The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
County in for $5,000
By Cayla Vidmar
Gunnison Trails is hoping to build 9.8 miles of trail in the Signal Peak area, located northwest of Western Colorado University, and has submitted a grant to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) to obtain about $200,000 to complete the work. Last week, the Gunnison Board of County Commissioners submitted a letter of support for the project and verbally committed $5,000 in a cash match from next year’s budget.
Tim Kugler, executive director of Gunnison Trails, explained the CPW grant, which is meant for non-motorized trails, and highlights trails that connect the community and are in close proximity to a town center. “Signal Peak checks a lot of the boxes for this grant,” Kugler said. In an email, Kugler explained they’re proposing to build four new trails in the area, which total 9.8 miles.
This is a small portion of the 28 miles of potential trail in the area, the draft plan for which has gone through an extensive process with the Bureau of Land Management and public comment, according to the Gunnison Trails website. Kugler stated during a call that this project began back in 2006, and that this work has been a long time coming and they’re psyched to see it starting to take shape.
The CPW grant, Kugler explains, “will cover Western Colorado Conservation Corps youth crew, Tony Boone Trails, a private contractor with a small machine to help with hybrid trail construction … a Gunnison Trails Youth Crew … and funding to do alignment work, flagging, etc.”
Kugler explained during the county commissioners’ meeting that the mile of trail work they’ve been doing this summer and fall in the Signal Peak area has been completed with almost all volunteer effort, “at the cost of about $150 worth of bratwursts every week.” But, he explains in a letter drafted to the county commissioners, “While we have a talented pool of volunteers when it comes to trail building here in the valley, I think it’s time to go after some bigger funding sources to build out the meat of the system. Otherwise, I’m going to burn out all of our help!”
Hence, the CPW grant proposal and the need for funding for youth corps volunteers. Kugler said the Gunnison Crested Butte Tourism Association has agreed to cash funding earmarked for wildlife signs, way-finding signs, and three kiosks. The remaining funding is coming directly from Gunnison Trails. Kugler needed five letters of support for the project, one of which he received from the county. Other letters of support came from the Sustainable Tourism Outdoor Recreation committee, the City of Gunnison, Western Colorado University, the Bureau of Land Management and—probably the most significant—the CPW itself.
In the end, the county commissioners agreed to write a letter of support, and verbally committed to the $5,000 in cash match for the project; however, that money would be coming out of next year’s budget due to the timing of the grant funding.
Commissioner Phil Chamberland noted that the new board would have to finalize the funding next year with whoever takes his seat.
