Tag Archive for: Red Cloud Wilderness Study Area

Thirteen properties protected in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains

March 7, 2025-

In southwest Colorado, the Uncompahgre Wilderness meets the American Flats, Handies Peak, and Red Cloud Peak Wilderness Study Areas in the high peaks and sweeping vistas of the San Juan Mountains. Remnants of the area’s rich mining history scatter the mountainsides, including the Alpine Loop Scenic Byway— 63 miles of old mining roads turned off-road vehicle destination, which winds through seven ghost towns and traverses two high passes. In addition to OHV users, the area draws recreationists of all kinds, with several 14,000’+ peaks, the famous views and summer wildflower displays of American Basin, Lake Fork of the Gunnison River, and many alpine lakes.

Two years ago, the Trust purchased a group of 17 properties adjoining the Red Cloud and Handies Peak Wilderness Study Areas. With access from the Alpine Loop byway, these properties were at high risk of development for cabins, resorts, and other commercial recreation uses. We recently built off the success of that project with the purchase of another 13 properties in the same area.

Looking at a map there are no shortage of private properties within the surrounding public lands. But with these projects we have strategically targeted properties within or adjacent to the wilderness study areas (WSAs). WSAs, managed by the BLM, are areas with “a minimum size, naturalness, and outstanding opportunities for recreation which make them eligible for designation as wilderness.” In 1976, Congress directed the BLM to evaluate all of its land for the presence of wilderness characteristics, and identified areas became WSAs. The establishment of a WSA served to identify areas for Congress to consider for addition to the National Wilderness Preservation System. Until Congress makes a decision to add or end consideration of a WSA, the BLM manages the area to ensure its suitability for designation as wilderness is not impaired.

Removing private inholdings, and their uses which are incompatible with wilderness, from proposed wilderness areas such as WSAs is important in paving the way for them to potentially become designated wilderness one day. With 30 properties total now protected in these potential wilderness areas, together we have made real progress in unifying this landscape, which will not only aid in its future prospects of designation, but have the immediate benefit of preserving almost 300 acres of fragile alpine ecosystems, creaks, and public trails.

17 more Colorado properties protected!

November 17, 2023-

This week The Wilderness Land Trust completed the purchase of 17 properties totaling 162 in and around the Handies Peak and Red Cloud Wilderness Study Areas in Colorado. 

Near Silverton and Lake City, the Handies Peak and Red Cloud Wilderness Study Areas draw a wide variety of recreationists. Several of the acquired properties are located near the trailhead and trail to American Basin, one of the most iconic scenic vistas in Colorado. The Alpine Gulch Trail runs through another of the properties. These two wilderness study areas have been recommended for designation as wilderness and are included in the Colorado Wilderness Act which has been passed by the US House and awaits a Senate vote. In removing these potential future wilderness inholdings before the wilderness is designated, we are helping to avoid management conflicts, including for public access, before they arise.

The area also has significant ecological value. In addition to being home to Bighorn Sheep and the endangered Uncompahgre Fritillary Butterfly, some of the properties are within a one-mile corridor separating the proposed wilderness with the already designated Uncompahgre Wilderness. Safeguarding against development in these wildlife corridors is important in the landscape-scale protection needed to build climate resilience in our wild places. The Handies Peak WSA also includes the headwaters of the Gunnison River, Animas River, and Rio Grande, which supply drinking water to many downstream communities.

The properties are accessed by the Alpine Loop Backcountry Byway, a very popular OHV route that traverses 63 miles through the alpine on roads built during the mining boom, including over Cinnamon and Engineer Pass. The properties’ proximity to this popular motorized route put them at especially high risk for development. In fact, while visiting the properties our lands specialists saw several newly constructed cabins on other nearby private properties. Real estate prices in the area for these remote properties are considerably higher than in other parts of Colorado, and are only rising. All of this makes protecting these properties not only critical, but urgent. There are still many remaining private inholdings in the area which the Trust is pursuing. As we near the end of the year and its accompanied fundraising drive, your continued support will help move these 17 properties through the transfer process, placing them in public ownership for generations to come, and will help us to protect more private properties in the area.

 

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