After learning about Broads and local land management issues, many of the guests headed out for a little play time in the beautiful Sangre de Cristo mountains.

Lynn Prebble, a member of the Board of Directors of Broads, recently hosted a gathering in her hometown of Westcliffe, Colorado to introduce Great Old Broads for Wilderness to interested local folks, and to provide a forum to discuss travel and forest planning issues in their local area. The event included an overview by Broads Executive Director, Ronni Egan, on Broads national environmental projects, including our off-road vehicle monitoring program, Broads Healthy Lands Project.

Westcliffe is located in the beautiful Wet Mountain Valley, and has become increasingly popular with climbers seeking to “bag” the many 14,000 foot peaks surrounding the valley. This popularity has led to unprecedented recreational impacts in the Pike-San Isabel National Forest, and particularly in the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness. Dave Walker, from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) office in Cañon City, gave an overview of the travel plan alternatives under consideration for the BLM lands in the area. Mike Smith, of the Forest Service, addressed the proposed South Colony Road closure. The road leads to the trailhead for a number of peak climbs in the area, and has become increasingly impacted by vehicle travel, leading to soil erosion and vegetation damage.

Due to strong interest from the thirty guests that attended the event, a Sangre de Cristo Broadband was formed to work with the Forest Service to assist with environmental monitoring and other projects the Forest Service deems essential for the area. Making sure that folks got the picture that Broadbands are not all work and no play, that afternoon Lynn led sixteen adventurous snowshoers and cross-country skiers up nearby Hermit Road. Thanks, Lynn, for tapping into the desire of local folks to make a difference on the public lands they love, while having fun doing it!

—For more information on Broad-bands or to find out if there’s one near you, please visit www.greatoldbroads.org. If you would like to start a Broadband, please contact our Program Director, Rose Chilcoat, at rose@greatoldbroads.org or call 970-385-9577. If you would like more information on the Sangre de Cristo Broadband, please contact Lynn Prebble at lynn@wetmountainvalley.us or call 970-783-9155.