Submitted on Monday, December 17, 2012 - 14:55
Submitted by anonymous user: [72.175.107.117]
Submitted values are:

   --Your Contact  Information--
     First Name: Tom
     Last Name: Purvis
     Street Address: PO Box 534
     Street Address Line 2:
     Street Address Line 3:
     City: Salida
     Postal Code: 81201
     Country: United States
     State/Province: CO
     Phone Number: 7192210321
     Email: tom@salidamountaintrails.org


Your Comments:
I am writing to express my concerns about the proposed policy of limiting  
travel on the new trail between Windy Point and the LaGarita Wilderness south  
of Marshall Pass in the Rio Grande and Gunnison National Forests to foot and  
horseback. I feel that this policy would discriminate against off-road  
cyclists unreasonably.

As a member and representative of a local cycling and trails advocacy  
organization in the area, Salida Mountain Trails, I can tell you with some  
authority that off-road cyclists have been helpful and supportive partners to  
the land management agencies here. We attend trail maintenance workdays in  
large numbers and have been seeking to support US Forest Service and Bureau  
of Land Management personnel in every way possible.

The Cochetopa Hills area is quite remote. I have a hard time understanding  
how user travel could need to be so limited. The density of user days on this  
new segment of trail is likely to be fairly low. Why then should a whole  
class of public land user be prohibited?

In general, that is the key question in my mind: Why?

I strongly urge the decision-makers in this process to examine this question,  
and answer it completely and honestly. The public deserves the honest answer,  
and I believe the decision-makers should be able justify this position  
clearly.

Thank you for considering my comment.

Tom Purvis
Salida, CO


The results of this submission may be viewed at:
http://www.imba.com/node/3299/submission/13694