAR team. These volunteer organizations recover vehicles from 4x4 trails routinely each year. They have recovered vehicles in Park County in 2020. These groups work in collaboration with the Forest Service and with county sheriffs. CORE has participated in recoveries to remove vehicles from the backcountry. There is no cost to the FS, to counties, and these operations do not stress county resources. 

 The Gulches are pristine, and if you run Jeeps through there, it's going to ruin it. 

 You speak as though The Gulches have never been opened to motorized use; that is false. Additionally, The Gulches were never closed due to misuse or resource issues. They were 'temporarily' closed due to the Hayman Fire. All subsequent scientific analysis on this area has concluded that correct management can allow motorized use while still protecting this area from further issues. 

You have to drive up Tarryall River. 

 You are referring to the Corral Creek Trail, FSR 540, and the Tarryall Creek Crossing. Your statement with regards to that road and the creek crossing are false. The creek crossing is perpendicular to the creek and is a 'hardened' crossing. A hardened crossing is a prescriptive technical solution to mitigate erosion and sediment issues where roads cross creeks. This mitigation technique is precisely the best options for a vehicle creek crossing. 

 Park County will not receive any economic benefit from The Gulches fully opening. 

 Park County's own easement application submitted only five years ago stated the opposite. "These roads provide recreational access to the National Forest within Park County. This direct area of recreation generated a major portion of the local economic base for the Lake George area within Park County through tourism. Visitors use them for pleasure driving, four-wheel driving, OHV riding, bicycling, hiking, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, horseback riding, backpacking, camping, hunting, fishing, sightseeing, and etc. This area is arguably the highest recreational area in eastern Park County and possibly the Front Range. Park County wants to assure these roads are available and maintained to accommodate current and future users."

 The roads in Teller County are 'torn up,' and nobody is maintaining them. 

 The exact opposite is true. The US Forest Service's biologist (Ms. Painter) stated 

 "Within Teller County, I thought the existing roads looked pretty good for the most part. The routes were not terribly braided, water bars were in good shape, and sections closed with post and cable had revegetated pretty well. I would say Jerry and his people [Predator 4x4] have done a good job, and I hope they are able to continue their work to maintain sustainable routes. There are a few locations that need additional help to confine use to an acceptable route, and we should help them identify those. In Park County east of the river it was immediately obvious the land is suffering from uncontrolled use and no maintenance. Routes were poorly defined, and use is not contained by existing infrastructure. Damage to hillslopes, tributary creeks, and riparian vegetation is currently greater than I am comfortable with, but I also know it could be a lot worse." 

 The sections of roads that are in Park County are not in this good of shape for one reason- 4x4 groups are not allowed to help manage them. If the Forest Service had granted Park County the easements or Park County had claimed right-of-way on those routes, they would be taken care of successfully just as they are in Teller County. 

 You have entirely fabricated a false narrative about The Gulches designed to divert the facts. Please stop doing this.  And failure to discuss options and solutions is only furthering the issues and kicking the can down the road. You have a real chance to find a compromise and to work with motorized groups to find a solution. When we all work together, long-term sustainable multi-use management is possible. 

 Marcus Trusty

Elsner’s false claims can be found here:

Publicly readable link to the Flume article: https://outline.com/jFzVuh

Here's a video of the commissioner debate where they talked about the Gulches: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdKyxTxeK6o

And here's a video of my (Patrick McKay) latest exchange with the commissioners at the County Commission meeting last week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKeos9UyxTA&t=1214s

Land Use Update - The Gulches

What do you know about The Gulches? Are they open, closed, and what is there future? We have seen numerous questions like these over the years and in early 2019 CORE began working on a long-term solution.  

Unfortunately, what we discovered was the deliberate and willful attempt to close The Gulches forever. You won’t believe what has happened over the last 18 years!!! 

Please read the following summary or watch our video and email the Park County Commissioners, the South Platte and South Park Rangers, the Forest Supervisor and the reps for Doug Lamborn and Cory Gardner. We need your help; we need all our voices to be heard. 

1.     Get educated. Read the summary or watch the video. Full Article below. Video here.

2.     Draft an email requesting all recipients work together with multiple user groups to ensure multi-use recreation is able to continue on The Gulches Trail System. Ask them to work with CORE and other motorized user groups to find an acceptable management plan. Tell them closure is not management and that they need our help. Tell them how you feel, and why you love to recreate in Park County. 

 3.     Email your comments to: 

Park County Commissioners: MBrazell@parkco.us, RDouglas@parkco.us, DElsner@parkco.us

 District Rangers: bbanks@fs.fed.us, jvoorhis@fs.fed.us

 Forest Supervisor: diana.m.trujillo@usda.gov

 Lamborn Rep: Joshua.Hosler@mail.house.gov

 Gardner: cory@corygardner.com

CORE: landuse@keeptrailsopen.com

The author’s Jeep on the currently open section of the Hackett Gulch trail in Wildcat Canyon, Patrick McKay.

The Gulches History

By Patrick McKay

A coalition of motorized access groups led by Colorado Offroad Enterprise (CORE), has recently uncovered a disturbing plot by officials in the Pike San Isabel National Forest to illegally close one of the most popular motorized trail systems in Colorado in circumvention of the ongoing travel management process and in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Background

For many decades, off-road vehicle enthusiasts nationwide have enjoyed driving the rugged four-wheel-drive roads in Wildcat Canyon in the Pike National Forest. Located in a steep canyon along the South Platte River about an hour’s drive west of Colorado Springs on the border between Teller and Park Counties, these Jeep trails are also known as “The Gulches” after the three primary trails of Hackett, Longwater, and Metberry Gulches. Since roughly the late 1950s, these roads have been one of the most popular off-road trail systems in the Front Range for recreation enthusiasts seeking adventure, offering a unique set of off-road challenges, river access for swimming and fishing, and spectacular scenery in a rugged gorge filled with towering rock formations.

Since the early 2000s, however, Wildcat Canyon has been ground zero for one of the most contentious battles in Colorado between off-roaders and environmental groups determined to close these roads and lock motorized users, but not themselves, out of the canyon in the name of “conservation.” In 2002, the area around Wildcat Canyon was devastated by the Hayman Fire, the largest wildfire in Colorado history. All of the roads in the region were temporarily closed after the fire, and the Forest Service subsequently began working on a new environmental analysis to determine how to manage the roads in the burn zone. 

After a highly contentious public comment period with off-road groups facing off against environmental groups wishing to close Wildcat Canyon to motorized use, the Forest Service issued a decision in 2004 which concluded that re-opening the roads in the canyon was the best option both to meet the public demands for motorized recreation and to protect the environment. However, due to its limited resources, the Forest Service would only allow the roads to be reopened if the relevant county governments agreed to take responsibility for maintaining these roads.

Teller County immediately applied for and was quickly granted easements allowing it to take over management of the eastern half of the Gulches trail system, which was reopened to the public by 2009, with the Colorado Springs off-road group Predator 4WD agreeing to maintain the trails on behalf of the county as they had already done for many years prior. 

Park County, which contains the western half of the trail system, first applied for an easement in 2008. In contrast to Teller County, Park County’s attempts to obtain easements were repeatedly stonewalled by the Forest Service. Ultimately, Park County submitted no less than four easement applications between 2008 and 2014, with each being met with either silence or excuses from the Forest Service such as claims to have lost the paperwork or not having the budget to process it. Internal Forest Service emails obtained by CORE show agency employees, including two different South Park District rangers, repeatedly searching for reasons not to grant the easements and attempting to discourage Park County officials from moving forward with their request.

Finally in 2015, Park County Manager Tom Eisenman retracted the county’s easement application, apparently without obtaining the approval of the Park County Commission, leaving the Park County roads in limbo. With the eastern half of the trail system open and no signs or barriers at the county line to indicate the roads in Park County were closed, they have continued to be regularly driven by motorized users to this day.

New Travel Management Process

Also in 2015, a lawsuit by a coalition of preservationist groups resulted in a settlement agreement in which the Pike San Isabel National Forest agreed to completely re-do its motorized travel plan with a new travel management process. During the scoping period in 2016, the Forest Service received numerous comments asking it to reopen the closed roads in Wildcat Canyon. 

The Forest Service responded by including an alternative in the draft EIS published in 2019, which considered reopening some (but not all) of these roads, leaving out crucial connecting routes to restore the loop opportunities provided by the original trail system. This analysis was flawed from the start, as it relied on a 2015 Travel Analysis Report written by South Park District Ranger Josh Voorhis. That report rated most of these roads as having low recreational value solely because they were currently closed, rather than considering the incredibly high value they had for motorized recreation when they were open, which had been repeatedly acknowledged by the Forest Service in prior environmental analyses.

Internal emails show that Mr. Voorhis strongly opposed including these roads in the travel management EIS at all, as he had already decided to permanently close and decommission them. As a result of the wide latitude Voorhis was given in making decisions for the roads in his district, the preferred alternative in the 2019 draft EIS proposed to decommission almost all of the Wildcat Canyon roads in Park County, with no indication that any serious consideration was ever given to reopening them. The preferred alternative also contained more road closures in the South Park District than in all other districts combined.

The Plot to Decommission the Roads

Instead of waiting for a final decision on the Wildcat Canyon roads to be made in the travel management process, Mr. Voorhis (along with South Platte District Ranger Brian Banks) decided to circumvent that process entirely and began working with local anti-motorized user groups to illegally decommission the roads with no environmental analysis or public involvement.

In May of 2018, Voorhis wrote an internal memo kicking off a decommissioning project with three elements: (1) Removing all existing metal signs and fencing from the Park County roads, (2) installing heavy metal barriers blocking access to the closed Park County roads from the open roads in Teller County, and (3) re-contouring the roads on the west side of the river to physically remove them from the ground. Another Forest Service employee strongly objected to Voorhis’ plan, saying in an email that decommissioning these highly desirable roads in a controversial area with no supporting environmental analysis or public input was illegal and invited distrust and justified outrage from the motorized community. 

Nevertheless, Voorhis moved forward with his project, purchasing the metal barriers in the summer of 2019 and searching for contractors to install them that fall. Simultaneously, he and a Forest Service biologist with a demonstrably strong bias against motorized recreation wrote up a document claiming “changed circumstances” which would prevent Park County from being granted an easement under the 2004 EA, thereby thwarting a renewed push by CORE and other motorized groups to get Park County to re-apply for an easement in spring 2019.

It was during the public comment period for the draft EIS in fall 2019 that CORE first became aware of Voorhis’ plans to decommission these roads, when he unsuccessfully sought permission from Teller County to barricade the roads on the east side of the canyon further up in Teller County. CORE subsequently hired an attorney to file a FOIA request for all Forest Service documents pertaining to Wildcat Canyon, which we obtained in early 2020.

The Forest Supervisor’s Response

Having learned through the documents provided in response to our FOIA request of Voorhis’ plans to install permanent barriers blocking access to the Park County roads sometime in 2020, CORE wrote to Forest Supervisor Diana Trujillo this spring asking for her assurance that no actions would be taken to decommission any roads in Wildcat Canyon until after a final decision was made in the travel management EIS. 

After a phone conversation with the Supervisor in May, Deputy Forest Supervisor Dave Condit wrote to us on her behalf on July 1 stating that, “The Forest does not plan to do any work on the roads in Wildcat Canyon this year. There will be no changes until we complete our Travel Management Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and sign the subsequent project Record of Decision (ROD).”

Unfortunately, this assurance turned out to be false. On the same day Mr. Condit sent his email, Wild Connections (the lead environmental group pushing for closure of Wildcat Canyon) published their July monthly newsletter in which they announced they had received a grant from Park County and permission from the South Park Ranger District to move forward with a “metal removal project” in Wildcat Canyon later this summer. 

This project was the same as the first element of Mr. Voorhis’ decommissioning plan from May 2018, removing all the old signs and fencing from the Park County roads in preparation for obliterating the routes from the ground. Those signs and fences were originally placed decades ago by Predator 4WD in partnership with the Forest, and continue to be helpful today in preventing drivers who inadvertently drive the closed roads without knowing of the closure from going off trail. They would also be critical for this purpose if the roads were ever legally reopened.

When CORE contacted Ms. Trujillo again in August with these concerns and asked her to prevent Wild Connections from completing this project until a final travel management decision has been made, she dismissed our concerns, falsely claiming that the metal removal work was not decommissioning and it would not affect the outcome of the travel management process. This is unfortunate as it shows the Forest has no interest in partnering with or maintaining the trust of motorized groups who wish to see these trails reopened, and has already predetermined to close them regardless of public demand for motorized recreational opportunities in Wildcat Canyon. 

At this point CORE has no choice but to assume the Forest has not been proceeding with good faith in this matter, and to prepare for inevitable objections and likely litigation over the Forest Service’s malfeasance regarding these roads. 

 Call to Action

Well call on all motorized recreationists to write to Supervisor Trujillo expressing extreme disappointment over her decision to allow Ranger Voorhis and Wild Connections to proceed with decommissioning these roads before the travel management process is even complete. We also ask that you write to Congressman Doug Lamborn, Senator Cory Gardner, and the Park County Commission about these trails. This is an election year, and enough attention from motorized users could persuade the county commissioners to reverse their current position that they want nothing to do with this controversy and will defer to the Forest Service’s decision to close these roads. Follow the steps outlined above to make your voice heard.

The fight is not over yet.  The off-road community in Colorado is hopeful that, if enough individuals get involved and show that motorized recreation is important to them, these treasured roads will once again be open to all outdoor recreation enthusiasts.  

New Sponsor Announcement

We are pleased to announce our newest sponsor/partner, The Larimer County Four Wheel Drive Club-aka The Mountaineers ! About the club: We are a family-oriented club, organized in 1965, to promote and enjoy the recreation of four-wheeling. Four wheeling involves driving a four-wheel-drive vehicle on roads and trails which are impassable to normal street vehicles. Unlike the images portrayed by mass media and environmental groups, we are concerned with conserving the natural beauty of the State of Colorado and anywhere we four-wheel. We believe strongly in the principles of Tread Lightly! We also participate in both the Adopt-a-Trail and the Adopt-A-Highway programs. We work closely with the US Forest Service in maintaining trails, many of our members participate in the Trail Host program. We assist our community, Fort Collins, Colorado, by providing transportation during severe winter weather for employees and some patients of “critical need” groups like Poudre Valley Hospital, Good Samaritan Retirement Village and Meals-On-Wheels and by assisting groups like the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army in transporting supplies and the like to and from remote areas during crises. More info is available at mountaineers4x4.org

New Sponsor Announcement

Desert Valley Overlanders is our newest sponsor/partner. They are our neighbors in the southwest and are off-road overland adventure travelers who seek adventure on backcountry trails be it on two wheels or four. Their goal is to bring like-minded explorers together to experience a life full of vehicle-based adventures and the community that comes with it. They support stewardship, land use and the #keeptrailsopen mission!

New Sponsor Announcement

We are pleased to welcome our newest CORE Premium Sponsor, The Edge Automotive 4x4! The Edge is located in Englewood, CO and offers parts and service for all makes and models of offroad rigs. If you need bolt-on parts, installation of custom fabrication, The Edge can meet your needs. More info can be found on their website here.

2019 Year in Review

2019 CORE Executive Summary...video style!!! So many great things happened in 2019 for trails. Thanks to all our members, volunteers, sponsors and partners for working to promoting multi-user access. Watch for the full review and for some entertainment!

New Sponsor Announcement

Join us in welcoming our newest CORE sponsor/partner, Global Underground Corp! You can find more info about their services here. Your support will help us #keeptrailsopen! #trailusersunite #weareallinthistogether #fightforyourrighttorecreate #closureisntmanagement #corenation

PSI Comment Period Reflection

A big THANK YOU to all our members, sponsors, partners and those who support us for submitting comments to the PSI Travel Management project. CORE has come a long way in three years. In 2016 we submitted a single comment during the scoping phase and there were no comments referencing CORE. During the DEIS comment period (ended yesterday), CORE submitted 45 unique and detailed comments and nearly 350 (over 10% of total comments received) mentioned or backed CORE's recommendations. Our comments included several route corrections as the FS maps are highly inaccurate. We were even excited to show up in the Lawsuit Plaintiffs' comments as an honorable mention (see photo). 

We had a lot of help and several CORE Members went above and beyond during this process. CORE would like to recognize members Patrick McKay, Ryan Boudreau, Luke Gilginas, Brian O'Connors, and Lisa Potter for all their work during open commenting. This is only one step in the long process to #keeptrailsopen, we have many battles in the future but if we all continue to work together, we can make a difference.

**Land Use Alert** Only a few more days to comment!

We have made it easy for you to help keep trails open! Watch the short video, put your specific info into the outline and submit a comment! Here is the outline:

Hello PSI Travel Management Team

 My name is [Name]

 I am writing concerning the DEIS and Preferred Alternative C. [Tell them about you]

 [Tell them why you like the trails in the Pike/San Isabel]

 [Tell them you are a CORE Member or a CORE Supporter and you would like to recommend Alternative C with modifications. Recommend they follow CORE’s suggestions and recommendations to continued motorized recreation opportunities in the Pike and San Isabel National Forest]

 Thank you for your consideration. 

**Land Use Alert** Williams Pass, Willow Stump, St. Elmo, Mount Antero

Please watch the video and then register a comment here to help us keeptrailsopen!