Public Land Management Around Gothic

While RMBL has an 80 year and multi-million dollar investment in research in the Upper East River Valley, we have very little in the way of assurance that the Forest Service will manage the public lands in a way that research can continue. Currently RMBL has a 10 year permit that allows scientists and students to work on public lands. However, that permit simply allows us to be out there, it doesn’t ensure the forest service won’t put an outhouse on a 40 year old study site. There is nothing in any of their planning documents that establishes research as any kind of priority; decisions are handled on a case by case basis and are up to the individual decision-maker. Additionally, the USFS office that deals with our permit has little experience with research.

We have been exploring how the USFS manages public lands around other field stations and there are a number of tools that could be used. The tool we are looking at most seriously is an Experimental Forest designation. This would bring in the research branch of the USFS to help manage the valley and establish research as a clear priority.

Such a designation would not exclude recreation and ranching. Indeed, we believe that any long-term solution to the valley will require a management vision that ensures that recreation, ranching, and research all co-exist. However, given the size of RMBL’s capital investment in the valley, we need research to be a part of the long-term plan for the valley and individuals within the USFS who have the expertise to oversee one of the world’s largest gatherings of biologists.

In talking with various stakeholder groups I see a lot of support for the idea that keeping RMBL viable is a priority. However, I am worried that the USFS simply doesn’t understand the value of what we have, either to research or to the local economy. A valley filled with dust from cars and overrun with meadows turned to parking lots is not going to be a valley that creates a unique tourist environment or sustains ranching.

The USFS has to manage a huge area, but they are understaffed. However, given our proximity to major urban areas, particularly if North Village adds another 800 units at the entrance to the valley, RMBL will get overrun unless the USFS adopts active management.

We inherited a beautiful valley. We are going to have to work to keep it that way.