2025 CBMBA Update #1 – Dude, you can’t camp there!
There was so much build up to the 2025 public lands (Summer) season with a turbulent shake up at the federal level. The Forest Service (USDA) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM/Dept of the Interior) were dealt heavy blows in regards to staffing and resources via budget cuts, personnel cutbacks, and federal support. Our community rallied, and support came in from Met Rec, our towns, our county, and several non-profits, to help support our local Gunnison Ranger District with seasonal staff to ensure there were boots on the ground. Three seasoned and returning Forest Service staff members were-hired by the Gunnison Ranger District and have been doing great work on the forest since Memorial Day.
The Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association (CBMBA) is ever so grateful to have more crews and personnel than we’ve ever had to help bolster and support our Ranger District, municipalities, public lands stewards, and stakeholders. Last year, our Crested Butte Conservation Corps (CBCC) was 6 strong. This year, we are 9 strong going into July. In addition to those nine, we have three more crew members on our Backcountry Outreach Crew (BOC), a supplement to the CBCC doing specific outreach and support at busy trailheads and access areas on the weekends (Fri – Sun) for 8 weeks during the busiest part of the summer.
Of those 9 CBCC crew members, 6 are CBCC veterans, returning to steward and care for our backyard. The 3 additional hires are Forest Service and BLM veterans, with experience and a desire to make a difference. Of the 3 BOC crew members, all are returning from last year. It gives us at CBMBA great pride to have seasoned and experienced crews on the ground. These hard-working crew members care for our backyard. With them, we are in good hands.
Boots are on the ground, and it’s go time out there as we have completed early rounds of stewardship work after the busy 4th of July weekend. It’s not a great start. I’ll be honest, I had such high hopes! I thought people would be more engaged and concerned over public lands knowing that totalitarian demagogues are trying to sell them off and rob future generations of access. Public Lands are on the proverbial chopping block, and I thought more people would be coming to their rescue. We’ve been picking up odd and large amounts of trash already, but this weekend hit home. Damnit! The 4th parade seemed so grassroots and such hometown goodness! Kind of like older times. The backyard didn’t seem so overrun…. But hot damn, it was.
CBCC crews pulled out over 300 pounds of trash this past weekend. Lots of human waste! Not cool! This is not a good start. Our public lands stewards are more tapped than ever, and our visitors and guests are not stepping up to the plate. Law enforcement is more tapped than ever. We can’t have enough at this rate, and we don’t have enough. There is one law enforcement officer for the entire Ranger District; he can only do so much.
We do need more citizen stewardship. Some do it already. It’s not easy, but it’s our only hope. It’s up to us, this community – concerned citizens, responsible backcountry users, lovers of public lands, responsible visitors, and caring public land stewards, to help educate the masses, call out illegal uses, put out abandoned burning fires, and let those who don’t know – NO, you can’t park there! You can’t camp there! It’s protected for a reason – that’s why it’s beautiful, we love it, and it looks so friggin’ amazing. Don’t ruin it!
There is a fine line – and being nice in a way that informs people of the reasons and why it’s important to protect and steward it, is paramount. Being kind and respectful to others, specifically the ignorant, goes a long way. It’s our only hope, and we have the season ahead to make it happen. Otherwise, there are very strong and warranted concerns about the future of our public lands. This place has the heart, the community, and the desire to ensure the future of our backyard. We must make that effort now, or it will continue to traverse the growing trend we are witnessing on the ground.
On a more positive note…. There is of course the continued dynamic, virtuous, regal, exemplary and upstanding work being done by this community, and our benevolent CBCC crews (5 days a week, 26 weeks a year) on the trails and within the recreation framework of our illustrious backyard. National Trails Day saw a new connector put in at Tent City (Sideshow Trail) to get users off the road and onto better trail and recreation experiences. CBCC crews have been cutting trees (non-stop) that fall, diverting water, hardening surfaces, and making for sustainable backcountry experiences in an area over 433 sq. miles. The season is young, and the good work will continue. We have the best support and community engagement we’ve ever had, and we’ll rely on that to make sure our backyard, our backcountry, and our livelihoods are maintained and well stewarded. We will always need that community support and help.
We have a season of ‘Wednesday Workdays’ ahead. We have our Annual Overnight Trail Work Weekend in August. There are so many ways for this community, you readers, and the public to be a piece of the puzzle in figuring out how to best protect, preserve, and forever save what we so love, our public lands.
Please reach out with observations, comments, suggestions, and your time and effort at our community volunteer workdays. If you are willing, be those extra eyes and ears and reach out to help educate users in the backyard. These are trying times for public lands; we must be diligent, we must be vigilant, we must be engaged, and we must see them prosper for ALL generations to come!
You can find us at cbmba.org with a calendar, events, and how to connect.
CBCC and BOC stats to date:
Miles of trail worked on: 23.14
Drainages built: 187
Trail Armoring/Hardening projects: 33
Feet of Armoring: 225’
Downed trees cut: 121
Campsites monitored/maintained: 874
Illegal campsites: 16
Illegal firepits decomm’d: 30
Unattended fires put out: 4
Human waste properly disposed of: 23
Dog waste properly disposed of: 46
Pallets collected/disposed of: 7
Camp chairs collected/disposed of: 2
Dog Toys collected/disposed of: 17
Tent stakes collected/disposed of: 22
Beer cans collected/disposed of: 137
Cigarette butts collected/disposed of: 65
Toilets collected/disposed of: 1
Trash (total) properly disposed of: 1383.5 lbs
People reached/connected with: 734
Funny/odd trash to note: 2 mattresses/box springs, 1 toilet, TV parts, 1 RV awning
