Hello Keep Routt Wild followers!

We have an update on the Mad Rabbit Trails Project later in this early edition of the December Newsletter, but first we have a request.

We’re asking you to donate to Keep Routt Wild this Colorado Gives Day, now through Tuesday, December 5th.
You can donate right now at

https://www.coloradogives.org/organization/Keep-Routt-Wild

If you donate on December 5, or earlier, Keep Routt Wild donations will be boosted by the Yampa Valley Community Foundation incentive fund. This makes your donation go even further.

We believe that Keep Routt Wild is simply one of the best values per donated buck you will find. We have no paid staff, so all donations go directly to program costs. We have a talented Board of Directors. Furthermore, we deliver. For example, look how we mobilized regarding the Mad Rabbit Trails Project and the threat it represents to Routt County wildlife:

·      In depth but nearly immediate analysis of the proposal

·      Collaborating with 22 other conservation organizations who also publicly opposed the Mad Rabbit project

·      In partnership with Rocky Mountain Wild, a sophisticated GIS analysis of habitat loss due to the proposed action

·      A surgical analysis and dissection of the Forest Service’s proposal based on the best available science, Forest Service regulations, and the law.

·      An outstanding legal team now on the case, defending Routt County wildlife and our local Colorado Roadless Areas.

We are engaging and executing, but the stakes are very high. Mad Rabbit represents a dangerous precedent that goes well beyond Routt County. Two specific precedents in the proposal include 1) using the Forest Service’s historical lack of illegal trail enforcement as justification for a massive expansion of trails and 2) ignoring both the letter and the intent of the Colorado Roadless Rule and the areas they protect. All of this is occurring when our local elk herd is experiencing unprecedented population loss. These precedents are why this project has gained state and even national attention, and why such a diverse set of conservation groups have joined us in opposition.

This is a battle that defines what Routt County will look like in just a few years. But it is also a battle that goes well beyond Routt County. For these reasons, we humbly ask for your support. Please donate to Keep Routt Wild starting now through December 5 at the Colorado Gives day link below. Your donation will help preserve wildlife and wild places in Routt County. Thank You.

Link Here: https://www.coloradogives.org/organization/Keep-Routt-Wild

Mad Rabbit Update

The Forest Service held a Mad Rabbit objection resolution meeting this past Monday, November 20. The goal of the meeting was not to repeat the objections one had already submitted to the reviewing officer (Forest Supervisor Russ Bacon), but to generate proposals of how the objections could be resolved. All parties who had standing were invited to participate, which included Keep Routt Wild.

We generated an updated compromise proposal which you can read here. It was subsequently endorsed by several local and statewide conservation groups, and was the single most adopted resolution proposal of the meeting. It differs from our previous proposal by allowing three trails to remain within the Long Park roadless area, as long as these were positioned within 1/2 mile of US40 and were subject to elk calving closures, regardless of snow depth, from May 15 through June 30. We had previously asked that these trails be moved to the south of US40. The entire project would be managed, in cooperation with the USFS and CPW, under adaptive management protocols to ensure the protection of wildlife and Colorado Roadless Area characteristics.

The advantage of this proposal to the Forest Service is that this proposal does not require a new EA (Environmental Assessment) to adopt, since it is a proper subset of the current draft EA. This would allow the Forest Service to choose this option and move forward.

We don’t know what the Forest Service will do, but we did get insight into the rest of the process. By December 11, the Forest Service will publish written responses to all objections. This could be published earlier, but December 11 is the regulatory deadline. Some time after the publication, the reviewing officer will give direction to the responsible official, District Ranger Michael Woodbridge. Then some time after that the final record of decision will be made and approved. While USFS regulations are dictating the December 11 deadline for objection responses, there are no regulatory deadlines for when the reviewing officer gives direction or when the final record of decision is made.

While we are hoping for the best, we are preparing for the worst. As we stated before presenting our compromise proposal, we do not believe the current proposal is legally defensible. Furthermore, the precedents set by the project threaten wildlife and roadless area protections across the state of Colorado. They cannot be allowed to stand. This is why a decision by the Forest Service to move forward with the current proposal doesn’t end the controversy- it just moves it to a different venue. All of this can be avoided if the Forest Service adopts our compromise proposal, and we encourage them to do so.

We have engaged with our legal team at KKR to understand our options, and are prepared to move forward. These options are not inexpensive. This is why this Colorado Gives Day we ask that you consider a donation to Keep Routt Wild so we can continue this fight for wildlife and wild places, not only in Routt County, but across the state of Colorado.

Thank you.