Eldorado Canyon to Walker Ranch Feasibility Study UPDATED • Combined Compendium of Public Input received through March 31, 2019 Bryan Rowe• 3/31/2019• 522 Hi There, I'm sure it's been thought of to offer Mtn bike parking (if people are looping) at the trailhead parking at Doudy Draw Trailhead and that would keep people out of Eldo. Thanks, Bryan Rowe Scott Woodruff•Boulder 3/29/2019• 521 What’s the rush?—let’s do this right, or not at all Jules Verne, Metamorphosis, Outer Space, Xanadu, Over the Hill—these are the names of just a handful of the legendary and world-renowned rock climbs in Eldorado Canyon, among approximately 1500 climbing routes and variations developed recreationally in the State Park (plus adjacent rock formations outlying the Park), since the 1920s (Levin, 2013). Around 1970 when I first started climbing in Eldorado, there were few established trails, and few human visitors. Since then, rock climbing, together with hiking and picnicking, has exploded in popularity both within and outside the Park. Consequently, Park visitation capacity (e.g. for entry and parking) is exceeded with increasing frequency, thus displacing prospective visitors out both into the small town of Eldorado Springs, and into equally overcrowded trailheads on CO 170. In light of these already difficult circumstances, the rush to approve and construct a new mountain bike trail to connect Eldorado Canyon to Walker Ranch (“Eldo-Walker”) seems to me like a premature development, and the current North Route recommendation in particular a very unsound idea. Without addressing existing overcapacity problems first, establishment of any new bike trail route through the Park—and thus effectively prioritizing this new mechanized activity over other uses— seems guaranteed to lead to undesirable conflicts, and serious diminishment of recreational opportunities for climbers, hikers, and other longstanding users. While some may consider it unfair to prioritize one recreational use over another, mountain bikers, hikers, and equestrians have numerous other excellent options throughout the Front Range in which to pursue their sports—but rock climbers visiting from around the world have only one Eldorado to experience. Also, the North Route connector currently being fast-tracked represents a highly undesirable environmental intrusion into a precious Habitat Conservation Area—with numerous new switchbacks to be sliced into what is now a beautiful peaceful hillside, and then populated by mechanized mountain bike traffic. So my message is simple: please slow down with this process, and put all route options back on the table, until plans for adequately addressing the additional overcrowding and parking issues are implemented, and also until the views of all stakeholders (e.g. town of Eldorado Springs; and rock climbing organizations) have been taken more adequately into account. These options should include exploring in more detail for full public discussion any potential options following existing public/private 1 Eldorado Canyon to Walker Ranch Feasibility Study UPDATED • Combined Compendium of Public Input received through March 31, 2019 roads, such as were described by Steve Muehlhauser (retired Eldorado S.P. ranger) in his remarks at February’s Open Space Board of Trustees meeting. Scott Woodruff (a Boulder resident) has been climbing in Eldorado for nearly 50 years, and participated at a meeting in the State Capitol considering the establishment of the State Park. Those years just prior to establishment of the Park in 1978 were worrisome times for outdoor enthusiasts, because the Canyon was privately owned, and the owner threatened to sell the area for a rock quarry. References: Levin, S, 2013: Eldorado Canyon, A Climbing Guide (2nd Ed.). Sharp End Publishing. Muehlhauser, S., 2018: Comments at 13 February 2019 meeting of the City of Boulder Open Space Board of Trustees, starting at 2:59:22 in the video available at: https://bouldercolorado.gov/boards- commissions/board-and-commission-meeting-video (Unfortunately, Steve’s three slides are not available for viewing on the video.) Contact information: Scott Woodruff Mason Frichette•Sequim 3/29/2019• 520 I write as someone who spent many of the best days of his life climbing in Eldorado Canyon (from the mid-70s to the mid-90s). I also mountain biked extensively in the early 80s and later all along the Front Range as well as in other Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah locations. I moved to Boulder primarily because of Eldorado Canyon, with Boulder's other nearby climbing areas of real, but lesser importance. I've read the proposals for a new mountain biking trail connecting Eldorado Canyon to Walker Ranch (Eldo-Walker) and my reaction is quite simple: Don't do it! I loved mountain biking, but I was never impressed with the trail manners of most other bikers. They were rude, pushy, and forced hikers to give way when it was the bikers who should have yielded. And that is to be expected on the proposed Eldo-Walker connector. If bikers are on the trail they will almost certainly come to dominate it and force others to be constantly stepping aside to allow bikers to come through. That is wrong. I still have good friends in Boulder and I have been kept up to date on the crowding and overuse conditions that prevail in Eldorado Canyon. It is worth looking at the site and judging its relative value to different user groups. First, climbing. Eldorado is the crown jewel of a unique geological formation that includes the Flatirons and Mickey Mouse Wall. Eldorado Canyon State Park attracts climbers from across the United States and even from other countries because it is so special. My own climbing skills were better suited to the cracks of Utah or Yosemite Valley, but Eldorado was always my favorite place to climb. It is important for those considering altering the usage of the Canyon to understand that Eldorado is far more important as a climbing venue than it is as a place to picnic, hike, horseback ride, or mountain bike. Alternatives for all the other activities can be found in abundance in and around the Boulder area that are as good and in most cases better than what Eldorado has to offer. As someone who no longer uses the Canyon, but 2 Eldorado Canyon to Walker Ranch Feasibility Study UPDATED • Combined Compendium of Public Input received through March 31, 2019 who cares deeply about its “health” and suitability for climbing, the increased usage load caused by the Eldo-Walker connector would have a potentially huge negative impact on access for climbers. I can't stress strongly enough how important Eldorado Canyon is for climbing. But what of the other user groups? It seems unwise to detract from the experiences of hikers, horseback riders, and picnickers in order to open access to a group that already has an impressive supply of first-rate mountain biking sites. As I said, in the eighties, I mountain biked extensively along the Front Range including west of Green and Bear Mountains and on the Walker Ranch. Frankly, there was nothing special about the area for biking. It was nice to be able to bike so close to home, but adding the Eldo-Walker connector will, in my opinion, do very little to improve the mountain biking experience near Boulder. However, it is almost certain to detract from the experiences of countless users in all the other groups, all of whom should, again, in my opinion, have precedence. I may never again visit Eldorado Canyon, so you may ignore my comments as someone who should have no say. However, Eldorado Canyon remains a special place in my mind and heart and I am speaking for today's climbers and those yet to come. Please, scrap the plans for the Eldo-Walker mountain biking trail. Instead, work to manage access to the canyon in ways that will ensure its health for the indefinite future. Suddenly attracting an entirely new set of users, who will in all likelihood diminish the quality of experience for those who already use the canyon, is a terrible idea. There is no obligation to make all things available to all people. Different areas have different uses and the priority should be given according to how important a particular use is in the larger scheme. Eldorado Canyon is one of the country's premier climbing destinations. People don't visit the canyon from far away just to hike, picnic, or horseback ride. There are countless other sites that are at least as good for those activities and usually better—often much better. For example, the hiking in the Flatirons is far superior to that in Eldorado Canyon. I've enjoyed picnicking during my life, but the idea of denying a climber access to the canyon, because of parking limitations or usage quotas so that someone can picnic strikes me as a poor use of a limited facility. That doesn't mean I think picnickers should not be allowed in the canyon, but it is a way of setting up a hierarchy that leaves mountain bikers with no reasonable claim at all. I've never been a fan of horses on trails, but they have historical precedence that I won't contest. How good Eldorado Canyon is for horseback riding I can't say, but I would hate to have those who do ride there have their experiences diminished or ruined by mountain bikes greedily competing for trail space. As hard as I've tried, I simply can't find a reasonable argument for introducing mountain bikers to an already overstressed and overcrowded resource. Eldorado Canyon should, in my opinion, be managed for the benefit of those who already use it, with precedence going to climbing because of the specialness of the canyon for that activity above all others.