2013 WYOMING STATEWIDE TRAILS INVENTORY REPORT Grand Teton National Park, “Hiker on Apex Trail,” photo by Finch ATV Trail Riders, photo by Kim Raap, Trail Work Consulting Prepared for the State of Wyoming, Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources by: Amy M. Nagler, Christopher T. Bastian, David T. Taylor, and Thomas K. Foulke Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics University of Wyoming July 2013 Table of Contents 2013 Wyoming Trails Inventory .................................................................................................. 1 Procedures ....................................................................................................................... 1 A Working Trail Definition ........................................................................................ 1 Trail Data and Information Collected ......................................................................... 2 Results ............................................................................................................................. 4 Number of Trails by Agency ...................................................................................... 5 Length of Trails........................................................................................................... 8 Trail Setting ................................................................................................................ 9 Trail Use, Access, and Restrictions .......................................................................... 11 Trail Surface.............................................................................................................. 14 Trail Location............................................................................................................ 15 Individual Trail Characteristics and Information ...................................................... 17 Summary and Discussion .............................................................................................. 18 Areas of Change 1998-2013 ..................................................................................... 20 Estimating Economic Impacts .................................................................................. 21 Works Cited ................................................................................................................................. 22 Appendix A .................................................................................................................................. 24 1998 Wyoming State Trail Inventory Data Sheet ......................................................... 24 2013 Wyoming State Trails Inventory Data Sheet ....................................................... 25 Appendix B .................................................................................................................................. 26 Agencies Contacted for the 2013 Wyoming Trails Inventory ...................................... 26 List of Tables Table 1. Number and miles of trails in Wyoming by administering agency ................................. 5 Table 2. Number and miles of Wyoming trails by length .............................................................. 8 Table 3. Number and miles of Wyoming trails by setting ........................................................... 10 Table 4. Number and miles of Wyoming trails by seasonal use .................................................. 12 Table 5. Number and miles of Wyoming trails by designated uses ............................................. 13 Table 6. Number and miles of Wyoming trails: Access and restrictions ..................................... 14 Table 7. Number and miles of Wyoming trails by trail surface ................................................... 15 Table 8. Number and miles of Wyoming trails by county location ............................................. 16 Table 9. Individual trail information included in 2013 inventory ................................................ 17 WYOMING’S RECREATIONAL TRAILS Many opportunities for trail recreation exist in Wyoming due, in large part, to the vast amount of public land in the state. Wyoming ranks 5th in the US with 55 percent of total land area owned by state and federal agencies (NRCM n.d.). Nearly every agency administering public lands in the state manages and maintains public trails for motorized and non-motorized recreational use. Snowmobile and off-road vehicle trails are maintained for year-round motorized use. Many municipal and county agencies also maintain trail and pathway systems for non-motorized recreation and transportation. From groomed snowmobile trails to backcountry tracks, Wyoming is home to over 10,000 miles of routes managed for all-terrain vehicle (ATV), off-road motorcycle riding, snowmobiling, hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, biking, and horseback riding. 2013 WYOMING TRAILS INVENTORY Procedures The 2013 inventory of Wyoming trails was planned and conducted as an update and extension of the 1998 Wyoming Statewide Trails Inventory (Pindell et al. 1999). Basic procedures and methods for data collection for the 2013 inventory were modified from this original project. Following the 1998 database, additional and updated trail descriptions were acquired via email, telephone, internet resources, and personal interviews with officials from federal, state, and local agencies and private organizations potentially administering trails in Wyoming. Agencies were contacted between March 2012 and March 2013. A complete list of all agencies, districts, or divisions contacted along with contact information is included in Appendix B to this report. Descriptions for each trail were recorded in a Microsoft Access database using a standard data entry form modified from the 1998 inventory data sheet. Both forms are attached in Appendix A to this report. A Working Trail Definition The United States Forest Service defines a trail as “a route 50 inches or less in width or a route over 50 inches wide that is identified and managed as a trail” (USFS 2007) and clarifies “trails provide public access for opportunities of outdoor recreation as well as access to many significant prehistoric and historic sites.” The Bureau of Land Management defines a trail as “a 1 linear route managed for human-powered, stock, or off-highway vehicle forms of transportation or for historical or heritage values” (BLM 2006). For the purposes of this inventory we include routes, trails, walkways, and pathways with public access and that also indicate some purposeful planning and maintenance intended, managed, or designated for motorized and/or non-motorized recreational use. Motorized trails in Wyoming are managed and used for snowmobiling on groomed and ungroomed trails, ATV riding, and off-road motorcycle riding. Non-motorized trails in Wyoming are managed and used for a diversity of activities including hiking, bicycling, horseback riding, skiing, and snowshoeing, giving users access to everything from city green spaces to remote wilderness areas. Trail Data and Information Collected In order to identify and describe each trail, information gathered on trail characteristics, location, administration, and usage accompanies each trail listing. In particular, the following information was collected, where available, from administering agencies: Administering Agency. The administration level (municipal, county, federal, state, or private), agency or organization, and the unit or division within each agency or organization administering each trail is listed. Contact information is also listed (see Appendix B for a listing of all agencies contacted). Trail Identification and Status. Each trail is assigned a unique inventory ID. The inventory ID number along with the trail name and any other ID used by the administering agency are used to identify each trail. A description of the start and end point landmarks is included for each trail. Whether a trail was new to the database or information was updated from the 1998 listings is indicated. Categories are included to clarify updates from the 1998 listing, indicating trails that had been decommissioned or re-designated, as well as 1998 trail listings replaced by a new listing. Trail Systems. Trail system names listed indicate trails that are part of a larger group. Connecting trails are named when this information is available for listed trails that are part of interconnected trail systems. 2 Trail Location. In addition to start and end landmark descriptions, trail location information collected includes the nearest town, county, as well as township, range, and section numbers and cardinal directions where these were available. Driving directions to the trailhead are included for trails where this information is appropriate and available. Trail Maps. Available maps of the trail area were listed with categories for agency maps, 1:24,000-scale (7.5-minute quadrangle) USGS topographic maps, 1:100,000-scale Bureau of Land Management edition maps, as well as links to area maps available from internet sources where appropriate. In addition, many smaller scale agency trail maps are included in the 2013 database as attached PDF files. Trail Characteristics. The length of each trail in miles for each listed trail is recorded. Low and high elevation along the trail, trail setting (urban or rural, natural/roaded or primitive/roadless— following the 1998 inventory categories), and seasonal use and closures are also recorded. Handicap accessibility designation is recorded for