OST Memorandum

TO: Open Space and Trails Board and Board of Commissioners FROM: Gary Tennenbaum SUBJECT: First Quarter Update on 2016 Projects DATE: March 1, 2016 CC: Dale Will

Lazy Glen Open Space Management Plan The draft Lazy Glen Management Plan is out for public review. Staff gathered public input while developing the draft plan by soliciting online comments and facilitating two public meetings. The first public open house was held January 14th at Basalt Town Hall with 18 people attending. This was a great turnout and staff received very detailed comments on everything from ag to recreation to wildlife. At the next open house, on January 18th at Lazy Glen, OST had a Spanish interpreter to help facilitate and again received great feedback. OST presented the plan to the Healthy Rivers and Streams Board on February 18th and the board is happy with the direction. Their board comments will be included in the final plan that is presented to the OSTB in April. The planning process timeline for Lazy Glen is attached. Staff is working with our engineer, SGM, concurrent with the Lazy Glen Management Plan for bridge design options with costs.

Castle Creek Trail OST staff has been informed by the City that the planning funds for the Castle Creek Trail were not budgeted in 2016. County staff are working with the City to determine when the Castle Creek Trail can be prioritized for planning. The trail project is on hold till both the City and County can partner on this project.

Crystal Trail Great news that the Crystal Trail was selected as one of the 16 trails for 2016 by Governor Hickenlooper! Staff has been in contact with CDOT, GOCO, Department of Natural Resources staff, and the Forest Service to determine how the state and federal agencies are going to OST Memorandum

handle these projects. Staff has a meeting on March 15th with CDOT, Forest Service, and the State Outdoor Recreation Coordinator to start high‐level discussions on the process to start planning the Crystal Trail. There are a ton of details to figure out, like surveys of the Hwy. 133 ROW, NEPA, and funding. Much more to come.

Upper Roaring Fork Valley Trails Plan City and County staff are significantly changing the current draft with the hope that it will be ready for public release in April. What staff has realized through the public process and in coordination with the Skico and Forest Service is that many short‐ and medium‐term projects are already covered in existing plans. The current draft has too much overlap with existing plans and has trail alignments that have already been amended. The plan needs to reflect what future projects are necessary to provide better connectivity and trail options that both the City and County can partner to complete.

North Star Planning for an education and media campaign for river use began in December with staff from ACES, the City and County. Our consultants are working to prepare a full‐scale media and signage plan to launch in May 2016. We are working with the private landowners along the Roaring Fork in this area to include their property in the campaign. OST is also working with ACES on a naturalist program for North Star and the put‐in to provide more visitor information.

The County and City are partnering to prepare a River Management Plan for the entire stretch of the Roaring Fork from the top of Independence Pass through the City of Aspen. The City had this planning effort funded for 2016, so it made sense to include the planning for North Star in this larger planning effort. Pitkin County OST, Healthy Rivers and Streams, and Community Development will be participating in the planning. The City and County are in the process of selecting a consultant to perform this project.

OST Memorandum

River Access planning is also underway with OST and CDOT working on ROW mapping and the County working with their design consultants on the plans for better parking and access options for the takeout and beach access area.

OST is also working with the FS on agreements to allow the County to manage and enforce at the Wildwood put‐in. OST will be creating simple designs that can be implemented under management of the put‐in, avoiding NEPA for now on a larger project. This will address the parking area and potential turn‐around for this summer. Longer‐term planning will ensue to figure out a way for the County to manage the entire put‐in.

On enforcement, the County is working with law enforcement staff from the FS to determine how OST rangers can enforce regulations on FS lands. We thought it could be easy to add our rangers to an existing IGA the County Sheriff has with the FS, but the rangers are not state peace officers so other options are being explored. One option is to hire a Forest Protection Officer, who has the ability to ticket for illegal parking and other violations of Forest Service regulations. This Forest Protection Officer would focus on the upper Roaring Fork Valley – at Wildwood, Hunter Creek and Smuggler, and Castle Creek. If this position is a feasible option, funding for this position will be brought to the Open Space Board, BOCC, City of Aspen, ACES, and private landowners. Gary met with Joe Disalvo to discuss additional deputy presence at Wildwood and Joe agreed to help this summer, especially during the July 4th holiday and on hot summer weekends. The existing IGA between the Sheriff and the Forest Service will be amended to include Wildwood as an area for mutual aid.

Hunter Creek/Smuggler Cooperative Plan The prescribed burn planning for the Hunter Creek Valley is moving forward and with favorable weather, the Forest Service is preparing to conduct this burn. Staff from OST, the City, Aspen Fire, FS, ACES, and Wilderness Workshop presented the launch of the public outreach campaign to the City Council and the BOCC on February 16th. Attached are the beginning campaign OST Memorandum

materials that will be mailed out to all City water customers and to Red Mountain Homeowners. A public meeting will be held on March 31st from 4‐6 pm in the Aspen Firehouse conference room on the 3rd floor.

City and County staff are working on a Stewardship Agreement with the FS to include all future land management and trail projects so we can plan the next 5‐10 years of projects and get them implemented in a timely manner. All trail and forestry projects will be reviewed this summer with FS specialists so we can have a comprehensive plan moving forward.

Filoha Meadows The prescribed burn in the Filoha/Avalanche Creek area is planned again for this spring if the weather cooperates. The Forest Service is heading up the public outreach and is presenting information to the Crystal Valley Caucus in March.

Glassier Ranch Open Space The equestrian and bike/hike trails will be bid out in March with construction beginning in May after the seasonal closure has been lifted.

The parking area and soft‐surface trail adjacent to the Rio has been approved by RFTA and OST will finalize the design to go to bid for construction in the summer.

Continued ag and irrigation improvements are also planned for 2016.

Sky Mountain Park The trail connection from the upper Rim Trail will go to bid with the Glassier trails for construction this spring/summer. This is a joint project with the Town of Snowmass Village. OST and the Town will embark on a major noxious weed project on the Town and County lands on the Upper North Mesa/Seven Star side of Sky Mountain Park this summer. OST Memorandum

The County will be involved with the Cozy Point Ranch Management plan this year to analyze the connection for trails and ag to Cozy Point South and other properties in the Roaring Fork Gorge.

East of Aspen Trail Some serious issues have emerged with the East of Aspen Trail. Five piers have uplifted anywhere from 1‐4 feet and two trees have come down, significantly damaging the boardwalk. OST is working with contractors and the boardwalk has been temporarily repaired for safe passage and snow load this winter. In the spring, work will commence to fully repair the structure.

ADA and width of trail improvements will continue in the spring to bring the entire trail into compliance with ADA and provide a width of 6‐8 feet.

New Resource Manager OST staff is reviewing candidates and will hopefully have a candidate selected for the position by March 4th. Staff, especially me, is looking forward to getting major help in making everything listed above a reality, especially since the list above is just things in the first quarter and early spring!

Rio Grande Trail Some great news to share regarding the Rio Grande Trail. The Rio Grande Trail has been nominated for the Rails‐to‐Trails Conservancy’s Hall of Fame. The article about the fall of fame from the Rails to Trails Conservancy is attached. We will keep everyone up to date when the voting begins. Lazy Glen Open Space Planificación Cronología PlanningTimeline

ENERO JANUARY Draft Plan DevelopmentDraft Comience alcance público para Begin public outreach for el desarrollo de un Proyecto de Plan development of a Draft Plan ENERO 11th, 2016, 5-7pm JAN 11th, 2016 5-7pm Los residentes de Glen perezoso" Open Lazy Glen Residents’ Open House @ House @ Perezoso Glen Sala de reuniones Lazy Glen Meeting Room

ENERO 14th, 2016, 5-7pm JAN 14th, 2016 5-7pm Open House @ Ayuntamiento de basalto Open House @ Basalt Town Hall ENERO 20th, 2016 JAN 20th, 2016 COMENTARIO PÚBLICO POR PUBLIC COMMENT DUE

Desarrollo del Plan de Desarrollo Proyecto ENERO 29th, 2016 JAN 29th, 2016 Personal presenta Proyecto de Staff submits Draft Plan for Board Plan de Paquete Junta Packet

FEB 4th, 2016 FEB 4th, 2016 Personal presenta el Proyecto de Staff presents the Draft Plan to Plan de Espacio Abierto y Trails the Open Space and Trails Board Junta para su revisión y comentario for review and comment lnPbi CmetFinal Plan Plan Public Comment

FEB 18th, 2016 FEB 18th, 2016 Staff presents the updated Draft Staff presents the updated Draft Plan Plan to the Open Space and Trails to the Open Space and Trails Board for Board for review and public release review and public release MAR 7th, 2016, 5-7pm MAR 7th, 2016, 5-7pm Lazy Glen Residentes de la casa abierta Lazy Glen Residents’ Open House de revisar y comentar sobre el proyecto de to review and comment on Draft Plan de @ Lazy Glen Sala de reuniones Plan @ Lazy Glen Meeting Room MAR 10th, 2016, 5-7pm MAR 10th, 2016, 5-7pm Proyecto de Plan de la casa abierta Draft Plan Open House @ Basalt @ Basalto Ayuntamiento Town Hall ABR 8th, 2016 APR 8th, 2016 COMENTARIOS DEL PLAN DE PROYECTO POR DRAFT PLAN COMMENTS DUE

ABR 15th, 2016 APR 15th, 2016 Personal presenta el proyecto de Staff submits draft of Final Plan to Plan de final al paquete Junta OSTB OSTB Board packet Proyecto de Plan de Comentarios Públicos de Plan Comentarios Proyecto

ABR 21st, 2016 APR 21st , 2016 Personal presenta el Proyecto de Staff presents the Draft Plan to Plan de Espacio Abierto y Trails the Open Space and Trails Board Junta para su revisión y comentario for review and comment

MAYO 5th, 2016 MAY 5th, 2016

Plan Final Plan Final Plan de adopción por el Plan adoption by the OST Consejo OST Board Hunter Creek Prescribed Fire: Information & Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) The U.S. Forest Service is planning to conduct a prescribed fire in the Hunter Creek Valley in the spring of 2016. The project is to be implemented under the Hunter-Smuggler Cooperative Plan, which was finalized in early 2014 and seeks to improve wildlife habitat, forest resiliency and recreation in the Hunter Creek Valley and surrounding landscape. Where, when and how long will the burn occur? Where: The attached map on the back shows the areas where the prescribed burn will take place. We are asking the public to refrain from recreating in the Hunter Creek-Smuggler area for approximately 1-3 days during the prescribed burn.

When: The project will be implemented when conditions are ideal for a safe and effective prescribed fire. Conditions are considered suitable when the snow has melted off the south- facing aspects (slopes) in Hunter Creek and all other surrounding areas still retain moisture and snow. These conditions typically occur in April or early May. Other environmental factors such as wind, temperature and relative humidity will be key elements.

Duration: Please note that the work will take place over a 1-3 day period. After which, officials will declare the area safe to recreate in. What to expect during the prescribed fire? On the day of the burn please do not call 911. There may be large volumes of smoke visible at times in the Hunter Creek valley and people may even see flames.

Recreation and trail use: For your own safety, please refrain from recreating in the Hunter Creek Valley until the area is declared safe. Updates will be available at the White River National Forest Twitter account @WhiteRiverNews, the White River National Forest website: http://www. fs.usda.gov/whiteriver or by calling the Sopris Ranger Station (970) 963-2266.

Smoke: Prior to burning, a smoke permit is obtained through the state of Colorado - Air Pollution Control Division. The Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Unit (UCR) works hard to minimize smoke impacts on surrounding communities.

If you have a smoke sensitivity, please contact Jim Genung at 970-404-3150 so we can keep you informed of smoke conditions. Prescribed fire smoke may affect your health. For more information, please visit: https://www.colorado. gov/pacific/cdphe/wood-smoke-and-health. Where can I get more Information and sign up for alerts? • For general information, please visit www.aspennature.org • Real-time updates will be available on Twitter @WhiteRiverNews or @UCRFireCenter • Sopris Ranger Station: 970-963-2266 • Aspen Fire Department: Parker Lathrop, 970-925-5532 • Pitkin County Alert System: Information about the prescribed burn will be disseminated via the Pitkin Alert system. To sign up for the alert system visit www.PitkinAlert.org. • Garfield and Eagle County Alert Systems: The Garfield and Eagle County alert systems will also provide information during the prescribed fire. More information on those systems is available here: Garfield County: http://garco911.org/ • Eagle County Emergency Alert: https://www.ecalert.org/index.php?CCheck=1 Crews patrol the April 2015 prescribed fire on Regrowth from the same prescribed fire, four Basalt Mountain. Prescribed fires burn slowly and months later. Plentiful spring precipitation quickly close to the ground, clearing out the understory re-greened the landscape and provided fresh while leaving much of the overstory intact. forage for wildlife. RTC Invites America to Choose 2016 Hall of Fame Rail-Trail

Posted 01/19/16 by Laura Stark in Trail Use, America's Trails

Rio Grande Trail | Photo courtesy RFTA

While the bid for the U.S. Presidency may be contentious, we’re instigating a friendly competition for the next Hall of Fame Rail- Trail. In recognition of the 30th anniversary of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC), we’ll be conducting a public vote for the 30th entry into this prestigious group.

When RTC opened its doors in 1986, we knew of fewer than 200 rail-trails around the country. Today, their numbers have grown tenfold. This achievement would not have been possible without the groundswell of goodwill and generosity we’ve received from our 160,000 members and active supporters over the years. That’s why we’re excited to hear from YOU about which rail-trail you think should enter the 2016 Rail-Trail Hall of Fame.

Inductees are selected on merits such as scenic value, high use, trail and trailside amenities, historical significance, excellence in management and maintenance of facility, community connections and geographic distribution. Below, you’ll find (in no particular order) our five nominees—which we felt exemplify all of these qualifications—as well as input from local trail users about why their trail deserves our highest honor.

Banks-Vernonia State Trail (Oregon)

Banks-Vernonia State Trail | Photo by Tad Reeves

“It’s representative of Northwest Oregon,” says Rocky Houston, state trails coordinator for the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. “The trail shows off Tualatin Valley and transitions into the Coast Range. It’s well situated in the region for access to recreational amenities with a state park in the middle of it, and it has communities at either end to make it a world-class experience.”

Swamp Rabbit Trail (South Carolina)

Swamp Rabbit Trail, by memorial to Greenville native and U.S. Air Force Major Rudolf Anderson Jr. | Photo by Molly B. Moorhead

“The trail is now the single most used recreational asset in Greenville County with more than 500,000 users per year,” says Carlton Owen, who played an instrumental role in the trail’s development. “The trail linked two towns and a university— Greenville, Furman University, Travelers Rest—as well as dozens of neighborhoods. The trail linked both county and city parks and recreation authorities behind a single vision. With our primary corporate sponsor—Greenville Health System—the Upstate [region] has a highly visible and cost effective way to get thousands of people to engage in more active lifestyles in one of the nation’s most health-challenged states.”

Hudson Valley Trail Network ()

Walkway Over the Hudson, Hudson Valley Trail Network | Photo by Kristina Quinones

(, Hudson Valley and Dutchess County Rail Trail)

“The trail system connects communities on both sides of the via the magnificent Walkway Over the Hudson, the longest elevated pedestrian walkway in the world,” notes the Ulster County Planning Department. “This unique non-motorized connection across one of America’s most historic and iconic waterways has changed [how] the Hudson Valley region thinks about trail connections and has also inspired additional trail projects to build on the existing system. The trail system, and the Walkway in particular, have caught the imagination of community leaders, planners and outdoor recreation enthusiasts, who now envision and work towards a potential future rail-trail system running from New York City all the way to the peaks of the Catskill Park.”

Rio Grande Trail (Colorado)

Rio Grande Trail | Photo courtesy Pitkin County

“The corridor serves as a key link for the Roaring Fork Valley, connecting communities along its 42-mile length, and more than 420 acres of open space,” states the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority. “It serves as both a current and future transportation corridor and as a major recreation amenity, drawing commuters who bypass congestion on the Highway 82 corridor between Aspen and Glenwood Springs. More than just a hard-surface commuter trail, the Rio Grande Trail offers world-class amenities for a wide range of non-motorized users: historical preservation, riparian habitat conservation, strategic wildlife corridors, quiet solitude, public health, multi-jurisdictional management, recreational access and alternative transportation uninhibited by motor vehicles.”

Shelby Farms Greenline (Tennessee)

Shelby Farms Greenline | Photo courtesy Shelby Farms Park Conservancy

“Shelby Farms Greenline has been instrumental in Memphis, Tennessee’s ongoing transformation into a fit community,” points out the Shelby Farms Park Conservancy. “While Memphis has traditionally been recognized for its incredible food landscape, Shelby Farms Greenline has helped put Memphis on the map as a city that’s fitness-focused and that has been named one of America’s most-improved bike cities. The Greenline physically connects thousands cyclists and pedestrians of all ages, abilities and backgrounds to one of America’s biggest urban parks (Shelby Farms Park), and it connects trail and park visitors to each other.”

Our current Hall of Fame rail-trails represent the incredible progress that’s been made in the rail-trail movement over the past three decades. Among their ranks are Wisconsin’s Elroy-Sparta State Trail and the Illinois Prairie Path, widely regarded as the country’s first rail-trails; America’s second- longest rail-trail, Katy Trail State Park, which spans Missouri; New York’s famed ; the legendary Great Allegheny Passage; as well as many other national treasures.

Voting will open June 2016! From January through May, a series of special Trail of the Month feature stories will help you learn more about each of the nominees prior to voting. These stories will be published in our monthly e-newsletter; if you’re not already on our email list, you can sign up to receive eNews via a quick online form.