Colorado -- AHRA/CPW Seeks Public Comments on New Mgt Plan!

[C-17A]

Greetings Gold Dredgers...

We all have some sort of dog in this fight......how government "manages" our public lands.......for us or against us...

For over a year now the Arkansas Headwaters Rec Area/Colorado Parks & Wildlife and the Citizen's Task Force (CTF) have been reviewing & rewriting the AHRA "Management Plan"...

Basically, it's the big, bloated governing document on how the AHRA/CPW manages the entire Arkansas River from Leadville to Pueblo.......it's a Colorado state park basically 1 inch wide and 152 miles long. It defines allowed activities, how much of these activities, fees and contracts.........both private and commercial..........and what is allowed and not allowed and how and where....etc.

As the CTF nears the end of its inputs/changes/comments on the first major Management Plan revision since 1990, AHRA is now looking for public review/comment:

CPW, BLM, and USFS are inviting the public to a series of meetings to help guide the AHRA partnership as they develop the AHRA Management Plan. The open-house meetings will run from 5:45 p.m. – 8 p.m. and will feature an introduction at 6 p.m. The meetings will also feature a focus-group style station to help the AHRA partnership understand why you value current recreation opportunities on the river. The meeting schedule is:
• Buena Vista (Jan. 25, 5:45-8 p.m., Buena Vista Community Center, 715 E. Main St)
• Canon City (Jan. 26, 5:45-8 p.m., Harrison Elementary/Middle School, 485 N. Cottonwood Ave)
• Colorado Springs (Jan. 27, 5:45-8 p.m., CPW Southeast Regional Office, 4255 Sinton Rd)
• Denver (Jan. 28, 5:45-8 p.m., REI Flagship Store, 1416 Platte St, Denver)

Please help me get the word out to ANY & ALL that want a once in a decade or more chance to have their voice heard, stress to AHRA/CPW what YOU need & want to see as to continued opportunities to gold prospect, gem collect, rock hound, hike, hunt, camp, ATV & 4-WD, etc., in the AHRA stste park. Sorry, Cache Creek isn't in the AHRA.....we'll have to keep fighting BLM on this one...

Example: CPW recently acquired a new 42 acre stretch of the Arkansas River with GOCO public funding, called the "Arkansas River Placer", North of BV, just North of Scott's Bridge. Their plan is to spend a ton on developing it in the next few years for rafters/kayakers with parking lots, campgrounds, boat launches, toilets, etc. When I voiced interest at a CTF Meeting in opening it up as well to "casual use" gold prospectors for non-motorized/non-mechanized ops I got a VERY cold reception & some evil stares from the crowd... I think this is one thing we MUST voice our equal rights to use/enjoy, as the Management Plan is still being drafted......"casual use" gold prospecting on this new 42 acres of the Arkansas River!

Another is keeping the AHRA/BLM/CPW primitive Elephant Rock campground area on the Arkansas River, just North of BV on CR 371, open to the public for "casual use" non-motorized/non-mechanized gold prospecting ops too.

So, share with one and all..........with friends, buddies gold prospecting clubs............everyone...............the official New Release is below.

Let's show up en mass at these planned meetings, get off our butts, have OUR voices heard............not just the eco-Nazis. I'll be at the BV meeting.

Even if you can't attend in person, perhaps you review the plan and can e-mail AHRA/CPW with your comments? Anything can/will help!

"For more information please contact AHRA at 719-539-7289 or to submit a comment visit the AHRA website at: http://cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/parks ... fault.aspx "

Cheers,

Randy Witham
Gold Adventures LLC
Buena Vista, CO 81211
1-719-395-2081


From: Bayless - DNR, Rose [mailto:rose.bayless@state.co.us]
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2016 4:02 PM
To: Bill Edrington; Bob Hamel; Christina King; Dan Prenzlow; Dave Potts; Ed Perko; Hayden Mellsop; James Broderick; Jim Aragon; Joe Greiner; John Nahomenuk; Justin Zeisler; Keith Berger; Leslie Tyson; Mark Robbins; Mark Sando; Marshall Butler; Melissa Garcia; Mike Bordogna; Rob Ferris; Robert White; Susan Tweit; Tami Conner; Wendy Rombold
Cc: cindy@therockdoc.net; Arkansas Valley Adventure; Bill Lehman; Bill Mar; Dick Isenberger; Jamie Tackel; John Gillogley; Kathryn Wadsworth; Kyle Sullivan; Logan Myers; Lucas Bare; Michael Harrington; Neil McNutt; Noahs Ark; Paul Goetz; Raft Masters; Randy Witham; Reed Dils; Steve Craig; Stew Pappenfort; Tom Waters
Subject: Fwd: Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area seeks comment on Management Plan revision

...And hot off the press is the news release regarding upcoming scoping meetings for the Management Plan.

Following is the link to the Management Plan site we've discussed at our CTF meetings.

http://cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/parks ... ision.aspx



Rose Bayless
Program Assistant
Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area

P 719.539.7289 Ext 4702 | F 719.539.3771
307 West Sackett Ave, Salida, CO 81201
rose.bayless@state.co.us | www.cpw.state.co.us

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Scherbarth - DNR, Jeanette <jeanette.scherbarth@state.co.us>
Date: Wed, Jan 6, 2016 at 3:48 PM
Subject: Fwd: Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area seeks comment on Management Plan revision
To: DNR_CPW_CustomerServiceRep@state.co.us


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - JOINT RELEASE






Kyle Davidson, CPW, 719-227-5211
Kyle Sullivan, BLM, 719-269-8553



Media Contacts:




Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area seeks comment on Management Plan revision

SALIDA, Colo. – Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Forest Service are seeking public input on the management plan revision for recreation use along the Arkansas River. The Arkansas River Headwaters Area Management Plan provides a framework for managing numerous and often conflicting recreation activities along the 152-mile river corridor. The public scoping period starts on Jan. 11 and ends on Feb. 12, 2016.

The Arkansas River is the most commercially rafted river in the United States, drawing nearly 240,000 (1) commercial boaters and resulting in an economic impact of more than 60 million dollars (2). The Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area is also popular for camping, wildlife watching, gold panning and numerous other river-related recreation activities, including its Gold Medal Trout Fishery.

“It is important for the public to engage in the Arkansas River Headwaters Area Management Plan because it provides a long-term framework for recreation decisions on the river,” said Rob White, CPW Park Manager. “Many of the complex natural resource issues we deal with have long-term consequences. This planning effort enables the AHRA partnership to develop a lasting framework for recreation management decisions.”

CPW, BLM, and USFS are inviting the public to a series of meetings to help guide the AHRA partnership as they develop the AHRA Management Plan. The open-house meetings will run from 5:45 p.m. – 8 p.m. and will feature an introduction at 6 p.m. The meetings will also feature a focus-group style station to help the AHRA partnership understand why you value current recreation opportunities on the river. The meeting schedule is:
• Buena Vista (Jan. 25, 5:45-8 p.m., Buena Vista Community Center, 715 E. Main St)
• Canon City (Jan. 26, 5:45-8 p.m., Harrison Elementary/Middle School, 485 N. Cottonwood Ave)
• Colorado Springs (Jan. 27, 5:45-8 p.m., CPW Southeast Regional Office, 4255 Sinton Rd)
• Denver (Jan. 28, 5:45-8 p.m., REI Flagship Store, 1416 Platte St, Denver)

Based on public comments received during the scoping period, the AHRA partnership will develop a series of alternatives, which will be available for public review. Once those alternatives are revised based on public feedback, a draft environmental assessment will be published for public input (estimated Fall 2016). A final plan is expected to be signed in early 2017.

The current AHRA Management Plan can be found here: http://cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/parks ... tions.aspx

For more information please contact AHRA at 719-539-7289 or to submit a comment visit the AHRA website at: http://cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/parks ... fault.aspx

Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, be advised that your entire comment -- including your personal identifying information -- may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold from public review your personal identifying information, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

###

The Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area is recognized as one of the nation's most popular locations for whitewater rafting and kayaking on the Arkansas River - the most commercially rafted river in the United States - and is noted for its world class fishery. The area is collaboratively managed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. AHRA consists of 45 recreation sites including 6 camping areas, 26 boat ramps and 18 developed facilities. The 152-mile long corridor sees roughly 800,000 visitors annually.

1 – Colorado Parks and Wildlife – Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area 2014 Annual Report: http://cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/parks ... _21_15.pdf

2 – Colorado River Outfitters Association – Commercial River Use in the State of Colorado 2014 Year End Report: http://www.croa.org/wp-content/uploads/ ... Report.pdf



CPW is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on license sales, state parks fees and registration fees to support its operations, including: 42 state parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering approximately 900,000 acres, management of fishing and hunting, wildlife watching, camping, motorized and non-motorized trails, boating and outdoor education. CPW's work contributes approximately $6 billion in total economic impact annually throughout Colorado.













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[Hoser John]

So they want to take away paradise and put in a parking lot, kill the trees and trade off for asphault and cram the place full of user groups. Where is the mining in this heineous plot to steal land??John

[nebraskadad]

Randy,

How did the meeting with the county Commiss go?

[nebraskadad]

Make sure to leave comments before dead line 6/22/2016 !!

http://cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/parks ... ision.aspx