A temporary closure of the lower Gill Trail parking area, originally scheduled to begin Tuesday, has been delayed because of ongoing construction work on Cheesman Dam. The closure now is set for early December, according to Randy Hickenbottom, South Platte district ranger for Pike National Forest.
The area off Jefferson County Road 126 near Deckers, once known as the Wigwam campground, provides the only authorized parking for the portion of trail that leads into Cheesman Canyon and access to the South Platte River. The closure is part of a project to replace the Wigwam Creek culvert under Forest Service Road 211 that was severely damaged by flooding in 2009. It’s expected to take seven weeks to complete.
The steep upper portion of the trail leading down from the reservoir will remain accessible during most of the closure, but Forest Service Road 211 will be closed for about a week during the project. At that time, the area will be accessible only by the longer, rougher Stony Pass road from the north.
The trailhead parking area will be used as a staging area for construction equipment.
Federal dollars for walk-ins.
Colorado’s popular Small Game Walk-In Access program received a $450,000 grant last week from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The money will be used to expand the program, which this year will provide pheasant and other small-game hunters access to more than 330 square miles of leased private lands across 22 eastern counties.
Colorado was one of 17 states that will split $11.76 million from the USDA’s Voluntary Access and Habitat Incentive Program, part of the 2008 Farm Bill. The Colorado Division of Wildlife also has submitted a request for additional funding from the two-year program.
“This will let us offer additional access incentives for landowners who improve lands accessible to hunters by managing for better grasses, more forbs, planting food plots and implementing a variety of other habitat improvements,” Ed Gorman, the DOW’s small game manager, said in a release.
In 2009, the DOW sold 8,500 walk-in permits to adults and issued another 1,100 youth permits. In January, the Colorado Wildlife Commission eliminated the requirement for hunters to buy a walk-in permit to access the properties. Hunters, therefore, will need only a regular small-game license for access to the 240,000 acres in the program.
State parks inspect 200,000 boats.
Boat inspectors at Colorado State Parks have checked more than 200,000 boats this year and confirmed aquatic nuisance species on eight vessels, all from other states.
Four of those were bound for Pueblo Reservoir, two for Highline Lake and one each for Chatfield and Navajo reservoirs. All were decontaminated before they entered the water.
Last year, state parks inspectors found nine boats with the aquatic nuisance species.
