The off-roading experience in the Boggy-Glade area, north of Dolores, is about to change.

After years of debate, appeals and decisions, the Boggy-Glade Travel Management Plan has been given the final go-ahead from Mark Stiles, Forest Supervisor for the Tres Rios Field Office, and implementation will begin this spring.

The plan eliminates cross-country travel for motorized vehicles, a common practice in the area for the past several decades. The use of these vehicles, like ATVs and dirt bikes, is now confined to designated roads and trails.

Some uses, such as game retrieval, day use and camping, allow for limited motor vehicle operations. For example, campers can park 300 feet from the permitted roadways and day users can park 30 feet from those designated routes.

For game retrieval, which occurs for deer or elk during archery, muzzleloader, and the first through fourth hunting seasons, the vehicles have to stay within 1 mile of the road. They can’t be more than 50 inches in width; and one vehicle can make two trips, two can make only one.

The plan area runs along the western border of the Dolores River canyon and south to include McPhee Reservoir. In the east, it borders Highway 145 and lines up with the forest boundary to the north.

The Dolores District office plans to publish a free Motor Vehicle Use Map, begin educating the public on the changes, and install signs in time for the upcoming hunting season.

Stiles’ choice to uphold the Final Decision for the travel plan, authored by Dolores District Ranger Derek Padilla, signals the final step in the planning process. No more appeal opportunities will be available.

The recent appeals considered by Stiles represent a second appeals process. The first draft of the plan was revised after appeals filed in 2010 were upheld.

Of the 25 appeals filed from residents and municipalities in this second go-round, eight were dismissed without review and 16 were considered by the regional agency appeal review team, who made recommendations to Stiles.

 

A new manager has landed at the Durango-La Plata County Airport.

Kip Turner got the nod after Ron Dent announced his retirement in January. Turner will take the reigns April 1.

He was selected from a field of eight finalists, narrowed down from 32 applicants. The finalists all had to endure a “rigorous assessment center process” from city, county and airport commission officials, as well as community leaders.

“Kip comes to us with relevant airport management experience, specifically experience in managing terminal construction projects,” City Manager Ron LeBlanc said in a press release. “These skills will be especially important with the planned terminal expansion.”

The Auburn graduate in Aviation Management has more than 10 years of airport management and development experience, most recently serving as the Aeronautics Specialist/Airport Manager for the Alabama Department of Transportation.

Turner also, had a hand in designing, constructing and promoting the first commercial airport, Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, built following 9/11.

 

 

Bear sightings and incidents in Southwest Colorado hit a record high of 1,545 last year, almost double the number in 2011, according to the 2012 Summary Report from Bear Smart Durango, a local group dedicated to reducing human and bear conflicts. The report looked at date from La Plata, Archuleta, Montezuma and San Juan counties.

Most of these sightings, more than half, came from reports of bears in trash.

“It was a very active bear season,” said Bryan Peterson, director of Bear Smart Durango.

The city and county have taken measures in years past to address the issue and limit the amount of trash bears can get their paws on. The city passed the Wildlife-Resistant Trash Container Ordinance in 2008; and the county passed its Wildlife Ordinance in 2010. Both laws levy fines for failure to secure trash from wildlife or pick up trash after an incident. The City of Durango also recently passed an ordinance requiring residents to put out their trash no earlier than 6 a.m. on the day of pick up and remove cans form the alley by 9 p.m. the same day.

Last year, city enforcement officers reported more than 500 incidents, with 177 written warnings and two citations given out. However, only 22 reports and two warnings were issued in the county.

Another number that jumped up in 2012 is non-hunter bear mortality, which includes bear deaths from vehicles, destruction of nuisance bears by wildlife officers, or death via electrocution or other reasons.

Seventy-four bears died from such causes in 2012 as compared to 36 the year before, and that number has been climbing since 2009. Bear mortality due to hunting falls under hunter harvest, which actually saw a decline of more than 25 percent last year from 2011.

The report breaks down the number of bear sightings and incident reports in the area, bear mortality rates and enforcement numbers from the city and county. Bears seen in trees or along the roadside are considered sightings; bears getting into chicken coops or trash cans are recorded as incidents.

Peterson said the report, compiled from data collected by organizations like Bear Smart and state agencies like the Southwest Region of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, is fairly unscientific because it’s dependent on reported sightings. However, the total number of reports is typically consistent with the activity of the bear season.

For example, the second highest number of bear sightings occurred in 2007, another year that saw shortages of the foods found in the usual bear diet.

The male bears start to show their faces in March, so the first sighting for the upcoming season could come at any time.
“It’s time to start practicing bear smart measures,” Peterson said.

His first suggestion is to bring in the birdfeeders, which he calls the “gateway drug” for bears. Another way to prevent human/bear conflicts is to use a bear-resistant trash can, which is the latest step in the Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s long-term bear study.

The agency is distributing about 720 bear-resistant containers in Durango this week, and plans to distribute 150 more by the end of April.
One area will be considered a “treatment area,” roughly the areas west of downtown, bordering the Mountain Park, and the historic downtown neighborhoods north of College Drive, near the Nature Trail. A second area that will receive the containers, the southside of Durango, will be considered the “control area.” The treatment area was chosen because it sees the most conflict with bears; the control area was chosen at random.

Each area will be observed over a three-year period. Officials will record the number of conflicts, take reports from participants and observe bear behavior.

Joe Lewandowski, spokesman for the Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said the agency is asking participants to take away other bear attractants, like birdfeeders and pet food.

Most of the cans, costing about $150,000 total, were paid for by the agency but the city will get to the keep the cans in the end. n

To read the report online, go to: http://issuu.com/bearsmartdurango/docs/2012_summary_report

– Tracy Chamberlin