- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
This discussion has been a long time coming and I feel bad that the management of these trails has gotten (IMO) so out of hand with new routes all along the trails and simply too many vehicles driving anywhere their owners please.
As many of you know, Rattlesnake & Constrictor are trails that many of our early members established, named and put on the map. They were 4x4 trails that existed before, but they weren't well known. These trails are on public land, managed by the BLM. I don't know how many of you current active members recall how heavily debated these trails were 15+ years ago but there were MANY angry discussions about how these routes needed to be managed... needless to say, we decided that the members of RME needed to adopt these trails, make changes where necessary, patrol them watching for abuse and pick up any trash along the way.
We approached the BLM many years ago about officially adopting these trails, but were told by BLM officials in SLC that there was 'no formal procedure' for adopting a 4x4 trail on public land.
When we looked at maps of where these trails lay, it also became obvious that parts of both trails do cross private land held by mining companies. In order to keep these trails open and not bring too much attention to them and the fact that parts cross private land, we've been flying under the radar with our unofficial adoption of these trails. In the past, a couple of guys have approached these mining companies for legal permission to be on their land and were told without any hesitation, 'NO' .... they did not have permission to use their property. That makes for a very sticky situation with the trails running over the same property.
I know that plenty of RME members are still out running these trails, but in the last handful of years these trails have been seeing much more traffic than they ever have and many people think that they can drive anywhere they like, creating obstacles that are without a doubt 'off trail' and not a part of the original, intended route. In recent discussion with the BLM land managers, we've talked about closing parts of the trails that have become braided (multiple unnecessary routes) and they seem to think that we want to block off a route... not a redundant trail. They also don't seem to understand how much off-trail damage is being done by people driving anywhere they want to. These trails are simply being overrun and the BLM doesn't seem to understand that we're trying to help keep people on the intended route. I have seen many discussions in a local group by certain people that honestly think there is NO problem driving anywhere they want to... apparently just because they CAN.
I have spent quite a bit of time on the phone with the SLC BLM office and it's extremely frustrating... dealing with a government employee, sitting behind a desk and spending little (if any) time out in the field. Trying to make any headway on managing these trails and making sure they stay open for the future has been nearly impossible for me. So we do what we can, without much input from them.
So at this point, I need help... I think we all need to take a hard look at these trails, see what we need to do to manage them and ensure they stick around for the future. I'm open to suggestions, would seriously love to hear input from you guys on what we need to do. I feel like this is a much bigger problem than I can manage... and it's going to take a massive group effort to make things better.
Thoughts, ideas, suggestions?
As many of you know, Rattlesnake & Constrictor are trails that many of our early members established, named and put on the map. They were 4x4 trails that existed before, but they weren't well known. These trails are on public land, managed by the BLM. I don't know how many of you current active members recall how heavily debated these trails were 15+ years ago but there were MANY angry discussions about how these routes needed to be managed... needless to say, we decided that the members of RME needed to adopt these trails, make changes where necessary, patrol them watching for abuse and pick up any trash along the way.
We approached the BLM many years ago about officially adopting these trails, but were told by BLM officials in SLC that there was 'no formal procedure' for adopting a 4x4 trail on public land.
When we looked at maps of where these trails lay, it also became obvious that parts of both trails do cross private land held by mining companies. In order to keep these trails open and not bring too much attention to them and the fact that parts cross private land, we've been flying under the radar with our unofficial adoption of these trails. In the past, a couple of guys have approached these mining companies for legal permission to be on their land and were told without any hesitation, 'NO' .... they did not have permission to use their property. That makes for a very sticky situation with the trails running over the same property. I know that plenty of RME members are still out running these trails, but in the last handful of years these trails have been seeing much more traffic than they ever have and many people think that they can drive anywhere they like, creating obstacles that are without a doubt 'off trail' and not a part of the original, intended route. In recent discussion with the BLM land managers, we've talked about closing parts of the trails that have become braided (multiple unnecessary routes) and they seem to think that we want to block off a route... not a redundant trail. They also don't seem to understand how much off-trail damage is being done by people driving anywhere they want to. These trails are simply being overrun and the BLM doesn't seem to understand that we're trying to help keep people on the intended route. I have seen many discussions in a local group by certain people that honestly think there is NO problem driving anywhere they want to... apparently just because they CAN.
I have spent quite a bit of time on the phone with the SLC BLM office and it's extremely frustrating... dealing with a government employee, sitting behind a desk and spending little (if any) time out in the field. Trying to make any headway on managing these trails and making sure they stay open for the future has been nearly impossible for me. So we do what we can, without much input from them.
So at this point, I need help... I think we all need to take a hard look at these trails, see what we need to do to manage them and ensure they stick around for the future. I'm open to suggestions, would seriously love to hear input from you guys on what we need to do. I feel like this is a much bigger problem than I can manage... and it's going to take a massive group effort to make things better.
Thoughts, ideas, suggestions?
