HomeMy WebLinkAbout20062000 United States Forest Pawnee 660"O"Street
USDA Department of Service National Grassland Greeley,CO 80631
Agriculture Voice: (970)346-5000 TDD: (970)346-5015
Web: www.fs.fed.us/r2/arnf
Fax: (970)346-5014
File Code: 1950
Date: July 12, 2006
Dear Interested Party:
The Pawnee National Grassland (PNG) has started an analysis of a proposal to enhance
recreation opportunities in the vicinity of the Pawnee Buttes, the showcase landscape feature on
the PNG, while maintaining and protecting the natural resources of the area. As part of this
project, the PNG is interested in your comments regarding possible management actions for the
Buttes area.
The Pawnee Buttes are one of the key landscape features in northeastern Colorado. They have
historically been and still are a sacred site for many native peoples and they served as a key
landmark for European settlers as they moved west into the plains during the homestead era.
They are featured in numerous Colorado guidebooks on flowers, birding and recreation pursuits
as a destination offering opportunities unlike those available in the mountains along Colorado's
Northern Front Range. They are also a designated stop on the Pawnee Pioneer Trails Scenic and
Historic Byway and are visited annually by visitors from across the nation and overseas.
The Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland receive the second
highest level of recreation use in the country with an average of 6,200,000 recreation visits
annually. Recreation use continues to increase and is expected to double in the next 3-5 years.
Impacts due to this increased use are becoming much more prevalent across the landscape and in
the vicinity of the Pawnee Buttes. The following is a partial list of some of the issues we will
address in our planned analysis:
o Current high levels of use of the road and trail system are causing soil and water quality
degradation.
o The current trailhead and parking area are located on a ridgeline west of the Pawnee
Buttes. These improvements are visible for miles and significantly affect the sense of
place associated with this special area. These improvements are also in poor condition.
o The current trailhead and parking area are located adjacent to escarpments that are used
by prairie falcons and eagles as nesting habitat which results in increased disturbance to
these species during nesting season.
o Dispersed camping adjacent to the Pawnee Buttes is creating sanitation problems and
soil and water degradation.
o Social trails in the Buttes area are causing adverse soil and vegetation impacts.
As part of this analysis, an interdisciplinary team (IDT) is looking at a variety of options to better
meet the needs of visitors to this area while reducing impacts to the natural resources the Forest
Service is responsible for managing on and adjacent to the Pawnee Buttes. I am interested in
your opinions related to and your concerns about the following management actions under
consideration are:
2006-2000
Caring for the Land and Ser i g People
41.2-4 d.6
a) Relocate the Pawnee Buttes parking lot off the ridge top to one of the locations shown as
A, B or C on the attached reference map. The new parking lot could be large enough to
accommodate approximately 25 cars and 6 vehicles towing horse trailers. New
infrastructure at the parking lot could include a toilet, individual picnic shelters, a group
shelter and educational displays. Depending on the location of the parking lot, a new
transportation system may need to be defined. This could include the relocation, closure,
obliteration or construction of trails and/or roads.
b) Designate approximately 6-8 dispersed camping sites within the Pawnee Buttes Special
Interest Area(SIA) boundary. The SIA boundary was designated in the 1997 Revision of
the Land and Resource Management Plan and is shown on the attached map. Camping
within the SIA boundary could be restricted to designated dispersed sites only. Outside
the boundary, visitors could continue to disperse camp under current regulations—within
300 feet of a numbered road and at least 200 feet away from a developed site (trailheads,
parking lots, restrooms, etc.). Any dispersed campsites in the SIA not designated through
this analysis or sites outside the SIA boundary where unacceptable resource damage is
occurring could be closed and rehabilitated.
c) Creation of a new non-motorized trail system. This system could extend to the west
and/or south of the Pawnee Buttes. The trail system to the west could be a series of loops
offering approximately 11 miles of trail while the trail system to the south could be a two
loop trail system offering approximately 5 miles of trail. The enclosed map shows a
concept of what these systems could look like. These trails could be open or closed to a
variety of different uses such as hiking, equestrian use and mountain biking.
d) Turn the current Pawnee Buttes trail into a loop trail. A new trail segment would need to
be constructed along the south and east sides of Lips Bluffs to complete this potential
loop. Currently, the Pawnee Buttes trail is open to hikers and equestrian use. It is closed
to mountain biking. This could remain the same or a new combination of allowable uses
could be designated for this trail.
Your comments about the potential management actions listed above will help the IDT create a
proposed action. Formal scoping on the proposed action is expected to start by August 4th, 2006.
If you wish to remain involved and receive future mailings related to this project, please send us
your comments about this letter or request to receive further information. Written comments
should be addressed to:
Pawnee National Grassland, Annie McFarland, 660 "O" Street, Greeley, CO 80631,
faxed to (970) 346-5014, or sent electronically to acmcfarland@fs.fed.us.
You can also contact Annie McFarland, District Recreation Staff Officer, should you desire
additional information or if you have questions about this analysis and the projects that may be
proposed in the near future. Annie can be reached by phone at (970) 346-5016 or via email at
acmcfarland@fs.fed.us.
Sincerely,
Ct9
STEVEN R. CURREY
District Ranger
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