In the news today: road closures?

[Pathrat]

SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) ― Three new laws are now in effect that are aimed at preserving quality in Colorado's high country.

The first extends an inspection program for all of Colorado's ski lifts for the next 12 years. Another helps pay for projects to fight the pine beetle and remove dead trees. The third deals with people lawmakers call "reckless recreationists."

As Colorado's population is rapidly growing, so is the use of public lands. House Bill 1060 is designed to help keep off-road vehicles out of roadless or wilderness areas by beefing up enforcement.

Some people say it's hard to tell which roads off-road vehicles are allowed to use. ATV Rider George Wood tries to stay out of wilderness areas, but can't always tell.

"When you see a road that is already established, it's hard to determine if this is a formally authorized road or not," Wood said.

Better and updated signs clearly marking wilderness areas are on the way. In a ceremony at Keystone, lawmakers talked about the new bill Wednesday which will now give other agencies like sheriffs' offices and the Division of Wildlife the authority to patrol wilderness areas and ticket motorized vehicles that are not supposed to be in them.

"We actually didn't allow DOW officers to enforce laws, so they really had their hands tied while seeing some real damage occurring and not being able to do anything about it," said Rep. Christine Scanlan, D-Summit County.

"When folks hike within a wilderness area, I think they're expecting a wilderness quality," said Sen. Dan Gibbs, D-Silverthorne.

Motorized vehicles include ATVs, motorcycles and snowmobiles.

"There was a concern that if we didn't work with this, deal with this issue now, eventually those areas would have closed," Scanlan said.

"ATVs that go off the road and tear up the terrain and do the mud thing and the swamps spoil it for the rest of us," Wood said.

Wood tries to do some policing himself.

"We take it upon ourselves to tell them, 'That's not okay,'" Wood said. "If they don't listen, which they always do, if they don't, we'll report them."

There will also be penalties for people using motorized vehicles in wilderness or roadless areas for the first time, according to Scanlan.


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[Pathrat]

So if I get lost on the series of roads and trails around Yankee Hill or Cascade, as I have done before, but stay on said established roads or trails, I can get ticketed if there is not a sign stating, "This route open to OHV travel" when previously there were only the FS roads designating named roads as roads by signs. I am not for ripping across the tundra or running around where there are no roads, or driving on trails that are posted with No OHV signs, but what does this mean for us? I had heard that if the road and all spurs are not posted are illegal for us to be on.

[Patrolman]

I believe that it will take several years to get all the new signs posted. Would be silly to think that you basically can't drive on any road without those signs in the meantime. I would assume that any road that has a FS sign is currently open for service until the new signs are put in place. Of course, any road without a FS sign would be off-limits until it is marked.

[Patrolman]

Agreed. They are so narrow and short, they can easily leave the trail and go driving off through the woods. Plus, many more of them on the trails now than ever before. I am always afraid of hitting one since many fly around the roads on the edge of out of control.