NEPA--Environmental Assessment

Recreation Special Use Permits for outfitters and guides include horseback rides, jeep tours, ATV
tours, backpacking, backcountry skiing, avalanche courses, heli-skiing, and downhill extreme skiing.
Special events include foot races, jeep events, and portions of the Hard Rock 100, a long distance
endurance foot race. There are approximately 12-14 outfitter-guide and special event permits issued
for this area.
Deer Park and Elk Creek Allotments
Large portions or approximately 12,300 acres of the Deer Park and Elk Creek Allotments are inside
the Weminuche Wilderness, designated by Congress in 1975 (Figure 1-7). These two allotments are
high elevation alpine ecosystems with short growing seasons and heavy snowfall which often stays
late in the spring and early summer.
The National Forest system trails: Continental Divide Trail (#813), Highland Mary Trail (#502), Elk
Creek/Colorado Trail (#503) and the Whitehead Trail (#674) provide access for foot and horse users.
The Elk Creek and Highland Mary Trails receive heavy use; the Continental Divide Trail receives
moderate use and Whitehead Trail receives low use during the summer season. User-created trails
exist within this area and for the most part were made by sheep and sheep permittees. They are
occasionally found and used by the public. The Wilderness Act of 1964 establishes the travel
management designation for these portions of the allotments, prohibiting motorized or mechanized
travel within designated wilderness.
Recreation Special Use Permits for outfitter-guides include educational backpacking, llama hiking,
and horseback riding activities. There are no recreation event permits issued in wilderness.
The remaining 7,700 acres of the Deer Park and Elk Creek Allotments are BLM lands and include
the Kendall Mountain, Deer Park and Stony Pass 4x4 roads, and the Cunningham Gulch road. These
roads are regularly traveled during summer and fall but are not as heavily used as other 4x4 roads in
the area. Along the Cunningham Gulch road there are some flat valley sections where dispersed
camping occurs (near and adjacent to the corrals) and at the end of this road is a trailhead for the
Highland Mary and Continental Divide trails. There is approximately two miles of the Continental
Divide trail (north from Stony Pass) within this allotment.
The travel management for these BLM lands is “limited” which requires motorized vehicles to stay
on designated roads. During the winter months (December-April), snowmobiling, backcountry
skiing, snow boarding and snowshoeing are the main recreational activities with a moderate amount
of use. The steep terrain combined with high avalanche danger limits winter use. During summer
and fall (June - October) the recreational use within this allotment is high.
Recreation Special Use Permits for outfitters and guides include educational backpacking groups,
guided hunting, jeep tours, ATV tours and horseback rides. Special events include parts of the
Hardrock 100 endurance foot race and jeep events.
There are two Wilderness Study Areas (about 3,000 acres) on BLM lands adjacent to the
Weminuche Wilderness in the Deer Park Allotment, which are to be managed to maintain their
wilderness characteristics. They are currently monitored annually to document current use and
activities and ensure their wilderness characteristics.
Engine Creek/Deer Creek, Flume and Graysill Allotments
Spring, summer, and fall (May-November) recreation use within the Engine Creek/Deer Creek
Allotment includes hiking, bicycling, backpacking, horseback riding, dispersed camping, and
hunting. There are no Forest roads within this allotment and it is managed for semi-primitive nonmotorized
recreation activities. Vehicle access is from the Little Molas Lake Road (#979 ) and the
Cascade Creek Road (#783). Trails in this allotment provide approximately 30 miles of non-
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