1/11/2019
Wilderness Education Plan
Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness
Aspen – Sopris and Gunnison Ranger District
White River National Forest, Colorado, Region 2
February 28, 2005
There is not as much wilderness out there as I wish there were, there is more inside than you think.
-David Brower
Prepared by: Aurora Palmer and Martha Moran February 2005
Reviewed by: Kai Allen and Beth Boyst February 2005
Approved by: District Rangers
Bill Westbrook Aspen-Sopris RD
James Dawson Gunnison RD
The Forest Service and Maroon Bells Snowmass Wilderness education mission
The mission of the US Forest Service is “Caring for the land, and serving people.” The mission of the Maroon Bells Snowmass Wilderness (MBSW) education plan is to allow people of all corners of the world to appreciate the beauty of the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness and to be so deeply influenced by the solitude and beauty of the Wilderness that it forms an inner appreciation for oneself and the outdoors.
Goals of this education plan
The Aspen- Sopris Ranger District and the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness education program seeks to:
- Expand the public’s appreciation and knowledge of Wilderness through education about wilderness legislation, national forest management, and the human and natural history of its wilderness areas.
- Manage wilderness recreation to provide high quality experiences with minimal restrictions of visitor activities, except as necessary to protect the biophysical resource and character of the Wilderness.
- Allow a diverse group of individuals the opportunity to learn about Wilderness i.e. the RoaringForkValley’s growing Hispanic population, school children, outfitters, horse users, locals, and tourists.
Introduction to Wilderness Program of the Aspen- Sopris Ranger District and Gunnison Ranger District
Aspen – Sopris Ranger District on the White RiverNational Forest and Gunnison Ranger District on the GMUGNational Forest are stewards of the Maroon Bells Snowmass Wilderness. The Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness was one of five areas in Colorado designated wilderness in the original Wilderness Act of 1964.
The Wilderness Act of 1964 was passed “In order to assure that an increasing population, accompanied by expanding settlement and growing mechanization, does not occupy and modify all areas within the United State and its possessions, leaving no lands designated for preservation and protection in their natural condition, it is hereby declared to be the policy of the Congress to secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness.” (Section 2A).
Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness
The Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness (MBSW) is renowned for the twin 14,000 ft. peaks known as the Maroon Bells. The MBSW is world-famous for its impressive mountains, sparkling lakes, and colorful flower-splashed meadows. The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic conducts world-class ecological research of mountain ecosystems. The Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness (MBSW) presently comprises 181,512 acres. The MBSW Wilderness is easily accessed by Highway 82 (from the towns of Aspen, Basalt, and El Jebel) on its north and Highway 133 (from the towns of Carbondale, Redstone, and Marble) on its west side. Several southern trailheads are accessed by dirt roads of varying difficulty from the town of Crested Butte.
Elevations range from about 8,000 feet to well over 14,000 feet. There are six mountain peaks over 14,000 feet, all of which are located in the Elk Mountains. The area is quite steep. Most of the level areas are located in the valley bottoms. The U-shaped valleys are typical of those created by glaciers.
This Wilderness has a rich and colorful mining history. The beginnings of the silver boom in these mountains started in 1879 and shortly after mining camps were established at Ashcroft, Gothic, Schofield, Marble, and Crystal. Mines thrived until the early 1890s, when the silver market crashed and a mass exodus left most of the mining towns vacant. Rembrandts of the mining era are scattered throughout the Wilderness
The Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness receives heavy recreational use, with an estimated 120,000 people visiting annually. The majority of visitation is by day-hikers and overnight backpackers. Hunters are attracted to the area especially during the fall. Permitted commercial uses include horseback riding, fishing, hunting, and hiking.
Management issues in Maroon Bells-Snowmass include:
► resource damage from improper travel and camping techniques
► concentrated use and associated impacts at specific locations (Conundrum, Crater Lake, East Maroon, CathedralLake, Copper Creek Trail and CopperLake, SnowmassLake, AmericanLake, ThomasLake, and CapitalLake.
► outfitter/guide practices (excessive group sizes and physical and social impacts caused by improper stock use.
► threats to wildlife (unleashed dogs and overused trails threatens the
natural habitat of a variety of species).
► social impacts (crowding at high use-destinations within the Wilderness and loss of solitude).
► Lack of Wilderness ethics, knowledge, and understanding of the Wilderness resource.
► Threat of invasive and noxious weeds.
Present Wilderness Education Program for the Maroon Bells Snowmass Wilderness:
Maroon Bells RFTA Bus Tour - 26 year partnership in road restriction (1977) to protect the scenic values and minimize pollution and conflicts by providing interpretive bus service from mid June to Labor Day daily and weekends in September. Encourage use of Mass transportation
Aspen Highlands Visitor Information Displays - Provide front liner information while operation of ticket sales outlets at Pro Mountain Sports and info displays
Maroon Bells Customer Service Technicians
Maroon Bells Entrance Station
Maroon Bells Scenic Area Interpretation Displays
Maroon Bells Information Area Contact Station
Maroon Bells Amphitheatre
AspenCenter for Environmental Studies partnership – Non Profit organization dedicated to educating and interpretation to the Maroon Bells Public – forging intellectual and emotional connections between people and the Maroon Bells, 12 year in partnership and station two naturalists at MaroonLake seven days a week. 1297 people participated on nature walks 6/14-8/31 and contacted 8,849 at the info desk.
White River Interpretive Association Volunteer Wilderness Rangers- Distribute information about White RiverNF and natural history and education, Volunteer training development and recruitment, Volunteer corps 32, develop Volunteer Ranger Field Guide and summer skill
Wilderness Workshop partnership – founded in 1967 it is a non profit local grassroots organization working for the ecological health of the White River National Forest and help the ranger district on several key health of the wilderness monitoring projects in the Maroon Bells Snowmass Wilderness through air and water sampling and invasive weed inventorying.
Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers - Several key trail volunteer projects in MaroonValley over past 10 years including National Trails Day 2004 and MaroonLake trail project
PitkinCounty - Working with USFS presently on determining local solutions for maintaining public lands specifically for Maroon Bells Scenic Area. RFTA board of directors
Required Registration
Field contacts by USFS Wilderness Rangers
Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory
Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce
Wilderness Education Issues
The primary issues the wilderness program is trying to address through education, referenced in the preceding overviews of the Maroon Bells-Snowmass wilderness, are summarized below:
► resource damage
► high use in semi-primitive locations
► outfitter/guide violations: rangers educate the public on the importance of a
regulated permit system for commercial activities of public lands.
► threats to wildlife: rangers rove on highly used trails to focus on the
importance of leashed dogs and staying on the designated trails.
► social impacts: rangers educate the public about the importance of solitude in
wilderness.
► need to educate the public on wilderness ethics: rangers and Forest Service
officials participate in wilderness talks about the importance of keeping the
wilderness pristine and unimpacted.
These topics are important to the Maroon Bells-Snowmass wilderness, but broader wilderness issues are equally important. Specific topics include:
► the purpose and intent of the Wilderness Act of 1964.
► history of wilderness legislation
► wilderness character, values, philosophy, and ethics
► wilderness management and how it relates to other federal land management
objectives and laws.
Additionally, wilderness rangers have the opportunity to educate the public on general national forest issues. Certain broader topics include:
► the history of the Forest Service and the role of Wilderness in its multiple use mandate
► specific management issues on the GMUG and White RiverNational Forest
► the issues and roles of other agencies and partners
Description of Wilderness Education Staff
Consistent Wilderness management has been difficult and challenging during the past five years as a result of wide fluctuations within a generally decreasing budget trend. Reduced budgets for wilderness management translate into less field presence, and an ever-increasing workload for Wilderness managers. The tasks of trail maintenance, monitoring, public education, and restoration of impacted sites is becoming increasingly difficult to accomplish within current budget allocations and wilderness management direction.
The employees of the wilderness program on the Aspen Ranger District are supervised by the Wilderness Manager with leadership provided by District Ranger. Presently there is one GS-11 wilderness field manager, who oversees several field staff positions: Wilderness, Trails and Special Areas on the Aspen-Sopris Ranger District (in process of combination).
Aspen-Sopris Ranger District field staff in 2004 included:
• one permanent-seasonal GS-7 wilderness and trails crew leader
• one seasonal GS-5 wilderness/dispersed recreational ranger
• two permanent GS-5 VIS to educate visitors about wilderness
values before entering the wilderness at the Aspen and Sopris
Ranger Stations
• two or more temporary student interns
• 28 trained White River Interpretive Association (WRIA) wilderness ranger
volunteers.
Staffing on the Gunnison Ranger District includes the Recreation Staff Officer who supervises the Wilderness/Winter Sports/Wilderness Special Uses Coordinator. Line officer authority lies with the District Ranger.
Gunnison Ranger District Field Staff in 2004 included:
One GS-7 Trails/Wilderness technician (permanent part-time; 30% wilderness)
Two seasonal GS-5 Wilderness Rangers (100% Wilderness)
Two PFT GS-5 Visitor Services positions located at the Gunnison Ranger District (5% Wilderness).
Their primary duties of Wilderness Rangers include:
• monitoring trail conditions and the clearing and basic maintenance of some trails
• Education and law enforcement efforts aimed at minimizing known or anticipated illegal activities within wilderness
• updating maps and other materials to reduce the need for trail signing.
• education that conveys appropriate (Leave No Trace) ethics and techniques to the publics
Visitor Information Services
Visitor Information Services (VIS) has been identified as at least part of the solution to most problems discussed regarding wilderness education. However, it is apparent that the current efforts in VIS are inadequate. The VIS task has always appeared almost insurmountable. In part, this is because of the perceived inexperience of the typical MBSW visitor and the belief that these people were coming from all over the country, making VIS efforts more complex and expensive.
Current VIS efforts: VIS efforts have varied greatly from one District to the next and from year to year. Currently the Sopris Ranger District and the Aspen Ranger District are merging offices and one of the permanent- full time VIS employees recently transferred positions within the White RiverNational Forest. There is a vacancy of this position, thus the two districts continue to struggle to relay adequate wilderness education to the public. Once this position has been filled, there will be a meeting regarding the duties and roles of VIS employees. Besides front desk staffing VIS efforts include: trailhead displays on all Districts include a copy of the special orders. The Aspen Districts provide a bulletin board which also displays a topographic map of the area accessed by the trailhead with suggested campsites identified. Symbols indicating that dogs must be leashed and that bikes are prohibited are also displayed. Mandatory registration boxes are provided at all Aspen and Sopris District trailheads with a message requesting that all overnight visitors register. Brochures are available at the Aspen, Sopris, and Gunnison District offices on minimum impact camping, regulations, management concerns, and suggested visitor behavior in specific problem areas. VIS information is also dispensed through contact with Wilderness Rangers, Campground Hosts, and campground recreation technicians. Only the Wilderness Rangers have received adequate orientation in the past to adequately assist in the wilderness VIS program.
The biggest challenge facing both districts wilderness program is the lack of funding to support educational actions. It is well proven that the most effective Wilderness education occurs in the field by knowledgeable staff. Consistent under funding translates into an inadequate field presence, consequently limiting field-based education efforts.
Target Audiences for Wilderness Education
*See Appendix A for a complete list of Outfitter/Guide and School Directory
Local Governments and their affiliates:
Pitkin County, are cooperators in delivering educational messages to tourists, school children, and the general public at the Maroon Bells scenic area.
Roaring Fork Transit Authority provides a mandatory bus tour to the Maroon Bells from June to September which presents a comprehensive history of the MaroonValley and the proper wilderness techniques.
Education Institutions:
AspenSchool District, funds Wilderness Education for all grades by taking students on Outdoor Education Programs, providing buses to wilderness portals, and educating the students the values of wilderness.
ColoradoRockyMountainSchool, orientates new students by taking them on a 10-day Wilderness backpacking trip and educates students on values and the history. Also incorporates wilderness education through readings and on hands situations. They take wilderness values very seriously and are properly informed.
Outward Bound, takes group of kids into the wilderness for extended amounts of time and educates them on the importance of solitude in wilderness.
Re-1 School District, Unfortunately, the majority of public schools in the RoaringForkValley do not have an adequate wilderness education forum included in their curriculum.
Waldorf School of the Roaring Fork, starts teaching students at a young age on the importance of outdoor leadership and wilderness ethics.
Aspen Country Day School, participates in a variety of activities for its students. They go on raft and hut trips as well as backpacking for the older kids. They believe that students need to experience the wilderness in order to better understand it.
CarbondaleCommunitySchool, engages kids in Outdoor Education as well as more intense wilderness sessions. They teach their students wilderness ethics while hiking and camping during school field trips.
Western State College
ColoradoMountainCollege, Karl Oliver, an interpretive specialist at the Aspen District, teaches classes on wilderness values as well as a geological and natural history of the area.
Non-Government Organizations and Non-Profit Agencies:
White River Interpretive Association: promotes and provides education, interpretation, and stewardship of the natural and cultural resources of the public lands on the White RiverNational Forest. They have many wilderness volunteers working to connect individuals with the Forest.
Aspen Center for Environmental Studies: a group of student interns educate the public, school kids, and tourists about the natural history, ecology, and geology of the Maroon Bells, Ashcroft, and local ski areas. All of their activities are hands-on which helps build people’s appreciation for the outdoors and the wilderness.
Wilderness Workshop: creates public activities to discuss conservation of the wilderness. They also create wilderness days where the public can go out and experience wilderness and learn about wilderness values and ethics.
High Country Citizens Alliance
Public:
Day hikersHorses
BackpackersPhotographers
Stock usersCampers at Silver Bar, Bell, Queen
HuntersAnglers
Climbers
It is important that these groups are properly educated about the wilderness before embarking on their journey. Failure to know proper etiquette can lead to social impacts to semi-primitive and pristine areas.
Action Plans for Wilderness Education
To consider all the various problems and audiences the wilderness program will monitor the following actions to execute its education plan:
Action Plan # 1: High use areas
Problem: Levels of use meet or exceed capacity as a result of excessive overnight use at Conundrum Hot Springs, SnowmassLake, ThomasLakes and CapitolLake, CopperLake on weekend days, holidays, and several weeks in July and August. Capacity is met or exceeded in five compartments as a result of excessive day use originating from two trailheads. Day use levels are too high at CathedralLake particularly on weekends. The excessive day use in the Crater Lake, West Maroon, Bucksin and WillowLake compartments originates from the single trailhead at MaroonLake. Also East fork WestMaroonPass, as well as “the Aspen to Crested Butte” hike.
Education Strategies and Solutions: In high use areas where visitors exceed capacity as a result of excessive use there are two forms of measures that can be taken, 1) indirect measures, and 2) direct measures. Table 1 illustrates these procedures:
Table 1