14ers Centennial Visioning Final Report

14ers Centennial Visioning

April 2024 FINAL REPORT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Challenge & Opportunity

Colorado’s iconic fourteen-thousand-foot peaks (“14ers”) are the crown jewels of a broader landscape that attracts visitors from near and far to enjoy some of the most breathtaking vistas and valleys on earth. And yet that very draw poses a central dilemma: how to welcome the diverse range of visitors wanting to enjoy Colorado’s mountains without diminishing their health and beauty?

This tension has increased over the past decades as Colorado’s population has grown by 35%, traffic on roads and trails has kept pace with that growth, and the noticeable effects of overcrowded trailhead parking, human waste, trash, and unregulated camping have piled up

8%

The majority of respondents in a recent statewide survey say the health of 14er natural resources (water, wildlife, plant life, etc.) have somewhat to greatly degraded over time, while only 8% feel they have improved.

This is true despite the longstanding work of state and federal land management agencies, outdoor stewardship organizations, mountain communities, and dedicated volunteers to ensure the health and beauty of Colorado’s mountain landscapes. This growing concern has a silver lining, however. It is a catalyst for change What follows in this report is the work of hundreds of partners who have come together to develop a shared vision for Colorado’s 14ers, a report card for tracking progress toward that vision, and concrete solutions for the vexing problems that jeopardize that vision. Convened by the National Forest Foundation, Envision Chaffee County, and the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, with funding from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), the 14ers Centennial Visioning Process has provided the forum for dialogue and the foundation for future action across Colorado ensure the 14ers remain treasured landscapes for generations.

Project Mission

As outlined by the project’s Planning Team and expanded by the Core Team of partners (Appendix A), The 14ers Centennial Visioning Project aimed to create a lasting statewide coalition that works together on:

Developing a shared, statewide vision for meeting trail sustainability, resource protection, and outdoor recreation access goals at the most popular 14ers.

Supporting locally focused approaches to implementing that vision through concrete plans that balance competing needs.

Securing long-term, sustainable funding to care for Colorado’s 14ers.

14ers Centennial Visioning | Executive Summary

Vision & Report Card

This mission guided the design of the engagement process including an online, statewide forum; a set of surveys used to develop a report card; and three regional meetings for developing solutions and animates this final report. But it will be most fully achieved through the ongoing work of the coalition of partners who have engaged throughout and who will continue to guide the implementation of solutions over time. To be clear: many of the partners involved and the projects referenced throughout have worked for years and even decades on these issues, and have helped advance noticeable progress. What this vision and plan for action add to their efforts is a more holistic view of the desired future, ways to track progress, and coordinated strategies for organizing the different parts into a larger whole.

The more than one hundred participants who attended the February 2023 Statewide Forum helped fashion a shared vision for Colorado’s 14ers, now and for the future. More than just a simple statement, the 14ers vision is a description of the kind of culture that ensures the preservation, protection, and equitable access to Colorado’s iconic landscapes and support for the communities that provide the gateways to them.

Our vision is a 14er culture across Colorado that:

Preserves and protects Colorado’s wildlife, waters, and mountain environments

Provides equitable opportunities to responsibly explore Colorado’s 14ers

Supports mutually beneficial relationships between visitors and communities

Like all good vision statements, it provides a way for diverse partners who might be working on one aspect of an issue to unite around a common, elevating goal. Forged from the give and take of competing views, the 14ers vision provides a holistic picture of a desired future that becomes possible because each partner’s individual interest helps advance a common good.

Equally important as a shared vision is a shared way to measure progress toward that vision. To do this, the Planning Team worked to translate the vision into a set of measurable indicators that could be scored on an A to F scale to convey the level of progress achieved toward that indicator. Grades were based on data collected from a Visioning Survey of nearly 1500 respondents, a survey of District Rangers, a survey of wildlife experts, and a survey of the Core Team

The report card serves as both a call to action and a way to track progress over time. This first year has set a baseline, and the overall grades on the report card in each vision category have been a cause of concern and a catalyst for action. Across the board, it is clear there are signs that the shared vision for Colorado’s 14ers and the communities that host them is in jeopardy. At the same time, within the details of the indicators there are encouraging signs especially in the extensive work that has been done around building sustainable trail systems, and in the growing leadership and economic growth of the outdoor recreation industry. The report card will be updated at regular intervals in the future to track progress.

For more details on the survey design and evaluation methodology, see the full Report Card.

Summary of Root Challenges & Cross-Cutting Solutions

In the course of three regional meetings, partners reviewed the data from the report card and shared insights around the “story behind the data” and the root causes and common challenges that are producing these results. These insights echoed similar themes from the discussion at the Statewide Forum regarding the core tensions and challenges that people are seeing. These root challenges provide a helpful framework for organizing the kinds of solutions that people have identified throughout this process, and which are beginning to emerge through regional planning efforts across the state. The following is a high-level summary of those root challenges and corresponding solutions.

Root Challenge

Lack of a holistic and coordinated planning and management toward a shared vision

Cross-Cutting Solution

Holistic Management: Develop and implement holistic approaches and collaborative solutions with regional partnership and grassroots input

Lack of resources to meet current visitor demand (infrastructure, staffing, funding)

Lack of a shared understanding around behavioral expectations in the outdoors

Invest in Infrastructure: Invest in the human and physical infrastructure, and land acquisitions required to ensure Colorado’s mountains can be enjoyed for generations to come, including camping management, sustainable trails, staffing, use management, restrooms and parking

Implement Common Messages for the Common Good: Launch an effective communication campaign to honor our diverse values and elevate user behaviors including existing platforms with large audiences

Disproportionate impact on local communities

Deliver Local Benefit: Develop solutions with local communities that generate sustainable funds to manage impacts

These solutions are crosscutting because each one is not simply a response to the associated root challenge, but linked to other challenges, and enabled by other solutions. This interdependence is a key outcome of the visioning process since a common messaging campaign around how to better manage human waste can only succeed if there is more adequate infrastructure (e.g. toilets, managed campsites, etc.). In many instances, these solutions are already being implemented and showing signs of progress. Others will depend on securing additional funding, policy change, or local planning processes. The goal of the 14ers Centennial visioning process is to provide a common platform and ongoing coalition that can become more than the sum of its parts as these solutions are developed and implemented, and to provide a forum for holistic management of the collective work.

ENGAGEMENT PROCESS

Planning Team: Crafting & Stewarding an Expansive Engagement Process

The Planning Team formed early on to shepherd the engagement process on a weekly basis. Comprised of members from the National Forest Foundation (NFF), Envision Chaffee County, the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (CFI), and the Civic Canopy, the Planning Team met on a weekly basis through most of the project to develop the detailed plans and carry out the extensive back-end work required to host the forums, conduct the surveys, analyze the data, and communicate with partners throughout the visioning process.

Top of mind throughout the planning process was a commitment to balancing a broad-based outreach to diverse stakeholders to make sure a wide range of views would be included and that all tensions were surfaced, while still honoring the deep expertise of experts in the field and the experience of those who have worked for decades on these issues. This approach, of going both broad and deep, was not without friction points, including deciding how to honor all viewpoints in proper measure throughout, but has generally yielded a final vision and set of solutions that have been pressure-tested before being finalized and proposed for full implementation.

Core Team: Advising & Contributing to a Successful Process

The Core Team members met periodically throughout the process beginning in December 2022 to provide strategic guidance on the overall process design, inform agendas for the Statewide Forum and regional meetings, revise and improve the vision document and the report card, and to review the final solutions developed in the process. Core Team members also contributed actively in the forums, surveys and regional meetings as well, helping to shape the discussions along the way. Finally, Core Team members used their networks to recruit a diverse network of partners to take part along the

Statewide Forum

Held online in February 2023 with over a hundred participants joining from across the state, the Statewide Forum provided a space for partners to share their input on the kind of vision Colorado should have for the 14ers, what obstacles lie in the way—including dilemmas to manage and gaps to fill —and what is already happening that can be built on as the broader coalition’s work evolves to make the vision a reality.

Panelists Cindy Williams from Envision Chaffee County, Lloyd Athearn from CFI, Josh Voorhis from the US Forest Service, and Vanessa Saldivar from Get Outdoors Leadville shared their hopes for the vision and the tensions they’ve experienced from their vantage points, providing a jump start for the attendees discussion of balancing the competing needs of preserving the environment, ensuring equitable access, and aligning the often disparate values and behaviors of so many people who are drawn to the 14ers each year

Attendees drew upon their knowledge and experience from diverse sectors and from the vantage point of state-level departments and local initiatives to think through how to best define a shared vision and move together toward it. The final report from the forum summarizes the topics discussed, the outcomes achieved, and the list of participants who attended.

Regional Meetings

Three regional meetings were held to develop concrete strategies to move Colorado from its current state to the future state. Meetings were held in three broad regions to capture the majority of the 14ers, grouped by like features:

June: Central Mountains (Poncha Springs)

July: Front Range and I-70 Corridor (Breckenridge)

August: Southern Mountains (Virtual)

The formats for the meetings were similar, with subsequent meetings building on the previous ones where possible while still acknowledging the unique features and needs of each region. Each meeting began with a review of the report card data and discussion of underlying root causes, a chance to brainstorm possible solutions, and a process of prioritizing possibilities based on feasibility and impact.

Crafting a Vision & Report Card

With the input from stakeholders at the Statewide Forum, the planning team developed a draft vision statement that captured the perspectives expressed at the forum in a concise form. The Core Team reviewed it and suggested revisions, leading to the final vision statement document released in April 2023. While it was clear from the forum that there exists common ground on these issues, the process of finalizing the vision made clear that different stakeholders value different aspects of the vision to different degrees some emphasizing the importance of wilderness protection, others the value of wildlife and natural systems, others the importance of trails and recreational opportunities, still others the impact on local communities.

In the end, the Core Team’s input helped the Planning Team finalize a vision that sought to honor those differences within a common framework that all can support together and find within it what they care about most. This can be seen in the format of the vision statement itself, which begins with a call to creating a culture in Colorado that supports all three elements of natural systems, recreational opportunities, and respect for the relationships with local communities.

However, since a vision statement without a means of measuring progress is more wish than true vision, the Planning Team compiled existing data points and developed additional indicators that could measure the various elements of the vision and put them into an overall Report Card. The format for the Report Card was heavily influenced by the success of Envision Chaffee County’s approach and was informed by the extensive data collected by CFI. Some of the indicators used to measure the vision elements had readily available sources of public data, whereas others required the development of new surveys to provide baseline data that will continue to be gathered over time.

Data sources included:

Trail condition “report cards” and annual hiking use estimates.

14er Centennial Visioning survey: focused on assessing the various elements of the vision, current challenges, and potential solutions (1269 respondents).

Wildlife Biologist survey: 17 responses from wildlife experts focused on the impact of 14er use on wildlife since 2018 and suggested solutions.

District Ranger survey: 10 responses from district rangers regarding perceptions of changes in visitor impacts, infrastructure capacity for managing the 14ers, and funding/workforce capacity.

VISION

Our vision is a 14er culture across Colorado that:

01. Preserves and protects Colorado’s wildlife, waters, and mountain environments

Colorado’s 14ers landscapes are among the most iconic landscapes and treasured Wilderness Areas in the world and we have a responsibility to act so that they remain so now and for generations to come.

What this means in practice:

Preservation and protection of natural ecosystems and wild areas with opportunities for solitude and retrospective or primitive recreation per the Wilderness Act

Healthy and stable populations of wildlife, native plants and iconic alpine trees

Effective waste management with the right infrastructure and routines

Agency management standards are met

02. Provides equitable opportunities to responsibly explore Colorado’s 14ers

Everyone should be welcome to enjoy these awe-inspiring wild spaces in ways that best fit their different interests and abilities, that leave space for others to do the same, and that honor and protect the unique features of the land

What this means in practice:

Memorable and inspiring experiences are available for current and future generations

Appropriate human resources and infrastructure on every 14er

Opportunities for welcoming a variety of experience levels across the statewide system, including those whose cultures have not been honored in the past

Sustainable behavior and respectful interactions are the norm among all users

Opportunities for solitude, primitive recreation, and group recreation in and outside of Wilderness areas

03. Supports mutually beneficial relationships between visitors and communities

Communities located near the 14ers should not bear an undue burden in supporting the growing demands and impacts of visitors and user-related impacts must be addressed to deliver sustainability.

What this means in practice:

Funding and responsible management of areas in and around the 14ers shared by all users

Infrastructure capacity keeps up with demands from users, as appropriate

Negative impacts on nearby communities are minimized

Positive engagement between visitors and communities is maximized

Issues identified by host communities are addressed

June 2023

VISION: Preserve and protect Colorado’s iconic wildlife, waters, and diverse mountain environments D

Key Indicators

Camping Impact .....................................................

Human & Dog Waste ...............................................

Wilderness Standard Compliance ...........................

Natural Resource Health Perception ......................

Conversion of Social to Sustainably Designed Trails

VISION: Provide equitable opportunities to responsibly explore Colorado’s 14ers

Key Indicators

Experience Quality ..................................................

Parking, Restrooms, and Trail Infrastructure ..........

14er Funding ............................................................

Safe Behaviors ........................................................

Access Equity ..........................................................

Responsible Behaviors ............................................

VISION: Support mutually beneficial relationships between visitors and communities

Key Indicators

Total Funding Available vs. Need ............................

State Economic Benefit .........................................

Wildlife Impact ........................................................ C D

Resources For Community Concerns .....................

Local Business Patronization Programs .................

From Root Challenges to Cross-Cutting Solutions

Each step in the process, from the Statewide Forum to the visioning survey through the regional meetings, surfaced similar themes around the root causes that help explain the current realities in the report card and the common challenges that must be overcome to ensure future progress. These “root challenges” provide a useful framework for organizing the hundreds of solutions that emerged in the regional meetings.

Within the high-level solution categories, participants outlined concrete action steps as well. Following are a summary of these cross-cutting strategies developed across all regional meetings. This summary captures the solutions offered by participants across the three regional meetings, seeking to convey the direct words and sentiments of the attendees as much as possible, with room for slight edits to synthesize similar ideas for the sake of brevity. Evaluation of the viability, efficacy and priority of these solutions will follow in subsequent stages of this process, and will require ongoing engagement of regional stakeholders to develop shovel-ready projects.

Root Challenge Cross-Cutting Solution

Lack of a holistic and coordinated planning and management toward a shared vision

Holistic Management: Develop and implement holistic approaches and collaborative solutions with regional partnership and grassroots input

Lack of resources to meet current visitor demand (infrastructure, staffing, funding)

Lack of a shared understanding around behavioral expectations in the outdoors

Invest in Infrastructure: Invest in the human and physical infrastructure, and land acquisitions required to ensure Colorado’s mountains can be enjoyed for generations to come, including camping management, sustainable trails, staffing, use management, restrooms and parking

Disproportionate impact on local communities

Implement Common Messages for the Common Good: Launch an effective communication campaign to honor our diverse values and elevate user behaviors including existing platforms with large audiences

Deliver Local Benefit: Develop solutions with local communities that generate sustainable funds to manage impacts

Holistic Collaboration: Continue supporting stakeholders to develop and implement holistic approaches and collaborative solutions.

Coordinate statewide stakeholder engagement, including annual report card updates, regular stakeholder meetings, and cross-agency communication on activities like waste management schedules, volunteer efforts, successful parking initiatives, etc.

Align planning and visioning efforts between regions and peaks.

Improve data collection statewide and disseminate results to help coordinate planning efforts.

Connect and support statewide ambassador programs (e.g. Rec Rangers and Adventure by Nature).

Consider adding a handful of easier 14ers to the Keep Colorado Wild Pass (or even to the state park system itself).

Invest in Infrastructure: Invest in the human and physical infrastructure required to ensure Colorado’s mountains can be enjoyed for generations to come.

Trails and Trailheads

Build out the 14er trail network to ensure every 14er has at least one sustainably designed, durably constructed summit trail to protect fragile alpine ecosystems while facilitating recreation.

Ensure that all trails are maintained to at least an overall B average grade to protect natural resources and prior investments in natural surface trails.

Support the maintenance and upgrading of existing trailheads using a prioritized list

Use clear signage to indicate safety, access and resource protection goals for each 14er route.

Collect data on the status of trailheads through surveys to better understand issues and challenges.

Managing Human Waste

Develop a comprehensive plan for adequate toilet solutions at a list of prioritized trailheads.

Develop a business agreement with a key partner (e.g. Toilet Tech) to service toilet facilities.

Include “what to do with your waste” in statewide communication campaign.

Dedicated Staffing and Funding

Dedicate staffing to develop and support a regional coordinated approach for full 14er system management and stewardship.

Develop dedicated funding sources to help generate money for infrastructure improvements, both at a statewide and local level.

Targeted Regional Solutions

Assess the specific capacity needs of each 14er as well as the surrounding area or trails to determine specific parking and information requirements

Prioritize a list of site-specific infrastructure (e.g. Greys/Toreys, Stevens Gulch, Quandary, Bierstadt, San Luis Pass)to address the most critical needs in high-usage areas.

Coordinate shuttles from towns to trailheads to address parking concerns.

Common Messages for the Common Good: Launch a coordinated education and communication campaign to honor our diverse values and elevate user behaviors in the outdoors

Create consistent messaging about the 14ers safety, care and education in multiple languages to use across the State of Colorado, across jurisdictions and across agencies.

Ensure messaging is in multiple languages across trailhead signs, websites, educational materials and touchpoints for gear (e g gear libraries, associated education, statewide gear tax, local business sponsorship), using QR codes to expand access to additional information.

Fund and hire social media experts to get consistent messaging on all platforms (and on sites) pertaining to the 14ers.

Create a dedicated funding source to use for comprehensive communication and messaging and collaborative efforts across organizations.

Coordinate with Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board to restore indigenous names to Colorado 14ers.

Reinforce positive behavior through programs like peak stewards, Adventure by Nature and other pledges with rewards from local businesses.

Work with outdoor retailers to promote an understanding of what is required to safely and responsibly climb a 14er.

Statewide Vision, Local Solutions: Develop solutions with local communities that generate sustainable funds to manage the local impacts

Develop comprehensive fundraising plans to align resources from diverse funders around comprehensive solutions aligned with the statewide vision.

Create State 14er’s pass, similar to CPW’s habitat stamp, to partner with local business and take 1% at point of sale, to fund coordinated 14er management efforts.

Implement “Friends of 14ers” fiscal partner strategy with local “Friends of 14ers” groups to help implement local solutions.

Share success stories from across the state with local communities hit hardest by issues of traffic, parking, waste etc.

WORKING TOGETHER TOWARD THE VISION

All visioning processes run the risk of feeling out of reach compared to the challenges of current realities. Thanks to the work of numerous partners, Colorado is fortunate to have several regions that will act as proving grounds for how the shared vision developed in this process can effectively come to life. Partners are poised to work together to implement the kinds of cross cutting solutions identified through this process and summarized in this report, turning the shared vision into practical reality in key demonstration sites across the state. These projects are shovel-ready, and will form the backbone of applications for funding going forward, hopefully inspiring others to be developed in other regions.

Central Region Demonstration Projects: Kite Lake & Sawatch Range Restoration

The Central Colorado region has the highest density of 14ers in the state and two demonstration projects: Kite Lake and Sawatch Range Restoration.

Kite Lake

Kite Lake is the access point for the “Decalibron Loop,” which encompasses Mount Democrat (14,555’), Mount Cameron (14,248’), Mount Lincoln (14,155’), and Mount Bross (14,178’), which can be climbed in one day. The loop generally sees 20,000 to 25,000 climbers per season. Due to extensive private mining claim inholdings in the area, the loop has been closed several times over the past 20 years due to landowner liability concerns. Private ownership of the peaks also has limited the ability to develop this region to a standard commensurate with its use levels. This has resulted in damage to rare alpine plants, loss of pika habitat, community concern about human waste fouling drinking water and parking along both sides of a narrow access road that extends for miles on busy weekends blocking emergency vehicle access and damaging fragile vegetation

But this story has begun to change in important ways. In September 2023 the Conservation Fund, with support from the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative and Mosquito Range Heritage Initiative, purchased 300 privately held acres on Mt Democrat that are in the process of being transferred to the USFS for permanent management. At the same time the USFS and community partners have developed shovel ready projects which offer a model of holistic solutions to statewide root challenges as follows.

Holistic Management

USFS, non-profit organizations, the town of Alma, Park County Commissioners, and citizens developed a next generation infrastructure plan to sustainably manage Kite Lake use. The USFS advanced a NEPA process and expects a signed decision and shovel ready projects by early 2024.

Invest in Infrastructure

Upgrades to the Kite Lake access road, including installation of an entry station near the town of Alma miles below the trailhead. In the near term the booth will be manned by Alma volunteers providing educational materials. As use increases, the booth could be used to manage use and/or to reroute vehicles to shuttle parking once trailhead parking is full.

Upgrades to parking at the trailhead and along the access road to provide more hardened parking spots, protect vegetation and allow emergency vehicle access.

Upgrades to camping along the access road and at the trailhead, including installation of designated campsites and a fee structure to fund sustainable management.

Upgrades to human waste management with three additional vault toilets.

Upgrades of the trail system stabilizing the tread and steep cross-slope tundra beds, as well as addressing trail braids, social trails and widening that could harm unique alpine plants while providing safe access.

Signage developed in collaboration with the Sawatch Range restoration project.

Common Messages

Added signage at the trail head and in designated camping areas will be combined with uniform messaging from personal contacts, such as at the entry kiosk, and through partners to elevate user behaviors.

Local Benefit

The local community will be directly engaged through a unique USFS agreement with the town of Alma, where the town will receive camping fees in return for providing campsite management. Local partners will support project implementation. Residents in Alma and Fairplay will benefit by having serious community concerns addressed Kite Lake is a model of Town to Mountain Top 14er Management.

Sawatch Range Restoration

The peaks of the Sawatch Range including Mount Elbert (14,439’), Colorado’s highest 14er, to Mount Shavano (14,231’) near Salida and Mount Columbia (14,077’) near Buena Vista, offer the greatest concentration of 14ers in the state, with 14 popular peaks and more than 105,000 peak users per year. High use without sufficient planning, management resources, and infrastructure has damaged wilderness character and fragile alpine plants and sparked community concern. The Envision Recreation in Balance CPW Regional Partnership engaged five USFS District Rangers and their staff, Lake and Chaffee County Commissioners, non-profit organizations, town managers, and citizens to develop a plan to begin to restore regional natural resources and experience quality. The plan includes collaborative action on all 14 peaks in the region as follows.

Invest in Infrastructure

Upgrades to human waste management, including five new vault toilets at the busiest locations, decreasing the risk of human waste fouling the local source water supply. Upgrades to camping management include: 1) Support for a USFS order to ban campfires at timberline – an especially fragile environment where centuries-old fir trees are being cut and consumed in evening campfires. The requested funding will support the removal of all fire rings in this zone, the installation of signage, and the monitoring of efficacy. 2) management of more than 500 campsites along 14er trails, at trailheads, and along access roads to trailheads including removal/restoration of inappropriate sites (such as in rare Boreal Toad breeding areas), site containment (such as with boulders or fencing), management of inappropriate fire rings and annual clean up events.

Upgrades to parking, including maximizing capacity in existing parking areas and barriers to prevent vegetation damage.

Upgrades to the upper Mount Columbia trail, which is currently rated a D- by CFI and considered their top regional priority. Reconstructing and maintaining 14er trails to handle growing use was the second-highest-rated area of concern among the 1,300 community survey respondents (51%). Two seasons of concentrated trail reconstruction on Columbia will address extreme erosion –estimated at more than 2000 cubic feet of soil to date - by adding 350+ steps and 110 linear feet of trail drains to transform the user-created route to a sustainable trail surface.

Common Messaging

A key project component is the development of regionally consistent signage to elevate user behaviors that may be transferable to peaks statewide. The signage demonstration includes: Consistent signage at all 14er trailheads with information on Leave No Trace, how to camp, how to manage waste, and content about Native American History and a sense of reverence for the peaks.

Signage to manage camping, including where to/not to camp, dovetailed with the Adventure by Nature Program, and signage at all wilderness boundaries that enables users to pace off the right distance to camp from water.

Southern Region Demonstration Project:

Mount Sneffels & Blue Lakes Visitor Management

The highest priority project in the Southern Region is the Blue Lakes Visitor Management Plan. The project includes management action on two access points for the beloved Mount Sneffels (14,157’); Yankee Boy Basin and Blue Lakes. One of the most popular trails in the Mount Sneffels Wilderness is the Blue Lakes Trail. Known for its three turquoise blue high alpine lakes, wildflowers, breathtaking views and access to Mount Sneffels. Many people climbing Mount Sneffels will also approach the mountain via Yankee Boy Basin, climbing either the “standard” South Slopes/Lavender Couloir route or the more challenging Southwest Ridge route. However, Yankee Boy Bain is a complex web of private lands, 4WD roads popular with non-climbers exploring the old mining roads, and climbers approaching the peak. Increasing visitation, without sufficient planning, infrastructure and management resources has resulted in excessive human waste, vegetation loss from campsite expansion and user-created trails, uncontrolled dog interactions, illegal campfires, bear conflicts, impacts to adjacent private lands, social conflicts, and overcrowding and parking issues.

Holistic Management

In response to the issues the USFS is completing a visitor use management plan. The plan includes a visitor use management strategy and cross-cutting solutions to restore and preserve natural conditions and address impacts.

Invest in Infrastructure

Upgrades the trail system, including A) stabilizing and more clearly signing of a bypass trail that could be used to get hikers off a heavily used 4WD road, and B) upgrading the summit trail (with 3,000 to 7,000 users per year) to address trail braids, social trails and reduce widening that could harm alpine plants, while also providing safe hiker access. Planned work includes installing 120 steps and 280+ square feet of retaining walls to protect tundra vegetation and stabilize the trail. The section of trail currently has a “C” grade.

Managing camping by: A) Designated camping in backcountry concentration zones and removing inappropriate sites, B) Installing designated campsites and a fee structure to fund sustainable management of campsites along the access road and at the trailhead, including installation of designated campsites and a fee structure to fund sustainable management.

Addressing wildlife conflicts by implementing requirements for food storage.

Upgrades to human waste management with additional vault toilets and infrastructure including signage to support a WAG bag waste management requirement for overnight backcountry visitors.

Invest in Human Infrastructure

The USFS capacity to manage the Blue Lakes projects listed above is extremely limited but implementation requires significant resources such as to design campsites, install signs and implement a camping permit/fee system.

Front Range Region Demonstration Project:

Clear Creek 14ers Restoration Project

The 14ers in Clear Creek County are some of the most trafficked peaks in Colorado due to their proximity to the Denver metropolitan area, ease of access off I-70, and forgiving routes. They provide the best, safest introductions to climbing a 14er in the state, and see seasonal use of roughly 55,000 to 70,000 hikers across all the peaks. Because these have always been the most used 14ers in Colorado, they also have had the most developed infrastructure relative to other 14ers. However, the infrastructure has gaps and requires strategic upgrades as use continues to increase. The Scenic Byway to Mount Blue Sky (14,265’) Recreation Area climbs over 7,000 feet in its 28-mile length, offering visitors easy access to Colorado’s inspiring high mountain environment, and visitors can take a short walk to the top of a 14er. During busy days, there is gridlock in parking lots and on the road as visitors wait for a place to park at Summit Lake and the Mount Blue Sky Summit. Traffic data indicates long lines of traffic forming at the Welcome Station on typically busy summer days, and during particularly busy periods, traffic backs up onto Colorado Highway 103. A 2014 visitor survey indicates that more than 90% of visitor groups to Mount Blue Sky engage in scenic driving, and more than 60% report that scenic driving is their primary activity on their trip to Mount Blue Sky. These same user groups reported that they experienced parking congestion, 40% of whom self- reported that they did not park in an actual parking space.

Holistic Management

Partners at the Arapahoe & Roosevelt National Forest, Denver Mountain Parks, Clear Creek County, Colorado Department of Transportation, and others have joined together to form the Mount Blue Sky Collaborative group to create cross-cutting solutions on Colorado’s highest byway and the highest paved road in North America. A new timed entry reservation system was instituted for the 2023 season. The timed-entry system is aimed at reducing wait times, lines, and crowding at the welcome station to the mountain summit and Brainard Lake Recreation Area. The collaborative group is exploring other options to manage visitation, including a shuttle system like the one in place at Quandary Peak and updating signage and interpretation.

Invest in Infrastructure

Mount Bierstadt (14,265’) is accessed by a paved road and has two paved parking lots, each with two-stall vault toilets. In contrast, the trailhead for Grays Peak (14,278’) and Torreys Peak (14,267’) is accessed by a poorly maintained dirt road and has a primitive two-stall vault toilet that is insufficient for current use. Improvements to the Clear Creek 14ers infrastructure include: Reconstruction of the Bierstadt boardwalk, which was installed 20+ years ago and needs replacement of planks and railings.

Reconstruction of the Blue Sky route damaged by a major mudslide Installation of upgraded toilet facilities at the Grays/Torreys trailhead. Clear Creek County has been involved in a public recreation planning process for more than a year looking at a combination of upgraded parking, use of a shuttle system or other transit approach, and infrastructure needs across the county that has touched on how best to address these high use 14ers.

NEXT STEPS & CONTINUED COLLABORATION

This report is meant to summarize the progress to date on the Centennial Visioning process in service of catalyzing the ongoing collaboration required to bring the vision into reality. A key next step in the process will be to re-engage the stakeholders who helped inform the recommendations included in this report and to coordinate interested partners to ensure the recommended solutions take root in the ongoing efforts of existing initiatives where possible, and in new forms where necessary. With this clear vision now in place, and shovel-ready demonstration projects lined up, partners in other regions will hopefully be able to join forces to map out the details for more shovelready projects that address unmet needs. As they do, the coordination and communication with other partners in this network will remain crucial in order to reach the goal of a more holistic approach to 14ers projects.

Building the collaborative infrastructure while taking immediate action will take dedicated resources of course, including those from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), whose Centennial Funding Program made this visioning work possible. The solutions outlined in this report have formed the basis of an implementation grant request in the next round of Centennial funding, and hopefully will inspire other funders to join as additional tributaries in what will hopefully become a watershed moment in Colorado’s efforts to preserve and protect its treasured 14ers.

Stay connected and follow the future of the program on the Centennial Visioning website.

APPENDIX A: PLANNING & CORE TEAM

The following members participated on the Planning and Core Team for this process. The Planning Team provided day to day management of the project, while the Core Team met bi-monthly to provide high-level guidance and feedback on the project’s direction. (*Planning Team Members)

David Taus Big City Mountaineers

Doug Vilsack, Jon Kaminsky, Jim Lovelace, Steph Connolly, Tim Finger, Jeff Christenson Bureau of Land Management

Alice Pugh*, Sheffy Minnick*, Madeline White*,

Bill Fulton* The Civic Canopy

Erin Karney Colorado Cattleman's Association

Lloyd Athearn*, Ben Hanus* Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (CFI)

Samantha Albert Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office (OREC)

Mark Lamb Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Jeff Sparhawk

Jordan Williams, Liz Schmit

Colorado Search and Rescue

Continental Divide Trail Coalition (CDTC)

Dan Williams Denver Parks and Recreation

Cindy Williams*

Envision Chaffee County

Vanessa Saldivar Get Outdoors Leadville!

Dan Omasta Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO)

Nikki Hernandez Latino Outdoors

Jeffrey Lockwood The Lockwood Foundation

Emily Olsen*, Jennifer Fenwick*, Jeny Davis*, Jake Barker, Jamie Werner, Joe Lavorini* National Forest Foundation

Carl Woody, Jolie NeSmith

Loretta McEllhiney, Ben Lara, Pat Mercer, Chad Schneckenburger, Chris Gutierrez

Rocky Mountain Field Institute (RMFI)

U.S. Forest Service

June 2023

VISION:PreserveandprotectColorado’s iconicwildlife,waters,anddiverse mountainenvironments

Land managers, wildlife professionals and visitors perceive that the health of natural resources on 14ers is declining with cumulative impacts from high use. Land managers are in agreement that conditions on 14ers in Wilderness Areas are not in compliance with federal standards. Biologists outline concerns over impact to wildlife due to people and dogs straying further off of trails, which can cause displacement and indirect habitat loss.

Increasing levels of trash and human waste, as well as denudation of vegetation from expanding social trails and campsites, was noted by everyone surveyed as a factor contributing to natural resource degradation. A bright spot is the work by Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (CFI) and Rocky Mountain Field Institute (RMFI) to convert user-created 14er trails to sustainable designed trails.

Indicator Information Source

Camping Impact

Human & Dog Waste Wilderness Standard Compliance

Natural Resource Health Perception

Conversion of Social to Sustainably Designed Trails

District Ranger Perception Survey: Campsite footprint trend

District Ranger Perception Survey: Human/dog waste trend

5 Year Trend Comments

90% say footprint is increasing, 10% unchanged

This metric is informed by the District Ranger Survey with responses from 10 U.S. Forest Service Rangers managing 14ers. 9 of 10 say the footprint of 14er-related campsites is increasing. One example is along the route to Mt Columbia/Harvard, where 77 documented Wilderness campsites include denuded ground, more than 200 damaged krummholz fir trees, and nearly 100 campfire rings.

DWildlife Impact

District Ranger Data: Wilderness Act compliance where appropriate

90% say increasing or greatly increasing, 10% dont know

100% of Districts with Wilderness peaks not in compliance. Trend worsening for 87%

CFI data: Trend in oversize groups on Wilderness 14er routes 238% increase

State 14er Survey: Visitor perception of natural resource health

CFI and RMFI Data: Change in the number of sustainably designed 14er trails Wildlife Professionals Survey: Trend in impact to wildlife

52% declined/greatly declined, 8% improved, 19% no change, 22% unsure

35 sustainably designed trails in 2018 increased to 41 in 2022 (+6)

This metric is informed by the District Ranger Survey. 90% indicate that the volume of human and dog waste on 14ers is increasing This is consistent with the perception of visitors captured in the Colorado 14er Survey. Hard data on the volume and trend of waste is not available, although a pilot project is planned to gather such data in the Collegiate Peaks.

Wilderness Area management includes particular requirements, making these lands different than other federally designated landscapes. According to the Wilderness Act, wilderness is recognized as an area "where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man” and is an area "retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation." In the District Ranger Survey, all District Rangers managing lands with 14ers in Wilderness Areas indicate that conditions are not in compliance with the Act, and 87% say the trend is worsening.

CFI data shows an increase in the number of oversized groups observed in Wilderness Areas by Trail Stewards. Group limits in Wilderness Areas are provided to help protect solitude and natural resources.

This metric is informed by the Colorado 14er Survey with 1,200 respondents, and it measures visitor perception of how natural resource health is trending. A majority (52%) of survey respondents say that resource health is declining, while 8% see improvement. Top perceived impacts are denudation of vegetation related to off-trail use and prevalence of trash and human waste.

CFI and RMFI data show upgrades to 6 user-created routes with sustainably designed trails since 2018. This work decreases natural resource impacts from erosion and vegetation damage related to multiple trails.

94% say greatly/somewhat increased, 6% somewhat improved

This metric is informed by the Wildlife Professionals Survey with responses from 17 state wildlife professionals charged with managing wildlife populations, including in areas with 14ers. 16 of 17 respondents say the impact of 14er use on wildlife has increased since 2018, noting increased camping impact, trash, human waste, noise pollution, damage to alpine ecosystems, and dogs off leash. Biologists also note a trend in more people straying farther off trail, and express concern that wildlife avoidance of such areas results in displacement and indirect habitat loss. The metric was used as an estimate of wildlife trends due to limited 14er-specific habitat loss and condition data. CFI notes that In the past four years, work to upgrade 26 trails was approved and funded by Colorado Parks and Wildlife with no wildlife impact concerns raised

VISION:Provideequitableopportunities toresponsiblyexploreColorado’s14ers

Although progress has been made in some areas, such as CFI and RMFI work to upgrade trails, the overall 14er experience for the majority of surveyed users is declining due to a loss of solitude caused by the number of people and exacerbated by insufficient infrastructure and declining user behavior quality.

Indicator Information Source 5 Year Trend Comments

Experience Quality

State 14er Survey - Visitor Perception of experience quality

41% somewhat/greatly declined, 24% improved or greatly improved, 16% no change, 9% unsure

Parking, Restrooms, and Trail Infrastructure

District Ranger Perception: Existing parking conditions trend

District Ranger Perception - Funding sufficiency for parking solutions

50% greatly/somewhat declined, 20% no change, 30% somewhat/greatly improved (C)

Only 17% have sufficient funding for appropriate parking solutions. 69% of 14ers have access limited by parking availability. Safety is a concern (F)

District Ranger Perception: Existing restroom conditions trend

District Ranger Perception: Restroom capacity

CFI Data: Average Statewide Trail Condition

Trails Condition Trend: 2015, 2019 and 2023 CFI Conditions Report Card

On condition: 30% greatly/somewhat declined, 40% no change, 10% improved, 20% no restrooms or unsure (C+)

80% say more restrooms are needed. 49% of 14er trailheads have sufficient restroom capacity. 37% of 14er trailheads lack toilets (F)

Average grade is a C (C+)

16% increase in routes at/above goal (Grades A-B). Trails projects supported by CPW (A)

In the Colorado 14er Survey, roughly twice as many respondents feel that the quality of their experiences has degraded (41%), than feel like quality has improved (24%). The top reason is described as too many people resulting in a loss of solitude. Additional factors are cited as disruptive behaviors, such as using music speakers, leaving trash, and having dogs off leash. Survey comments suggest that experienced visitors are moving to use 13ers to avoid the crowds For those that indicate their experiences have improved, top reasons include improved personal skills, the availability of 14er route and access information, and improved trails.

In the District Ranger Survey, half say parking conditions on 14ers have declined since 2018, while 30% say they have improved. Declining condition may be due to resource damage plus safety issues related to parking along roadsides or off roads. Improving conditions may reflect projects to increase appropriate parking or to enforce parking limits.

COnly 17% of surveyed District Rangers say they have sufficient funding to implement appropriate parking solutions, which may vary from enforcing parking limits to adding parking depending on the 14er. Rangers indicate that access on 69% of 14ers is limited by parking availability. Rangers also noted concerns about emergency vehicle access and vegetation damage due to inappropriate parking along roadsides.

Data from the District Ranger Survey shows a mix of restroom conditions that have declined, stayed the same and improved depending on location.

80% of District Rangers surveyed indicate more restrooms are needed. Rangers estimate that about half of 14er trailheads have adequate restroom capacity CFI data agree, and indicate that 37% of primary 14er trailheads lack toilets. These trailheads saw 49,000-78,000 hiker days in 2021. Further, 77% of secondary 14er trailheads do not have toilets. Many of these primary and secondary trailheads are commonly used to camp after long drives or before setting out to hike the peak.

The metric is informed by the CFI statewide trail condition grades and reflects average condition

A positive trend is apparent in work to convert user-created routes to sustainably designed trails CFI data show that routes have improved as follows: 2015 - routes at goal (A-B) = 31% and routes below goal (C-F) = 69%; 2019 - routes at goal (A-B) = 43% and routes below goal (C-F) = 57%; 2023 - routes at goal (A-B) = 47% and routes below goal (C-F) = 53%. Major route improvements include Mount Columbia, East Elbert, Grays/Torreys, Quandary, Bierstadt, and Holy Cross.

June 2023

VISION:Provideequitableopportunities toresponsiblyexploreColorado’s14ers

Although progress has been made in some areas, such as CFI and RMFI work to upgrade trails, the overall 14er experience for the majority of surveyed users is declining due to a loss of solitude caused by the number of people and exacerbated by insufficient infrastructure and declining user behavior quality.

Indicator Information Source 5 Year Trend Comments

Total funding per visitor ranged from $7 to $11 per visit over the past 5 years. Current total funds are lower than what is needed to provide the infrastructure, enforcement and systems to manage the level of use while managing or slowing impact.

14er Funding

CFI Data: Total 14er Funding Trend

Core team analysis: Total 14er funding need vs current funding

Funding from all sources for 14ers has increased by 50% since 2018 (A)

Funding remains far short of what is needed to upgrade infrastructure for current use levels and manage user impacts (D)

Funding for 14ers has exceeded $2 million annually over the past five years Giving slipped by more than 10% from 2018 through 2021, but rebounded strongly in 2022, such that giving for 14ers was up 50% over the five-year period. Giving by individual 14er enthusiasts (and Foundations controlled by individuals) has more than doubled over the past five years, exceeding $1 million in 2022. Individual donations have consistently been the top funding source for 14er stewardship work in recent years. However, on a per-climber basis, individual gifts average only $3.37 per visitor. Giving from Foundations (other than National Forest Foundation) for trail work has been flat over the past five years, and contributes a third of individual giving. The NFF’s multi-year “Find Your Fourteener” campaign increased revenues for trail work over the past six years, but has dropped off in the last two years Most funds for stewardship work come from the Colorado State Trails competitive grants, which are capped at $250,000 per organization per grant cycle for construction and maintenance work and which are increasingly competitive with other state trails needs. Baseline federal funding for the Colorado 14ers Program and its partners (CFI/RMFI/youth corps/volunteer groups) has been flat or declining for many years The Great American Outdoors Act in 2020 created a new funding stream for deferred maintenance projects. Colorado 14er trail projects began receiving significant funds in 2022 and an additional $1 3 million will run through at least 2025 and possibly longer if the program is reauthorized Depending on the project and area of the state in which it occurs, corporations and local governments can add to funding. However, funding is variable from year to year.

While overall funding has increased, professional judgement indicates that total funding remains far short of what is needed to upgrade infrastructure such as parking, routes and restrooms to be sufficient for current use, and to manage issues such as trash and human waste with increased enforcement, engineering and education. CFI indicates that, while progress on trail upgrades has been strong, the remaining needs for trail upgrades are increasingly complex and expensive The District Rangers Survey highlights a lack of sufficient funding for parking, restrooms, waste management and to resolve community-raised concerns While individual giving has increased, the average contribution per 14er visitor is less than $4 per year well short of the cost incurred by each visitor. Per-user funding is also low compared to other user group fees, such as a Colorado Fishing License ($40 to $111 in/out of state) or OHV sticker ($25), and compared to an expressed willingness to pay an average of $75 per visitor, indicated by the State 14er Survey Additional work is in progress to understand full funding needs as part of the 14er Visioning Project.

Safe Behaviors

CFI/SAR Data: General incident analysis trend

Core Team Perception Survey - Trend in number of programs supporting underserved populations to get outside

See comment section

40% are not aware of such programs, 60% say the number of programs has increased

Search and Rescue teams do not record data in a way that allows for easily assessing incident trends on the 14ers. Anecdotally, SAR teams are responding to more call-outs for younger participants, often new to Colorado, without significant mountain experience or carrying recommended safety equipment Virtually all 14er fatalities occur on a handful of technically challenging peaks Longs, Maroon Bells, Capitol, Crestone Needle and Challenger/Kit Carson — where complex route finding, loose rock and steep terrain combine to punish small mistakes by even experienced climbers. Many recent fatalities highlight that hiking experience gained on the majority of easy to moderate 14ers does not build the required skills for the most challenging peaks.

Limited data on 14er visitor demographics, via an online survey of 1,000 CFI social media and 14ers.com followers, suggests that the majority of 14er users are male (68%) and white (90%) The population on 14ers is not a close match for the gender or racial diversity of the state. As a positive early indicator, the Core Team Survey completed by stakeholders helping to guide the 14er Visioning Project suggests there is a growing number of programs that aim to engage diverse populations. This vision remains challenged, but may be starting to trend in a positive direction.

Although progress has been made in some areas, such as CFI and RMFI work to upgrade trails, the overall 14er experience for the majority of surveyed users is declining due to a loss of solitude caused by the number of people and exacerbated by insufficient infrastructure and declining user behavior quality.

Indicator Information Source

5 Year Trend Comments

Responsible Behaviors

CFI Data: Number off dogs off leash per visitor

decrease (A)

The majority of measures for responsible user behaviors have sharply declined since 2018. This includes increasing reports of campfire issues, leaving trash, being generally unprepared and not obeying Wilderness Area rules such as group size. CFI professionals perceive that an increasing proportion of users have less outdoor experience. Behaviors appear to have improved in a few specific areas (keeping dogs on leash and not cutting trails), and CFI staff suggest this improvement may be related to better trail engineering (making it difficult to cut trail corners) and personalized education campaigns.

DCFI Data: Number off trail cutters per visitor

decrease (A)

CFI data: Trend in oversize groups on Wilderness 14er routes per visitor

CFI data: Increase in camp fire issues per visitor

increase (F)

increase (F)

CFI Data: Number of litterers

increase (F)

CFI Data: Number of unprepared hikers per visitor

increase (F)

communities

Data related to this vision is limited, which may contribute to the overall grade reflecting a high level of concern.

Indicator Information Source 5 Year Trend Comments

Total Funding Available vs. Need

State Economic Benefit

Core team analysis: Total 14er Need vs Current Funding

CFI data: Survey from a CSU study on state economic benefit from 14er visitors

See comment section

Economic impact ties to visitor numbers and is stable at $80 to 110M / year benefit

Resources For Community Concerns

District Ranger Data: Availability of resources to address community concerns

100% disagree/strongly disagree that resources are available to address community concerns

Based on a 2009 study by Colorado State University completed in Colorado, 14er visitors provide roughly $80 to $110M total annual benefit to the state.

D

Local Business Patronization Programs

Core Team PerceptionSurvey

60% are unaware of such programs, 40% say they are somewhat increased

In the District Ranger Survey, all Rangers indicate that funding to address 14er issues raised by local communities, such as overflowing and illegal parking, human waste and trash accumulation and impacts from camping, are insufficient Moves by local agencies or communities to limit use or consider to limit use on 14ers are increasing. The Colorado 14er Survey reflects a lack of awareness about the needs of or impacts to local communities by 14er visitors, with only 11% of respondents saying that healthy and sustainable host communities are important to them.

This metric is the same as 14er Funding indicator listed above, and is included in this section to note that a lack of funding may result in strained relationships with local communities, who may feel that the cost to address issues is greater than the local economic benefit. D F D B

The Core Team Survey indicates that, while some perceive that programs to help 14er visitors support local economies are increasing (such as encouragement to patronize local businesses), the majority (60%) are unaware of such programs. This metric is tentatively graded as a D, due to limited survey responses.