EXISTING CONDITIONS ON COLORADO S FOURTEENERS NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGER SURVEY RESULTS

EXISTING CONDITIONS ON COLORADO S FOURTEENERS NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGER SURVEY RESULTS

A Little Background January 15, 2004 - Informal Gathering of Wilderness Managers. Survey Monkey survey developed with the help of a statistician Pre-work for Planning Summit Held April 15 & 16, 2004.

Disclaimer Survey involved only Resource Managers I am not a researcher, I just needed basic information. This survey was done to get BASIC information on existing conditions of all 14ers in Colorado 1. Fast 2. Inexpensively 3. Easy Data gathered qualitative in nature.

Planning Summit Purpose Resource managers and partner organizations. Discussion about Fourteeners Visions, Values, Goals. Issues, Concerns Existing conditions. Desired Future Conditions Current management practices. Additional Management tools.

Natural Resource Managers Survey 48 question survey asking Resource Managers for qualitative input about Existing Conditions on Colorado s Fourteeners

14er Distribution Kit Carson added post 14er Summit Meeting 44 Forest Service 28 Wilderness 3 combined wilderness/non-wilderness 13 non-wilderness 3 BLM 1 Park Service (Recommended Wilderness) 6 mostly private

Management Categories of Colorado s Fourteeners 7 Wilderness Partial Wilderness Non-Wilderness Mostly Private 15 29 3

Data Collected thru Survey 3 6 3 13 26 Wilderness Partial Wilderness Non-Wilderness Non-Wilderness (No Data) Mostly Private (No Data) Wilderness (No Data) 3

Survey Success Overall 77.7% Survey Success Public Lands 87.5%

Sample Survey Question 3. Level of Knowledge Regarding This Peak: (Check the item that best describes your experience) Response % Response Total I Have Never Ventured Onto This Peak/Information From Secondary Sources 19% 8 I Have Been on THE Major Access Route Only 40.5% 17 I Have Been on ALL Reconstructed/Major Access Routes 4.8% 2 I Have Been on One Other Route Besides the Major Routes 14.3% 6 I Have Been on Most or All of the Advertised Routes 14.3% 6 I Have Been all Over the Mountain and Am Intimately Familiar with Conditions 7.1% 3 Total Respondents 42 (skipped this question) 1

Boots on the Ground (Percent of Respondents) Knowledge of Mountain 14.3 7.1 19 Never Ventured on Mountain Primary Access Route Only All Major Access Routes 14.3 All Major Access Routes +1 4.8 40.5 Most or All Advertised Routes All over the Mountain

Boots on the Ground (Percent of Respondents) Knowledge of Mountain II 19 Never Been on Mountain 81 Some Field Know ledge

Recreation Opportunity Spectrum Roaded Modified Roaded Natural Semi-Primitive Motorized Semi-Primitive Non-motorized Semi-Primitive Wilderness Primitive Wilderness Pristine Wilderness 1 1 4 5 11 16 23 0 5 10 15 20 25 # of Peaks with ROS Class

General Condition of Peaks By Management Prescription

Current On Ground Conditions Compared to Prescribed Conditions All Mgmt Prescriptions/ All Agencies 12% 48% 41% Better Than Prescribed Near or At Prescribed Worse Than Prescribed

75 Better Than Near or At Worse Than 50 25 0 Worse Than Near or At Pristine Wilderness Primitive Wilderness Semi-Primitive Wilderness Semi-Primitive Non-Motorized Semi-Primitive Motorized Better Than

Condition of Routes User Created (58 Routes) Stable-Not Eroded 13 Stable-Some Erosion 15 Unstable-obvious erosion 17 Unstable-heavily damaged 13 0 5 10 15 20 # of routes Engineered (29 Routes) Closed/restored (10 Routes) Stable-Not Eroded 7 Stable-Not Eroded 2 Stable-Some Erosion Unstable-obvious erosion Unstable-heavily damaged 1 3 18 0 5 10 15 20 # of routes Stable-Some Erosion Unstable-obvious erosion Unstable-heavily damaged 1 2 0 1 2 3 4 5 # of routes 5

Routes Needing Immediate Attention Out of the 58 usercreated routes known, 30 are unstable and need immediate attention.

Level of Development on Standard Route Mirrors Condition Why? Conditions on Ground Driving Actions Rather than Management Goal/Objective driving Conditions/Actions Development in Wilderness same as Non-Wilderness. Level of Development Developed Trail (Numerous structures) Minimal Continuous Tread (few structures) Intermittent Tread Marked Route No Tread 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 percentage

Development on Standard Routes 70% of developed routes are at highest level of development.

Maintenance is Critical Majority of engineered routes and closed restored routes are stable with some erosion. These are likely to move towards unstable without adequate maintenance.

Managers Concerns Related to Access Areas Trailhead Capacity (25 Responses) Trailhead Facilities (17 Responses) Road to Trailhead (15 Responses) Access Trails (15 Responses) Private Property (11 Responses)

Impacts Consistent with Most Peaks Human Waste Summit Area Impacts High High Moderate Moderate Low Low 0 20 40 60 0 20 40 60 Camping Area Impacts Social Crowding High High Moderate Moderate Low Low 0 10 20 30 40 0 20 40 60 80

Are There Adequate Management Standards? Yes (40%) No (50%) Don t Know (10%)

Adequacy of Specific Management Standards Resource Themes with Adequate Standards Soils Healthy Flora Healthy Fauna Water Quality Resource Themes with Inadequate Standards Social Experience Condition of Engineered Routes Extent of User Created Routes Physical Recreation Setting Carrying Capacity

Looking into the Future

Anticipated Use Levels Over Time (By Peak) 70 Low Use Moderate Use percentages 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Today 5 Years 10 Years Low Use High Use Extreme Use High Use Moderate Use Extreme Use

Anticipated Physical Impact Levels (By Peak) 80 70 60 No Physical Impacts Some Physical Impacts Heavy Impacts percentage 50 40 30 20 10 0 Today 5 Years 10 Years Heavy Impacts Some Physical Impacts No Physical Impacts

Use & Physical Impacts percentages 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Today 5 Years 10 Years Low Use Low Use Extreme Use High Use Moderate Use Moderate Use High Use Extreme Use percentage 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Today 5 Years 10 Years No Physical Impacts Some Physical Impacts Heavy Impacts Heavy Impacts Some Physical Impacts No Physical Impacts

Social Impacts (By Peak) percentage 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Today 5 Years 10 Years Heavy Impacts Some Social Impacts No Social Impacts No Social Impacts Some Social Impacts Heavy Impacts

Use & Social Impacts percentages 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Today 5 Years 10 Years Low Use Low Use Extreme Use High Use Moderate Use Moderate Use High Use Extreme Use percentage 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Today 5 Years 10 Years Heavy Impacts Some Social Impacts No Social Impacts No Social Impacts Some Social Impacts Heavy Impacts

Physical & Social Impacts 80 70 60 No Physical Impacts Some Physical Impacts Heavy Impacts 80 70 60 No Social Impacts Some Social Impacts Heavy Impacts percentage 50 40 30 20 10 0 Today 5 Years 10 Years Heavy Impacts Some Physical Impacts No Physical Impacts percentage 50 40 30 20 10 0 Today Heavy Impacts Some Social Impacts 5 Years 10 Years No Social Impacts

Extent of Overall Impacts Extent of Impacts 50 percentage 40 30 20 10 0 Confined Impacts Broad Scale Impacts Some of Both

Present Management Actions Group Size Limits Camping Setbacks (aw ay from w ater and trails) On-Site Education (Direct Public Contacts) Restrictions on Sw itchback Cutting Education at Trailhead Route Stabilization/Hardening Off-Site Education Dogs on Leash Restrictions Route Restoration Campfire Restrictions Educational Printed Materials Designated Camp Sites Other (please specify in box below ) Seasonal Closures Restrictions on Cross-country Travel Restrictions on User Type Limiting Access/Quotas 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Present Management Actions Top 6 Group Size Limit s Swit chback Short cut t ing Camping Set backs On-Sit e Educat ion Off Site Education Rout e Stabilization/Hardening 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Present Management Actions Middle 6 Trailhead Ed Dog On Leash Route Restoration Printed Ed Material Restrict Campfires Restrict User Types 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Present Management Actions Bottom 6 Designated Campsites Restrict Cross-Cntry Travel Seasonal Closures Required Registration No Dogs Quotas/Limiting Use/access 0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14%

Are Present Management Actions Effective? No 77.5 Yes 22.5 0 20 40 60 80 Percentage

Please list any other management actions which you believe would allow you as a manager to meet resource objectives.

Management Tools Requested by Managers Quotas/ Li mi ti ng Use/ access Desi gnated Campsi tes Campf ir e Restr i ctions T r ai l head Educati on Rt Stabi l i zati on/ Har deni ng Dog On Leash Restr i cti on No Dogs Route Restor ati on/ Cl osur e Lar ger Par ki ng Ar ea Management Pl an Update Speci al Or der T r ai l head f aci l i ti es Requi r ed Regi str ati on Moni tor i ng T i mel y Rd Mai ntenance Soci al Resear ch Gr oup Si ze Li mi ts On-Si te Educati on Car r yi ng Capaci ty Study 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 # of r esponses Pr esent Requests

Top Requested Management Tools Quotas/ Li mi ti ng Use/ access Desi gnated Campsi tes Campf i r e Restr i cti ons T r ai l head Educati on Rt Stabi l i zati on/ Har deni ng Dog On Leash Restr i cti on No Dogs 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 # of r esponses Pr esent Requests

Narrowing the Focus Forest Service Managed Wilderness Prescription Peaks

Wilderness Fourteeners Data Subset 28 Forest Service Wilderness Peaks 25 Included in following data 3 no data collected during survey 10 Designated Wilderness Areas

Current On Ground Conditions Compared to Prescribed Conditions Wilderness Management Prescriptions 16% 63% 22% Better Than Prescribed At or Near Precribed Worse Than Prescribed

On the Ground Condition by Wilderness Management Prescription 100% 80% Better Than At or Near Worse Than 60% 40% 20% 0% Pristine Primitive Semi- Primitive Worse Than At or Near Better Than

Meeting Management Standards Look on the Bright Side 52% of peaks currently meet conditions prescribed in the Management Area Prescription. 78% of respondents felt that they needed additional tools to effectively meet resource objectives into the future.

THE END!!!