CBMBA/CBCC Update #2 – September 23, 2024
How amazing it is to see those colors POP overnight. Ahhhh, if September was just three months long… what a season it would be! Such a delightful reward from that madhouse July we experienced. Last year it was two weeks into July, then into August. This year, it was all of July and it was a doozy. What stands out the most, must be the additional law enforcement presence on the forest that was funded by the STOR committee and various community partners for 3 weekends this past season. Besides writing citations, educating users, and documenting impacts, their presence is what makes the biggest lasting impact, and it was recognized state wide. Online forums turned from… ‘of course you can disperse camp in CB, here’s some coordinates’, to ‘don’t go camping in CB! It’s designated camping, it’s full, and they’re writing tickets’.
Even into August, one weekend saw four Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) issue approximately 30 citations, and over 20 warnings. Violations included illegal camping, underage consumption of alcohol, failure to pay fees, exceeding the 14-day stay limit, unsanitary conditions, and fishing without a license. On the Paonia side, three e-bikers were given citations for riding on a foot and horse traffic only trail, and admitted to going right past the non-motorized sign.
What is the point of rules and regulations if there’s no enforcement? We’re grateful to Mike Fuller (GMUG LEO) and the three other officers who put some teeth into the implemented designated camping forest order. These designations and protocols are in place to protect the resource, and make sure forest users have quality experiences. There may not be enough camping spots to cater to the number of forest users these days, but that’s ok – that’s a good thing. There is a limit or a tipping point to such a sensitive resource. When that point is reached, the resource perishes, poor experiences are had, and the forest uses are no longer sustainable and complimentary. Our backyard is worth the protection. At some point, permits and limited use may be the norm here. Personally, I’m glad to see it still remain free, (except Gothic), first come/first served, and protected with planned and sustainable management practices.
Crested Butte Conservation Corps (CBCC) crews are focusing the end of the season on upgrades and improvements to the designated camping. Better delineation of sites (boulders/fencing), fixing signs and signposts, decommissioning illegal uses, and of course we’ll keep cleaning and restocking that West Maroon bathroom until it’s time to close it down. 401 has been getting its annual facelift and 403 has also seen recent improvements, along with maintenance/sustainability work. The mighty popular East River Trail (Brush Creek) is getting a maintenance overhaul, and the crews have done exemplary maintenance and stewardship work all season on the various parts of our trail network.
Have you seen the ‘new’ Brush Creek? Man, the Brush Creek drainage got a serious facelift, from new and improved trails, to major trailhead and infrastructure improvements. Funny how excited one can get by new parking and improved camping areas, but what a job the Gunnison Ranger District did out at Tent City and the Brush Creek Trailhead. Along with that infrastructure, the CBCC and our benevolent volunteers did YUGE work on the trails out there. Starting with the Upper Upper Loop and funded via the Great American Outdoors Act, the CBCC has put nearly 400 hours into major improvements to the Brush Creek side of the Upper Upper. It’s like a new trail! Volunteers also pitched into that work on the bigger re-routes during a CBMBA Wednesday Workday, and we can’t ever thank those volunteers enough for doing such amazing work. Speaking of volunteers, from the Upper Upper, we go to the new extension – the Pointed Laccolith Trail, that connects the Upper Upper to the Brush Creek trailhead. Riders OFF the Road baby! CBMBA worked on it for years, and we’re humbled to see the trail come to fruition. From there, along with the regular trailwork in the Brush Creek drainage, Death Pass saw a major overhaul, CBCC crews are working on making a more sustainable East River as I write, and those good volunteers, along with an extra week of CBCC love, made a new half mile downhill finish to the indomitable Teocalli Ridge Trail, appropriately named Happy Ending. Way to coin it, Gadfly! It is truly a happy ending to a legendary trail that brings big smiles (and big airs).
Our inaugural year with the CBCC Backcountry Outreach Crew (BOC) was a winner, and one to grow on. We can’t say it enough… a presence in the backyard is what makes for the most (positive) impacts. It’s not possible to have boots and bodies in every drainage, every day, but we’re getting BOC crews to the highly impacted spots to help educate users, give out PACT kits, help park cars, and advise users how to have the best experiences. They’ll be back in 2025.
We have more work to do and the stats will be added to as we wind down the season. CBCC crews will be out there until the snow flies, continuing to steward our backyard and open spaces in order to best protect them, and to provide the best experiences possible. We are so grateful for another year of support from far and wide. From the local user to the far traveling visitor, we’re humbled by your generous support. To the Gunnison County Metropolitan Recreation District, we couldn’t be more grateful for the operational support. To Colorado Parks and Wildlife, we’re so thankful for your continued stewardship support. To Mt. Crested Butte, the Town of Crested Butte and 1% for Open Space, we so appreciate your support each season since the very beginning of the CBCC in 2017. And to the Gunnison County Stewardship Fund/National Forest Foundation, thank you for the consistent annual support.
It’s not over yet, but the stats below say it all. To our amazing volunteers, to the business sponsors of our workdays, and to the spirit and soul that makes volunteer trail workdays so special – we are so very grateful for an amazing season. If you haven’t been on the new ‘Rockola Coaster’ Trail, Happy Ending, Pointed Laccolith, and the multitude of other improved trails – it’s still the best time of year to be out there, get some!
2024 CBCC/BOC stats to date:
Miles of trail worked on: 42.91
Drainages Built: 375
Trail armoring: 353’
Fallen trees cut out: 202
Trail Decommissioned: 1,860’
New Trail/Re-routes Built: 9,959’
Number of People Reached (conversations/education): 1624
Campsites Monitored/Maintained: 1328
Illegal Firepits Decommissioned: 81
Illegal Campsites: 61
Unattended Fires (we put them out!): 5 (WTF!!)
Human Waste Piles collected and properly disposed: 100 (WTF!!)
Dog Waste Bags: 77
Trash Collected and properly disposed: 2,352.09 lbs (WTF!!!)
CBMBA volunteer hours 2024 – 1,846s
