Why does the Forest Service close its roads?

"Caring for the Land and Serving the People," the guiding mission for the U.S. Forest Service, is often a difficult balancing act for the agency and the community, but it’s an important mutual goal. One example is when it is deemed necessary to temporarily close San Juan National Forest roads to protect them and the natural resources around them in winter and spring.

Seasonal road closures have many benefits.

At first it may not be obvious, but temporary road closures "care for the land and serve the people" by:
• protecting the public from unsafe road conditions when unsurfaced roads are muddy      and impassable;
• preventing costly damage that would result from the inevitable ruts left behind;
• guarding against soil erosion and protecting fisheries. (The ruts channel muddy runoff water into nearby creeks, killing the microorganisms fish feed upon.)

Such seasonal road closures are temporary and do not exclude public access; one can still hike, ski, ride a horse, and in most cases, ride a snowmobile behind road-closure gates.

Why were new gates installed on the Dolores-Norwood Road?

Many local residents have called us to ask why gates were installed this winter on the Dolores-Norwood Road (FDR 526) and adjacent Forest Service roads. Although the gates themselves are new, the road closures are not. Until now, these roads were blocked to vehicular traffic in winter by unplowed snow, and in the spring by signs and barricades.

However, TransColorado Pipeline has a new special-use permit to snowplow the Dolores-Norwood Road so that its crews can access a compressor station north of the national-forest boundary. Their use is limited and will be carefully monitored. The snowplowing would have made it tempting for the public to try to drive these roads in winter, so the gates were installed to close roads that before had been naturally closed by snow. Motorized use of unsurfaced roads such as these must be limited in winter because the roads are so vulnerable to damage.

Why were gates installed on roads in the Disappointment Valley?

A seasonal closure in the Disappointment Valley has also concerned area residents this winter. Again, although new gates were installed, the seasonal closure in this area is not new. Since 1983, these Forest Service roads have been temporarily closed to motorized access from Dec. 1 to March 31, but posted closure signs have not been sufficient. People were ignoring the signs and driving into an area managed as critical winter big-game habitat by the Forest Service in cooperation with the Colorado Division of Wildlife. The closure protects large herds of deer and elk. In winter and early spring, the animals are drawing upon reserved energy supplies to survive and reproduce, and are especially susceptible to stress from motorized intrusions. During this time, all motorized access is limited, including snowmobiles and ATVs.

What about private access to inholdings?

One important consideration of the seasonal Disappoint-ment Valley closure has been to not limit access to private inholdings within the national forest in this area (although these landowners now have to stop and open a gate). Inholdings are private lands that are surrounded by public lands. By law, private property owners are guaranteed reasonable use and enjoyment of such property, but the law does not give them the right to damage the public’s lands or resources in pursuit of private access.

Thus, prior agreement in the form of an easement or permit is necessary to safeguard the public’s roads from possible damage due to private use. The Forest Service is responsible not only for trying to balance human uses with the needs of nature, but also with protecting the interests of the American public which owns the national forests.

Because of the complexity of access issues, especially year-round access, anyone considering buying private property within the San Juan National Forest boundary should contact their local district-ranger office prior to purchasing an inholding. If year-round access is feasible, an easement or permit can be set up.

Thank you for helping protect Forest Service roads.

The Mancos-Dolores District has thousands of miles of unpaved roads that, unfortunately, would be cost-prohibitive to maintain for year-round motorized public access. The compromise is to spend funding to keep them safe and driveable during the warm months, leave them closed by snow in the winter, and close them temporarily when use by motorized vehicles is likely to cause road damage.

We know that everyone appreciates driveable roads and safe access to public lands. We also know that the public values its wildlife and fisheries. Temporary road closures are an important tool that land managers use to help assure that these resources are cared for, and we thank residents for the temporary sacrifice of not being able to drive these back roads at all times.