The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
By Ceighlee Fennel
(Editor’s Note: Freelance writer Ceighlee Fennel from Red Bluff, California passed through Crested Butte this spring and wrote a story highlighting the relationship between recreation and ranching in the valley. Part 3 looks at how local organizations geared toward recreation are trying to help bridge the gap between recreationists and ranchers.)
Some of the public signs at trailheads in the Gunnison Valley explain trail etiquette and recreation usage in relation to ranching in those areas. The signs also talk about why ranching exists on the public lands to educate visitors about the multi-usage.
“This relationship of maintaining historic private-land ranches and grazing USFS summer ranges is critical to preserving this area’s scenic vistas and the many biological treasures that ranches support,” one of the signs located at various local trailheads read. “It takes all of us working together to ensure the future co-existence of these two vital industries, ranching and recreation.”
The ranching community has decreased over the years. Stacy McPhail, executive director of Gunnison Ranchland Conservation Legacy, mentioned how losing neighboring ranches has played a part in ranchers feeling isolated. Losing these neighbors results in a loss of land knowledge and communication. It can make it harder for ranchers to ask for help. When action (that helps mitigate ranching and recreation conflicts) is taken by recreation organizations or nonprofits, it helps to reduce tensions.
“Some recreationists are thinking creatively about how to solve problems that they can solve. I appreciate the fact that some of these groups have come to the table and said, ‘let’s recognize this issue exists and let’s do something about it,’” McPhail said. “I like to see that kind of progress. They are trying to be more responsible users.”
The Crested Butte Mountain Biking Association (CBMBA) is one of the groups contributing to the solution of increased recreation with their Conservation Corps (CBCC).
“We are not just a mountain bike club, we are very much a trails organization and are about a bigger picture than making shreddy fun trails,” said Dave Ochs, the executive director of CBMBA.
“We are true and literal boots on the ground to help with education outreach, decommissioning illegal land uses, and helping the Forest Service build campsites. We help with people power to get out there and get stuff done.”
They were also given kudos in late July from local rancher Jan Washburn, as CBMBA staff helped with a cattle drive that guided Spann Ranch cattle up Brush Creek Road.
The federal land managers are working with reduced budgets and the Forest Service is under a hiring freeze, so local groups are taking on stewardship roles, according to Andrew Sandstrom, the marketing director for TAPP. Currently, the Forest Service only has one officer for the entire Gunnison Ranger District, which coves over one million acres.
“We should all be concerned about the ecological health of the forest,” McPhail said. “The commonalty [between ranching and recreation] should be in protecting the environment. Ranchers are held to these standards of environmental equity and that’s something both groups should get behind. We might be able to resolve a lot through that.”
Another example of a committee currently making efforts to help regulate damaging recreational activities is the Sustainable Tourism & Outdoor Recreation (STOR) committee. One goal from their 2023 Strategic Plan is to work with the ranching community to identify important opportunities to reduce impacts of recreation on ranching during this 2024 summer.
Nick Catmur, the stewardship coordinator for STOR, wrote a plan to fund three more law enforcement officers for saturation patrols in hot spot areas around Crested Butte such as the Washington Gulch, Slate River, Gothic and Brush Creek drainages, and more. The plan was signed off by the county and the Forest Service, and is now taking place throughout the summer.
These officers are assigned to make sure recreators are compliant with designated campfire and camping sites, as well as offroad-rule compliance by vehicles. There are a total of four officers, three coming from other districts and joining with the local law enforcement officer. Some believe it will help to have an increase in law enforcement in the forest to show that regulations are being enforced.
“Sustainable tourism is a big challenge and that is why we have so many voices in the room on the STOR committee,” Catmur said. “We want to help and to understand what opportunities there are to reduce those impacts of outdoor rec on ranching.”
CBMBA created the CBCC in 2017 to help solve some negative impacts of recreation.
Ochs emphasized how important it is for CBMBA to work together with ranchers. He believes there is a lot that they agree on such as maintaining the open space and cultural heritage in the community.
“We have had amazing outcomes working together,” Ochs said. “We also don’t want trails willy nilly all over the place. We believe in responsible and sustainable recreation. I think there’s opportunity to work together and find that middle ground.”
Ochs and CBMBA put together a weekend outreach crew this year for the CBCC. This Backcountry Outreach Crew (BOC) is comprised of four individuals stationed at trailheads on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. There will be people out each day to educate visitors and encourage them to be good stewards. Their first weekend was June 22, and they will continue their efforts through the summer.
A longer-term aspiration voiced by some is to finding a balance between ranching and recreation. There could also be the potential to expand the local agricultural business and reduce the boom-and-bust economy of tourism.
“Tourism is obviously extremely important to our economy based on studies,” said Sandstrom. “Whether we like it or not, we are extremely dependent on tourism and one of TAPP’s goals now is how do we add another leg to our economic stool.”
TAPP has programs that support local businesses to keep people here on a steadier basis and to create job security. They believe having a more diverse economy is important and are trying to be less reliant on tourism.
“In the Gunnison Valley we have a very unique collaboration between ranching and recreation. I can’t think of other examples where easements across ranch land are granted for recreation,” Sandstrom noted. “The coordination between CBMBA and the ranchers is a partnership not seen elsewhere. The ranch land is extremely important in that it protects the vast open space and view sheds that visitors flock here to immerse themselves in. It also protects important wildlife corridors that are another big draw for our visitors.”
McPhail agrees that recreation has made the community more profitable and strengthened the economy. She also mentioned how ranching is a stable source of revenue for the community if tourism dollars drop. She cited 2022 USDA statistics that state more than $21 million in market value of agricultural products were sold in Gunnison County on more than 300 reporting farms (and ranches). “This doesn’t account for the receipts in support services such as veterinary, fuel, materials, feed, etc,” she said. “Water is also deeply intertwined with recreation, development and ranching which adds another economic element that is difficult to estimate across sectors.”
“One thing that is unique is this idea that no matter what, ranching has a place alongside recreation in this valley,” she said in regard to how much conserved land is in the basin compared to other high mountain areas in the West. Without it, much of the aesthetic beauty surrounding trails and public spaces would be developed.
“Ranching is not always a compatible use in a heavily developed areas, so the ranching leaves and the community loses one economic sector reducing the diversity of an already constrained rural economy,” she added. “I think many recreationalists understand that if the ranch lands were developed it would bring more people to the trails and affect their experiences in the natural setting they enjoy.”
With these struggles and the ongoing search for balance between recreation and ranching, a question from ranchers is, when is it too much? What is capacity? The strain of resources and costs of operations are concerns many of them face.
“For Trampe Ranches, staff understand that they can operate in the current trail system, what we don’t know is where our threshold is because we have adapted so much to get to this place,” McPhail said.
Sandstrom believes balance can be found in communication and respect between various factions of the community. “[Balance] is a constant battle and it’s a challenge we face. One of the biggest ways to get there is to get the stakeholders at the table and talking. Getting to the table together and having those hard conversations then prioritizing what we want as a community, and that’s balancing recreation and ranching.”
While on the road to balance, ranchers have shown for decades now that they are resilient in the face of struggle and have risen to the occasion of a changing landscape.
