Silt—Mountain bikers and big game animals will be able to co-exist on lands in the Roaring Fork Valley under a plan unveiled today by the Bureau of Land Management. The 557-acre Sutey Ranch in Garfield County and the 112-acre Haines Parcel in Pitkin County were acquired by the BLM last spring in a special exchange to increase public land access. The management plan calls for the BLM to maintain irrigated fields on the Sutey Ranch for big game foraging and public access between April 16th and November 30th to reduce impacts to wildlife during the winter. The plan emphasizes mountain bike recreation on the Haines Parcel adjacent to the Crown Special Recreation Management Area. Protests to the BLM’s plan must be submitted by March 18th.
