21 Feb 2017
Trails 2000 asks City officials for permission to groom Horse Gulch Road, Meadow and Stacy’s
At the City’s Feb. 13th Natural Lands Preservation Advisory Board meeting, Trails 2000’s Executive Director Mary Monroe Brown asked for permission to use a snow machine with a tow-behind groomer wheel in Horse Gulch.
This is what the snow machine with the tow-behind groomer looks like.
Trails 2000 asked City officials for permission to groom Horse Gulch Road, Meadow Loop and Stacy’s Loop when snow levels are adequate.
A compacted area of trails would provide more enticing opportunities for bikers, hikers, dog walkers and metal-edged skiers, who would otherwise have to break trail on their own, said Monroe Brown.
Currently, part of Horse Gulch Road and the Meadow Loop is under conservation easement, which states that maintenance using a motorized vehicle is allowed.
“It’s unlike a nordic system where they basically groom it every single night because for the skate-skiing classic track to be prepared, they groom every day,” said Monroe Brown. “But that’s not what this is about. This would just be really to open up a track and then it can continue to be compacted through use.”
While this blogger was unable to attend the meeting, Monroe Brown said that she didn’t get an immediate answer from City staff on the Board.
First, Parks and Recreation Director Cathy Metz will have to check with the La Plata County Open Space Conservancy to make sure that the trail groomer would be allowed across the lands under conservation easement, she said.
