Access,

improvements outlined



CRESTONE — Dan Dallas, Forest Supervisor and Center Manager for the San Luis Valley Public Lands Center, signed the decision notice for the Baca Mountain Tract and Camino Chamisa Project.

This decision amends the forest plan for the Rio Grande National Forest. This decision applies only to the national forest included in the analysis area. A separate decision will be made by Mike Snyder, National Park Service Intermountain Regional Director, who is the responsible official for the projects within the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.

“I’m especially impressed with the interagency cooperation on this project,” said Dallas. “The National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Colorado Division of Wildlife, and Saguache County worked closely with us to ensure we met everyone’s goals for the area.”

Approximately 14,000 acres southeast of Crestone were added to the Rio Grande National Forest with the passage of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Act of 2000. This section of the forest, known as the Baca Mountain Tract, is bordered by the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness, Baca Grande subdivision, and the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve with the Baca National Wildlife Refuge just east of the park.

The forest plan amendment delineates three special emphasis areas in the Baca Mountain Tract: bighorn sheep management; deer/elk winter range; and a special interest area that emphasizes the management and protection of the Liberty and Duncan historic sites, which Dallas described as some of the most intact historical sites in the state and nation. All three of these special emphasis areas are open to hunting and fishing.

The decision also authorized several projects on the Baca Mountain Tract, including construction of a 15-vehicle parking area, which will be located a half mile south of the intersection of Liberty Road and the proposed Camino Chamisa. The parking area will include a gate, toilet, signs and interpretive facilities.

He also authorized the Colorado Division of Water Resources to install and operate a stream-flow gage on Deadman Creek; access to private property inholdings; minor maintenance and reconstruction of forest system roads; and activities such as weed control and trash removal.

Liberty Road will be closed to public motorized use south of the parking area, but will be open to foot, horse and bicycle use.

The Baca Mountain Tract currently allows no public motorized access. In the alternative selected by Dallas, public motorized access will be allowed from the Camino Chamisa intersection with the existing Liberty Road to the South Parking Area but the remainder of the tract will be closed to motorized use.

Dallas stated he took into account local residents’ concerns. “The residents of Crestone and Baca Grande subdivision have a strong sense of place about their community and its setting in the landscape,” he said. “The selected alternative will not change the overall historical and cultural elements and scenic landscape setting of the Baca Mountain Tract, and will provide more convenient access enabling more people to experience the area.”

Dallas made no recommendations for wilderness designation in the Baca Mountain Tract “because the Tract does not meet the potential or availability requirements for a wilderness recommendation. The Baca Mountain

Tract is encumbered with a split-estate status where the mineral rights are still privately owned. The Forest Service cannot prevent access to and the development of those mineral rights, which are incompatible uses that would negatively affect wilderness character and potential.”

The decision notice and environmental assessment for the Baca Mountain Tract and Camino Chamisa Project may be viewed at www.fs.fed.us/r2/riogrande/projects/decisions.