Hello fellow offroad enthusiast,
As we are sure you know, our beloved Colorado trails are under constant threat of closure and we need your help!
One such area that we have struggled to keep open are the Gulches, more commonly known as Hackett Gulch, Longwater Gulch
and the surrounding network of trails. These trails were temporarily
closed after the Hayman Fire of 2002 and the sections in Park County
have never officially been re-opened. After the fire, the Forest Service
offered Teller County and Park County control of the trails. Teller
County immediately recognized the trails in their county, but Park
County has been an entirely different story. From politicians blocking
progress, to the Forest Service losing paperwork, the story of the past
17 years and why the trails have never officially been reopened is
almost unbelievable!
Our
current focus is to get the trails officially reopened and recognized
by Park County. This is where we are asking for your help, we need you
to take a few minutes and email your concerns to the Park County
Commissioners. Please copy and paste their email addresses below into an
email and ask them why they have never reopened the trails in their
county.
Mike Brazil, mailto:mbrazell@parkco.us" rel="nofollow - mbrazell@parkco.us
Dick Elsner, mailto:delsner@parkco.us" rel="nofollow - delsner@parkco.us
Ray Douglas, mailto:rdouglas@parkco.us" rel="nofollow - rdouglas@parkco.us
We
are not asking you to simply copy a form letter for the body of the
email, however. Form letters are not nearly as effective as real
substantial comments. Tell them how you feel about the area or your
desire to visit the area in the future. Describe how you use the area
for recreation, business and why you love going there. Your comments do
not have to be long and can contain only a few sentences. Remember to be
respectful, here are some helpful phrases to help get you started:
“I have enjoyed using these trails in the past because…”
“I value the trails in this area because…”
“I have not yet visited these trails but I plan to in the future…”
“I would appreciate if you would legitimize these trails for our continued enjoyment”
“These trails are important to my business because…”
Additionally,
it would be helpful if you ended your email in this manner: “Please
work with our representatives from the 4x4 community to find a
non-closure solution for these trails.”
Discussions
as to the future of these trails are currently in progress. Decisions
could be immanent, and action will make a difference in those decisions.
The time to add your voice is now, please send email communications
ASAP to the commissioners to show your support.
Thank you for your help, together we can keep our trails open for future use. If you would also kindly BCC mailto:landuse@keeptrailsopen.com" rel="nofollow - landuse@keeptrailsopen.com when
you send in your email, we will be able to track the number of comments
that come in. This will be helpful for future engagement with the
commissioners.
Thanks for your help,
Marcus Trusty - Colorado Off Road Enterprise - President
Brian O'Connors - Colorado Association of 4WD Clubs - President
Cory Moul - Mile-HI Jeep Club - Public Relations
Jim Chambers - Mile-HI Jeep Club - Land Use Chairman