| Contacts: | David Boyd, Public Affairs Specialist, (970) 319-4130 |
Key trail on Emerald Mountain should be complete this fall
CRAIG, Colo. – With the help of a trail-building dozer and a fire crew, the Bureau of Land Management expects to have the four-mile Ridge Trail on Emerald Mountain complete this fall.
The latest round of work on the popular Ridge Trail near Steamboat Springs will begin Sept. 28 and should be completed by Oct. 9. The new two-mile section of trail will bypass the fairly steep Powerline Road beginning at the Kemry Draw entrance off Cow Creek Road, which trail-users currently access the Ridge Trail. Two sections of the upper Ridge Trail may also be completed. Trail users should use caution during the construction period because they could encounter the trail dozer and fire crew anywhere along the trail.
Steamboat Springs-based Trailcat Designs, LLC, was awarded the contract to work on the trail using a Sweco trail dozer, which is specifically designed for trail building. Ridge Trail has been under construction for the past two years with the assistance of the Rocky Mountain Youth Corp, BLM fire program, and Routt County Riders.
“With the use of the trail dozer, we anticipate we’ll be able to complete Ridge Trail and begin to move forward with other trail opportunities identified in the Emerald Mountain Management Plan,” said BLM Little Snake Field Manager John Husband, whose office manages the parcel.
The public gained access to the 4,139-acre Emerald Mountain parcel in February 2007 after BLM acquired the parcel through a land exchange.
For more information about Emerald Mountain, visit http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/lsfo.html or call the BLM Little Snake Field Office at 970-826-5000.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
455 Emerson Street Craig, Colorado 81625