South Chilcotin Mountains and Big Creek Parks

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "South Chilcotin Mountains and Big Creek Parks"

Pauline Lawson
5 years ago
Views:

1 Chilctin Hlidays Guest Ranch September 16, 2011 Suth Chilctin Muntains and Big Creek Parks The fllwing infrmatin was summarized frm a meeting n September 16, Hwever, mre cmprehensive input n values, bjectives and prpsed management strategies are prvided under the name f the Wilderness Stewardship and Training Fundatin at: Values: Wilderness character. Wildlife. Hunting. Trails. Cncerns: Suth Chilctin Muntains Park is a wilderness park; ease f access brings issues. Trails: Increased trail maintenance due t additin f muntain biking; trails were used and created by hrseback riders, which shuld be cnsidered in plan develpment. Hrses are difficult t pass fr ther trail users. Trail use cnflicts and grwing number f visitrs. Muntain biking can create dangerus situatins riding dwnhill r arund blind crners at high speeds; hrses can be spked if trail etiquette is nt fllwed; wildlife can be disturbed in their habitat. Hrses can damage alpine meadws when wet. Campsites: Overcrwding at public campsites. Grizzly and black bear habituatin at sites due t pr fd strage and handling. Lack f facilities (hitching rails, feed strage, etc.) fr public; peple hitching hrses t trees, causing hrses t paw rts and kill the trees. Fire bans smetimes ignred. Lack f bear-prf cntainers. Use f Chilctin Hlidays firewd by public. Feed fr hrses arund cmmercial camps being depleted by public hrse riders. Air access: Disturbance f muntain gats in winter habitat by heli-skiiing peratins.

2 Lack f data t determine impacts f helicpters in winter. Nise f helicpters reduces wilderness character f parks in backcuntry ski areas such as Spruce Lake and Eldrad. Plane nise reduces wilderness character f parks. Landing ples frm heli-skiiing are accumulating n muntain tps. Air access leads t muntain bike veruse f sme trails (e.g. Warner Lake dwn Gun Creek, Spruce Lake dwn Gun Creek), creating cnflicts with ther trail users, such as hrseback riders and hikers. Upn creatin f Spruce Lake Prtected Area cmmercial uses were t be status qu until the develpment f a management plan, but muntain biking has increased dramatically even thugh there was LRMP directin t hld develpment at 2001 levels. Hunting is a traditinal use that shuld be given special recgnitin in the event that new users demand changes. Wind pwer prpsal n Relay and Cardtable Muntains. Fish getting smaller in Spruce Lake. Seemingly unplanned/unstructured muntain bike use; unprepared bikers which impact Chilctin Hlidays. Air access brings public users wh are unprepared and with limited r n backcuntry skills, deep int the wilderness, drpping them ff t survive n their wn, impacting hrse peratrs wh have t alter their activities t help ut. Mtrized vehicles (mtr bikes) using park trails. Hiking is a histric use, but many are unprepared fr wilderness when they are flwn in, and almst all are nw flwn in. The park being used as a day-use park. Funnelling f users dwn trails t the Chilctin Hlidays prperty. Visitrs getting lst in park, with sme depending upn GPS, which is nt dependable given the wilderness and accuracy f available maps. Recmmendatins: Implement the intent f the Lillet Land and Resurce Management Plan t categrize Suth Chilctin Muntains Park as a wilderness and natural envirnment park. Use levels fr trails shuld be kept the same as n the designatin year f Wildlife: Data n wildlife shuld be cllected related t activities that ccur within the parks, with effrts required t determine impacts. Hunting serves as a tl t manage wildlife numbers in the park area, ensuring that ppulatins dn t exceed their habitat s capacity and damage it. Excess predatr numbers lead t prblems f lwering sheep and gat ppulatins. Recgnize the financing f habitat prtectin with licence fees and ther cntributins.

3 Heliski peratins shuld be assessed as t their ptential impact n wildlife and they shuld participate and cntribute t such studies. Keep bears frm settlements t prevent them frm becming habituated t humans. Implement active and effective bear harassment measures (aversive cnditining) in all areas. Habituatin f grizzly bears in the Spruce Lake area needs t be addressed. Need educatin, strage bins, and bear harassment measures fr bear management. Need fr park presence and enfrcement f bear attractants (cleaning fish in camps r n beach, etc.). Address disturbance f muntain gats by heli-skiing activities. Address interference f human settlements with bighrn sheep migratin crridrs. Cnsider impact f cugar and wlf predatin n muntain gat, bighrn sheep, mse and mule deer. Heli-skiing infrmatin n trails and flight paths shuld be carefully recrded, with cmparisns t winter ranges; cllectin f infrmatin must be mandatry by heliskiing peratins. Hrseback riding is the histric use, which shuld be recgnized in park planning and management; a balance is needed between traditinal use and new uses. Hunting is a traditinal use in the parks, which shuld be recgnized. A guide utfitting territry cvers the parks. Hunting requires ff trail use. Develpment f new resrts in r adjacent t the park shuld be regulated. Muntain biking: Muntain bikes shuld primarily g frm Spruce Lake, dwn Tyaughtn t Tyax. Shuld be fly-in qutas and/r limited t certain days. Orientatin fr airplane clients is needed t minimize prblems. Preventin f prblems shuld be a pririty. Hikers and bikers shuld be required t enter the park n their wn s they are familiarized with the terrain; regulatins wuld then nt be needed. Cmmercial peratrs shuld be respnsible fr any visitrs that they take int the park. Mandatry equipment shuld be required fr park visitrs. Change fishing catch regulatins in Spruce Lake back t 5 frm 2 t address smaller fish. Access: Rad deactivatin is needed in Relay (back t main rad), Slim (ut f park), Bnanza (nt used, but culd be made day-use r easier rute), Paradise (pulled back by Frest Service), Taylr (deactivate back frm park). Mving f trailheads back frm park wuld address the issues f unpreparedness a natural regulating tl and alchl related prblems. Schl grups nw d nt need a park permit if trip is less than ne week, which results in unprepared grups, and taking n rutes that are t tugh. Air access: Helicpter access t park shuld be prhibited during the summer.

4 Trails: Summer pickup f landing ples shuld be required at the heli-ski drp-ff pints. Map helicpter flight paths and separate frm muntain gat winter and kidding ranges. Require heli-ski peratr t cllect and submit wildlife data; Chilctin Hlidays is cllecting such infrmatin, s ther cmmercial peratins shuld als take the effrt t prvide this infrmatin. Air peratrs shuld be respnsible fr client s safety, park rules and trail etiquette and must d a training prgram. Flights shuld be limited by day r client days. Flights t private prperty within the park shuld be cntrlled. Helicpters assciated with mine explratin shuld nt be able t fly ver park; nise is an issue fr park users in summer; wildlife displacement wuld be avided. Implement a n-fly zne; be cnsiderate f thers since ther peratrs and visitrs have accmmdated them. Is Munt Sheba being used by heli-skiiers? Lwer Gun Creek Trail t Spruce Lake: separate trails fr hrse/muntain bike users by reactivatin f Gun Meadws Trail and Gun Creek Slide Trail. Develp trails that lead back t Tyax Ldge, at Cinnabar, and designate bth ridges abve Tyax Ldge fr bike use nly. B+F Trail and Pearsn Trail (Lick Creek): designate fr hrse use nly since they end at Chilctin Hlidays private prperty. Water barriers r lnger switchbacks are needed n all trails where wash is ccurring. Designate user maintenance fr trails fr fairness amngst users. Fix lng, deep mud hle n High Trail t Eldrad (50m lng, 2 deep). Adjust trail grade in a few key lcatins: Trigger up Deer Pass trail t fix a 3 deep area f the trail. Mid-way n trail frm Spruce Lake t Windy Pass: dangerus use by muntain bikers that requires mre gradual swithbacks. Tp f Pearsn Pass side n Eldrad Pearsn Pass. GPS mapping f main trails that haven t been mapped s far. Update recreatinal maps fr visitrs, shwing trail types and difficulty. Signs shuld be erected at trail-heads and campsites t educate each grup, including trail etiquette, campsite rules. Educate larger cmmunity n permissible uses and etiquette. Place ntificatin n acceptable uses prir t visitrs getting t trailheads, e.g. mtr bikers using trails in park are smetimes nt aware they are nt allwed. Have available frms fr different user grups (muntain bike nly, hrseback nly). Cnsider user fees fr backcuntry users, especially in high use areas. Designate requirements fr maintenance as t wh is respnsible, user requirements, cmmercial peratrs. Muntain bikes shuld use Tyaughtn instead f cnsidering duble trailing Warner dwn Gun Creek and/r Spruce Lake dwn Gun Creek trails.

5 Cnsider limiting flights t 2 flights per day, and prhibit flying n weekends. Campsites: Designate new campsite areas fr the public at Lrna Lake, Hummingbird Lake, Trigger Lake, Warner Lake, Deer Pass/Tyax Creek Junctin (away frm cmmercial camp), end f Relay (rad at ld recreatin site). Direct peple t right areas. Prvide facilities at public campsites that accmmdate hrses. Bridges: Shuld leave mst trails natural, with prper frds thrugh streams; bridges are nt cmpatible with the wilderness setting. Fix side rail n secnd bridge n trail t Spruce Lake. Fix end f third bridge n Tyax Creek trail. Fix 2 brken bridges in Pearsn Basin. Infrastructure: Imprvements by Chilctin Hlidays: Spruce Lake Camp, Eldrad Camp (new cabin fr skiing in Hidden Valley), Big Creek Camp, Warner Lake Camp (rebuilt tent frames), Tyax Camp. Shuld have ranger cabins fr park management established at Spruce Lake, Warner Lake and Big Creek. Establish sign bards with infrmatin abut trail etiquette, leave n trace, etc. Business Mdel fr Chilctin Hlidays: The ideal situatin is t have ne grup f 7 t 10 peple in each camp; presently, the average is 3 t 4, with a maximum f abut 7. Park Management: Ranger presence shuld be permanent frm June 15 t Sept. 30. Park shuld be self-supprting. Park management plan shuld include need fr prvisin f infrmatin and set up park fees fr the public, similar t that fr Natinal Parks. Cmmercial utfitters need prductive rangeland inside the park fr hrse grazing. Operatrs shuld d grass assessments n each trip in each grazing lcatin. Grazing areas fr cmmercial and public hrse users must be separate and designated. This wuld allw determinatin if grazing in lcalized areas is an issue and wh may be respnsible (public may put pressure t remve hrse grazing if veruse takes place). Frest fires shuld be left t burn within the park bundary. Lg arund park bundary t cntrl muntain pine beetle ppulatins. All develpment must be made in a way that des nt decrease the wilderness character f the parks and des nt spil the views f the landscape; n big ldges shuld be allwed within the park.

Draft Evaluation Criteria for the Tonto National Forest Wilderness Recommendation Process

Draft Evaluation Criteria for the Tonto National Forest Wilderness Recommendation Process fr the Tnt Natinal Frest Wilderness Recmmendatin Prcess Intrductin When revising the Frest Plan, the Tnt Natinal Frest is required t identify and evaluate lands that may r may nt be suitable fr inclusin