Mosquito Range Heritage Initiative
Park County, Colorado
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Press Releases
FAIRPLAY, According to Ranger
Sara Mayben, “The trails
have been closed to the public since 2005 but folks are working to
get them open in the next few months.
Respect for private property is key to obtaining and keeping
legal access.” For nearly three
years various groups have worked together to obtain safe, legal
hiking access through a maze of private mining claims on the
extremely popular Mounts Lincoln, Democrat and Bross.
Located in the Trail design, environmental assessments, and signage were completed in 2007. In 2008, trail construction will be undertaken by several of the access partnership groups. Pending completion of a clearly signed and delineated hiking route and approval by private land owners, access to Mounts Lincoln and Democrat could be opened by fall.
Mounts Lincoln, Democrat,
and Bross were closed by private land owners in 2005, citing
liability concerns about potentially collapsing open mine shafts and
vandalism.
Colorado House Bill 1049 extended
liability protections of Landowners could allow access to Mounts Lincoln
and Democrat if information regarding signed routes, mine hazards
and respecting private property is provided. The two families that
own mining claims on the summits of Mounts Lincoln and Democrat have
agreed to let trail design and construction proceed and have leased
about 3,900 acres to the Town of The success of the potential
late summer 2008 opening comes after great effort by the access
partnership, which includes the Mosquito Range Heritage Initiative,
U.S. Forest Service, CFI, Colorado Mountain Club and the Trust for
Many acres of public land in
the Gold, silver and other
minerals have been mined in the Even when some of these areas on Mounts Lincoln,
Democrat and Bross are opened, the public must be aware that the
mountains will never be "wide open." The lease between the Town of
ADOPT MT. DEMOCRAT; SEEK VOLUNTEERS The Park County Democratic Party “adopted” a Colorado landmark this month — 14,148-foot Mt. Democrat in the northwest corner of the county. Under the “Adopt-A-Peak” program managed through the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (CFI), ParkCoDems are signing on to provide funds and/or host work projects to help preserve and maintain recreational uses of the 29th highest peak in Colorado. Greg Seabloom, representing CFI, signed the adoption papers with County Democratic Party 1st Vice-Chairman Soren Frederiksen during its August Central Committee Meeting. The preservation and restoration of trails is part of a series of projects managed through CFI and in cooperation with other groups in different areas of the state. In Park County, the group is also working with the Mosquito Range Heritage Initiative to provide a balance between private landowner liability concerns and recreational uses. Colorado HB 1049, passed in 2006, helps in that area. Park County Democrats are planning to be a focal point for trail restoration and are seeking to help coordinate volunteer groups during the late spring through early fall months. Additionally, the Dems see an excellent opportunity for local, state and national Democratic candidates to travel to easily accessible Kite Lake as a beautiful backdrop for environmental and business compatibility statements. Kite Lake is used as the base for Mt. Democrat restoration projects and is located just a 15-minute, 6 mile drive from Alma. The lake is located 96 miles by car from the State Capitol, an estimated 2-hour drive. Climbing the 54 Colorado “Fourteeners” is a hundred million dollar a year business for the state. A recent study through Colorado State University estimates that guests hiking the 54 peaks spend $200 on average in contributing to local economies, while CFI estimates a half-million hikers make an attempt to climb one in a given year. The summit of Mt. Democrat lies just on the Park County side of its border with Lake County, and is less than three miles south of Summit County.
On August 30, CFI is arranging a Mt. Democrat, Lincoln and Bross site visit at to the public to see what goes into projects they undertake. For more information on this event, contact James at CFI, 303-278-7650 x 121. On September 8, Park County Democrats are looking for a small group of trail volunteers to work with the help of CFI leaders. On that day, Friends of the Forest Foundation and CFI are organizing a Restoration Kickoff for projects on the three peaks marking the beginning of work needed to reopen access to Mts. Democrat, Lincoln and Bross in areas where trails cross private land. Nearly two dozen individuals interested in the project have already signed on at a ParkCoDem information booth during this summer’s Burro Days in Fairplay. The county party is hopeful of gathering participation from other state Democrat groups, especially those in neighboring Lake, Summit and Eagle counties. For more information or to volunteer, please contact county party officials Soren Frederiksen, 303-816-5230 or Dennis Obduskey, 303-816-1616. Other contact information: Park County Democrats: www.parkcodems.org Colorado Fourteeners Initiative: www.14ers.org Mosquito Range Heritage Initiative: www.mrhi.org PRESS CONTACT: DENNIS OBDUSKEY 303-816-1616
South Park Fourteeners Trail & Sign Project Thousands of climbers and hikers access Mounts Lincoln, Democrat, and Bross each year from Kite Lake. This hiking route provides an extremely popular, beautiful alpine loop for recreationists seeking to “bag” several Fourteeners in one trip. In order to help re-open these peaks to public access, the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (CFI) has been working closely over the past year with the Mosquito Range Heritage Initiative, the Colorado Mountain Club, private landowners, and the Forest Service to meet the land owners’ stipulations for re-opening access to these popular Fourteeners. To address the liability issue, House Bill 1049 was unanimously passed by Colorado State Legislature and signed into law by Governor Owens on March 8, 2006. Stipulations of this Bill require the land owners to clearly identify, sign, and maintain the trails. The land owners have agreed to grant public access to the Kite Lake route once these conditions have been met. Signage will be necessary, both at the Kite Lake trailhead and along the route, to direct public use to the approved trails. The Colorado Mountain Club has received funding from Colorado State Parks, through the State Trails program, to install trail signs and abandoned mine warning signs. This signage project will be implemented by CFI this summer. Signage will include:
This summer, CFI will also perform trail design and restoration planning on the Kite Lake approach to Mts. Democrat and Bross. This project will require 6.72 miles of trail design and 4.8 miles of restoration design. Design work is needed on these peaks in order to provide a sustainable ascent route and alleviate environmental impacts caused by increasing use levels on these climbing routes. CFI staff and volunteers will work in partnership with the Forest Service and the Town of Alma to complete the following steps for both peaks: delineate a trail corridor; design a specific trail route with station markers and flags; design ecological restoration plans for social trails with station markers; establish signage locations; and write construction and restoration design plans. These detailed trail construction and restoration plans will guide the work of CFI trail crews, Colorado Youth Corps crews, and volunteers to construct sustainable ascent routes during the 2008-2009 summer field seasons and to close, stabilize, and restore the numerous user-created social trails on these mountains. The planning documents will include specifications and drawings, prioritized work items, and time estimates. Trail projects for the area were proposed in the Mosquito Range Heritage Initiative Strategic Plan, prepared by the Trust for Public Land. The Plan recognized that high user numbers have resulted in the degradation of the alpine environment, including braided trails, soil loss, and plant loss, along some areas of the current route corridors. The plan prescribed signage and trail improvement projects to ensure public access to the popular Fourteeners in the area. CFI will recruit an Adopt-a-Peak group to ensure ongoing maintenance of the trail. CFI provides the leadership, tools, and planning for yearly Adopt-a-Peak maintenance projects and we have a solid track record of maintaining our completed trails; 22 Fourteeners in Colorado have already been Adopted and receive yearly maintenance. ### Editor contacts: MRHI Town of Alma Colorado Fourteeners Initiative US Forest Service Mine property owner Colorado Trust for Public Land Park County Office of Historic Preservation |
