Colorado Parks and Wildlife
1313 Sherman St #618
Denver, CO 80203
Attn: CPW Strategic Plan Staff
Dear CPW Strategic Planning Staff,
The Trails Preservation Alliance (TPA) requests that Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) consider the following when developing and preparing the next 10-year, Statewide(2026-2036) Strategic Plan.
The Trails Preservation Alliance (TPA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving Off-Highway Motorcycle (OHM) recreation. We work to ensure that public land managers—including Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)—provide balanced and sustained access for OHM users.In addition, the TPA leads education and outreach efforts, helps grow regional off-highway motorcycle clubs, and encourages responsible recreation with its Trail Crew initiative focused on maintaining and building trails and providing on-the-ground stewardship..
The Strategic Plan should consider including a GOAL involving multiple-use trails. The CPW Statewide Trails Strategic Plan and the CPW OHV registration program are not mentioned in the former Strategic Plan. The OHV registration program brings in over 6 million dollars and the economic and social impact from OHV recreation is significant for Colorado’s residents.
Prioritizing filling vacant CPW trail staff positions would help distribute OHV grant funding in a more timely fashion while assisting and supporting federal agency partners in accomplishing the trail maintenance backlog. Federal Land Managers are looking to partner with CPW staff for cooperation and technical expertise now more than ever. CPW should return to a balanced mission and not only comment on wildlife issues, but actively assist federal Agencies by providing commentary on federal recreation plans. Recreation is a critical and important part of CPW’s mission and it should be focused on over the next 10 years.
Supporting diminished federal agency staff with multiple-use trail planning and specifically assisting federal land managers identify areas of not just “high quality” but also lower quality wildlife habitat so that new trails are placed in strategic areas. Historically, biologists tend to focus on where not to put trails instead of proactively analyzing and recommending where new trails will have minimal impact to wildlife. Land managers and biologists should ask, where is the best value, enhancement to existing trail systems and where do new trails make the most sense?
Some seasonal trail closures on federal lands should be reevaluated, such as trails that open mid summer and close early- if there is not present evidence of a critical wildlife need such as elk calving. Recreational pressure increases when too many trails in one area are closed simultaneously while snow is melted off and the public are seeking trail access. The effect of limited trail miles available is highly concentrated use on what trails are open causing both increased user conflicts and accelerated trail damage. Some wildlife closures are undoubtedly more effective than others, so it is important to identify closures that may not have a big wildlife benefit- we need to proactively disperse recreational trail pressure. CPW biologists need to weigh in on where closure dates make the least sense.
Provide more multiple-use, motorized single-track and OHV trail miles, especially close to the Front Range and other population centers and communities throughout the State. E Bikes and E Motorcycles are gaining popularity, CPW’s long term master plan should strive to recognize and plan proactively (and help federal Partners plan) for future trails to meet new and emerging demands.
Foster the planning, development and construction of sustainable trails & routes that connect communities and existing multiple-use, motorized trail systems and develop more looped routes. Utilizing existing trail systems with strategic connections will make sense for preserving blocks of unfragmented wildlife habitat. Proactively looking at sustainable, common sense linkages helps prevent rouge trail proliferation in inappropriate areas.
Create at least one State-significant multiple-use, OHV trail connecting trail systems and communities. This would be similar to the Paiute ATV Trail in Utah or the Sierra Buttes Connecting Communities trails system in California. From an economic standpoint, this would bring additional resources and revenue into Colorado and conserve funds for additional trail building and planning by linking up existing trails. A diverse group of trail users would benefit from the connectivity of linked trail systems just as the once motorcycle focused Backcountry Discovery Route trails (BDRs) have resulted in 4WD enthusiasts, hikers, Ebikers and bike packers adopting the routes. Different people from differing backgrounds all benefiting from one multi-use trail is good return on investment and efficient use of resources
More E Bike, E Motorcycle and motorcycle trails (e.g., multiple-use motorized single-track) close to Front Range, Eastern Colorado & other urban population areas. Currently opportunities are limited where the greatest recreation pressure exists.
Consider an OHV State Park(s) and more OHV recreational opportunities in existing State Parks. Following through with developing the North Sand Hills OHV Area will provide an excellent working example of how to grow other OHV recreation opportunities. Support the State Land Board evaluating leasing parcels next to existing state parks to expand trail opportunities.
The TPA enthusiastically supports the mandate of “multiple use” of public lands including motorized access to roads and trails. In fact, Colorado’s OHV fees are the primary funding source for trails maintenance projects that benefit a myriad of user groups-motorized and non-motorized alike. The TPA generally supports CPW’s OHV grant program and CPW trail staff. We feel the public and federal agencies need CPW to help facilitate the future of recreational trail use in the state of Colorado. Therefore we believe it is appropriate and prudent to include trail language in your guiding 10-year Strategic Plan document.
Sincerely,
Chad Hixon
Executive Director
Trails Preservation Alliance