August 25, 2020
Dear Ouray County Commissioners,
We are a group of Ouray County residents and business owners writing to express our concerns about conditions of our alpine access roads and alpine zones.
Over the past two summers, we have witnessed and experienced a dramatic increase in the use of our backcountry resources. While we are encouraged to see so many people discovering the great outdoors and are happy to share our little corner of the state, the increased use has also resulted in the rise of illegal and unsafe behaviors and degradation of our resources such as roadways, waterways, fragile alpine vegetation and wildlife. We are concerned that if the unmanaged use of our backcountry resources continues, it will have a negative effect on the county residents’ quality of life and visitors’ experiences in future years, will cause irreversible damage to our natural resources, jeopardize access to the federal lands and, in the end, will negatively impact our tourism-based economy. We believe that in order for our economy to continue to flourish, our county needs to manage our resources carefully.
We are especially concerned about illegal and unsafe behaviors witnessed on our backcountry roads including vehicles speeding, road damage and safety issues such as unsafe parking, vehicles leaving the roadway and, as the news outlets reported, alleged criminal violence on the roads. We are also concerned about the increasing burden on the taxpayer resources such as higher road maintenance and emergency services costs.
We understand that effectively addressing these concerns will be challenging and require resources. While we are encouraged by the recent actions of Sheriff Perry and Chief Wood, we believe that a more long-term systemic approach is needed and we would like you to consider one or any combination of the following actions to start with.
- Regulatory framework:
- Collaborate with neighboring counties of San Miguel, San Juan and Hinsdale to standardize backcountry use regulations across all four counties
- Education:
- Engage volunteer groups to serve as ambassadors to educate the public about responsible use of the backcountry
- Improve signage along roadways
- Data collection
- Enforcement:
- Increase law enforcement presence in the backcountry, especially along County Road 361 (CR 361)
- Fund Alpine Ranger program
We are interested in working with the County to engage the community and start a dialogue to address these concerns. One of the immediate ways that we can initiate this work is to gather data on road usage. Additionally, if the County believes the best approach is the creation of a group of Citizen Ambassadors, we can work to help recruit volunteers for this task.
Sincerely,
Concerned Citizens