RGNF is developing a forest-wide winter travel management plan

SAN LUIS VALLEY — The Rio Grande National Forest is working on an over snow travel plan and is seeking public comment through June 15.

The plan will designate trails and areas open to cross-country snowmobile use and create motor-use vehicle maps. Draft maps would designate 74% of the Rio Grande (1,382,000 acres) as open for snowmobile use, along with 260 miles of groomed snowmobile routes. Of these, 403, 632 are wilderness areas, 22,987 Special Interest Areas and 20,792, Research Natural Areas and are closed to motorized use.

In 2021, the San Luis Valley Ecosystems Council, The Wilderness Society, and other environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the Forest Service citing inadequate protections for the Uncompahgre fritillary butterfly and the Canada lynx. The litigation also has potential conflicts between motorized and non-motorized users. Some of that has been settled by a court decision in March and parts of the litigation are still open. For more on this, see the information at the end of this article.

Under federal law, the Forest Service must comply with a regulation called the Travel Management Rule. Forest managers must designate the roads and areas that are open to motorized vehicles such as snowmobiles.

The Forest Service is seeking public comment on these plans and is hosting several public meetings. At the meeting held on May 29 at the Alamosa Family Recreation Center, about a dozen citizens attended and listened to forest service employees Judi Perez, Andrew Kelher, and Gregg Goodland.

At the meeting several maps were displayed as part of a "Recreational Opportunity Spectrum," detailing areas proposed to be open to off-road equipment in accordance with the Travel Management Rule.

At the end of the planning process, the forest service will publish a map that will show designated roads and trails where over snow vehicle use is allowed. The maps will include details on the types of vehicles allowed and the time of the year they can be used.

The goals of the plan include: Providing high-quality over-snow access and experiences, ensuring that over-snow vehicle use occurs when there is adequate snow to protect underlying resources, enhancing public enjoyment safely minimizing impacts to natural resources, and minimizing user conflicts.

Kelher said the Forest Service is currently working on decision-making issues and an analysis of the impacts of the plan.

In response to a question from this reporter to elaborate on who is part of the analysis team, Perez, who is a strategic planner said, "Right now we have a very small team, a hydrologist a wildlife biologist, a recreation representative and botany, and me. I've been doing this type of work for 35 years, I know it well and I've been meeting teams like this."

Perez then explained the process the team will take including public comments and present Kelher with alternatives the team has compiled.

Perez concluded with, "We will develop some alternatives, we will analyze all of the effects on the environmental resources, the natural resources and all of those alternatives, that is why we are doing an EIS [Environmental Impact Statement].

After the EIS is issued, the Forest Service and issue a draft decision open for public comments, then a final draft.

The Forest Service is estimating implementation of the plan in early January 2027. The public can also make comments on the plan on the Rio Grande National Forest website.

The Rio Grande National Forest has extensive resources regarding the plan and can be accessed at www.fs.usda.gov/riogrande.

There are two additional public meetings regarding the Over Snow Travel Management Planning Project. In Saguache on Tuesday, June 4, from 6 to 7 p.m., at the Saguache County Road and Bridge Building on 3rd Street, and in South Fork on Wednesday, June 5, from 6 to 7 p.m., at the South Fork Fire Department on Mall Street.

Contact Matthew Nies, Department of Justice at 202-598-6713, for any additional questions related to the litigation mentioned in this article. You can also fill out a media inquiry with DOJ online at www.justice.gov/opa/webform/media-inquiries.