How you can Help
Thank you for supporting the Quiet Use Coalition in securing solitude for the individuals who wish to hike, bike, run, paddle, ski, snowshoe, ride horses and commune with nature and wildlife in peace and quiet.
Volunteer
Join us in completing some work projects that will protect and preserve public land and further our mission.
We have on the ground volunteer projects scheduled with public land managers on a regular basis.
Please go to the Events page for dates and details on these projects.
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Join and Donate to the Quiet Use Coalition
We welcome donations to assist us in doing the type of work we do.
You can donate online or via regular mail.
We are a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization ID # 84-1457091 and your donations are exempt from federal income tax.
Donate online with a Credit card by clicking the 'Donate Now' button below.
Donate by Mail.
If you are uncomfortable donating money online, you can also
send us a check through the mail
Please Mail donations to the
Quiet Use Coalition P.O. Box 1452 Salida, CO 81201.
You can view and/or print a donation form to mail in by clicking here
Note the form is in .PDF format. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat reader on your computer to view .PDF files, you can download it for free by clicking here
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Report Illegal/Questionable Activity
If you observe illegal activity on public lands, roads or trails, please report it.
This may include:
*Unattended campfires, arson or fire ban violations.
*Motor vehicles in Wilderness areas, off designated roads or trails, or in areas closed to motor vehicles. Traffic violations. Operating vehicles at excessive speeds or in an unsafe manner.
*Vandalism to property, signs or habitat.
*Littering or dumping.
*Game or Fish violation.
*Timber, tree or mineral theft.
* Illegal drug use or underage drinking activities.
* Unauthorized occupancy.
Try to record:
A. Type of activity or violation
B. Time, date and location of incident. Estimate of when it occurred.
C. Extent of violation (number of vehicles/people involved, damage to resources, etc.)
D. Vehicle make, type or model, color and license/registration plate number.
E. Suspect's physical and clothing description and number of people involved.
F. TAKE PHOTOS, of damage, vehicles, etc. if possible
Call Chaffee County Sheriff Dispatch at 719-539-2596
Call Lake County Sheriff Dispatch at 719-486-1249
Call Fremont County Sheriff Dispatch at 719-276-5555
Call Saguache County Sheriff Dispatch at 719-655-2544
Call Park County Sheriff Dispatch at 719-836-2494
In an emergency call 911
Local land Management agency Law Enforcement Officers
Forest Service Jerry Cannon jcannon@fs.fed.us 719-539-3591
BLM Jack Hagan jack_hagan@blm.gov 719-269-8535
You can also report violations to these land agencies:
USDA Forest Service Salida District Office at 719-539-3591
Leadville District 719-486-0749
San Carlos District 719-269-8719
Gunnison District 970-641-0471
Saguache District 719-655-2547
South Park District 719-836-2031
BLM/AHRA Salida 719-539-7289
BLM Canon City 719-269-8500
-Email the agency staff
Forest Service District Rangers
Salida District Bill Schuckert bschuckert@fs.fed.us
Leadville District Jon Morrissey jmorrissey@fs.fed.us
San Carlos District Paul Crespin pcrespin@fs.fed.us
Saguache District Andrew Archuleta asarchuleta@fs.fed.us
Gunnison District Jim Dawson jrdawson@fs.fed.us
South Park District Sara Mayben smayben@fs.fed.us
Forest Service recreation managers
Salida Ben Lara 719-530-3955 blara@fs.fed.us
Brett Beasley 719-530-3953 bbeasley@fs.fed.us
Leadville Bill Mullholland 719-486-7411 bmulholland@fs.fed.us
BLM
Leah Quesenberry, Outdoor Recreation Planner Royal Gorge Field Office
Phone 719-269-8547 leah_quesenberry@blm.gov
Starr Jamison, local BLM Contact
Phone 719-539-7289 starr_jamison@blm.gov
If you do not know who to contact or can’t figure it out, contact the QUC and we can help. Please copy the QUC on any reporting you do.
Reporting illegal activity is a way to be an activist while you go about your normal hiking, driving, skiing, camping etc. on public lands. Please get some photos if you can and than follow up and report the problems to the agency. You can act as the eyes and ears of the agency in helping them to properly manage our public lands.
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What is legal? Rules and regulation regarding travel
on Central Colorado Public lands and routes
*Use of motor vehicles on Forest Service land restricted to designated routes shown on maps.
All OHV motorized use on local Pike San Isabel and Rio Grand National Forest Land is restricted to designated routes.
The designated routes which clearly show where motorized use is allowed are clearly shown on the Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM).
These maps are availale free in hard copy at a local Forest Service District Office, or they are available online.
Click here for a link to PSI National Forest MVUMs.
Click here for links to Rio Grande National Forest MVUMs.
NOTE: These MVUMs are the enforcement tool which motor vehicle users should use for navigation on National Forest Land. It is the individual motorized user's responsibility to use the map properly. Navigation by following signage, tracks on the ground, other motorized users, evidence of previous use and/or other public/ private maps may not be correct.
Other Forest Service motor vehicle regulations
Operating a vehicle carelessly, recklessly, or without regard for the rights and safety of other personnel or in a manner or at a speed that would endanger or be likely to endanger any person or property is prohibited. 36 CFR 261.54(f)
*Motorized and Mechanized travel restricted to designated routes on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Lands
Many local BLM lands limit motorized and mechanized travel to designated routes. If the travel is not limited to designated routes, it is normally limited to previously existing routes in most areas. Mechanized travel includes bicycle use.
For more information on travel on local BLM lands, go to the Royal Gorge Field office of the BLM website by clicking here Their travel management plans and resource management plans have maps and information on travel. They hope to have a travel map available in Nov. 2009.
*Almost all County, City, and State roads are closed to unlicensed OHV (ATV and unliscensed dirt bike) use
in Central Colorado
If it is a paved or gravel County Road in Chaffee, Park, Lake, Fremont and Saguache Counties, it is likely closed to unlicensed OHV use by State Law!
Colorado State OHV state law
Colorado Revised Statutes, Section 33-14.5-108
- Off-highway vehicle operation prohibited on streets, roads, and highways.
(1) No off-highway vehicle may be operated on the public streets, roads, or highways of this state except in the following cases:
(a) When a street, road, or highway is designated open by the state or any agency or
political subdivision thereof;
(b) When crossing streets or when crossing roads, highways, or railroad tracks in the
manner provided in section 33-14-112;
(c) When traversing a bridge or culvert;
(d) During special off-highway vehicle events lawfully conducted pursuant to the authority
granted to local political subdivisions in this article;
(e) During emergency conditions declared by the proper state or local authority;
(f) When local political subdivisions have authorized by ordinance or resolution the
establishment of off-highway vehicle routes to permit the operation of off-highway vehicles on city streets or county roads, but no street or road which is part of the state highway system may be so designated;
(g) When using an off-highway vehicle for agricultural purposes;
(h) (I) When the United States or any agency thereof authorizes by any means such
operation on lands under its jurisdiction.
(II) No action is required to be taken by the United States pursuant to this paragraph (h) to
authorize the use of off-highway vehicles on lands under the jurisdiction of the United States.
33-14.5-111 - Enforcement - federal, state, and local
cooperation.
(1) Every parks and recreation officer, every peace officer of this state and its political
subdivisions, and every person commissioned by the division has the authority to enforce the provisions of this article.
See: http://parks.state.co.us/OHVsandSnowmobiles/OHVProgram/OHVLawsRegulations/OHV+Laws.htm
The following are the only exceptions in Chaffee County:
*CR 200 (Marshall Pass road) – north and west from the Shirley town site.
CR 175 (Ute Trail) – north from CR 181. Forest and County Rd. 181, 182
CR 375 (northeast of Buena Vista) in its entirety.
CR 307 (Mushroom Gulch area) – from CR 187 to CR 308.
CR 187 from CR 307 to FS 300.
(St. Elmo Area)section of CR 162 spanning approximately 1350 feet, beginning approximately 75 feet east of the turn off to CR 292.
A ¾ mile section of CR 162 beginning at the entrance of “Grizzly” parking and terminating at the Forest Service trail head for Tin Cup Pass(basically through St. Elmo)
*Unlicensed OHV Rules for Chaffee County Roads
All ATVs and unlicensed motorcycles must adhere to the following regulations on the few public roads that are open to these in Chaffee County.
*Valid driver’s license required for the driver
• Must be 16 years old.
• Liability insurance
• Basic equipment must include muffler, spark arrester (U.S.F.S. approved), brakes and one headlamp and taillight.
• Can only be operated for the purpose of going to or coming from public lands.
• Must stay on far right of roadway.
• Must travel single file.
• Cannot be on private property without the owner’s consent
· No ATVs allowed on any paved roads in the county
*Do not travel or trespass on private land
without consent from the private property owner
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Be a Quiet User and Get out there!
One of the basic ways to help is to get out there and enjoy your public lands in a low impact, responsible and quiet manner. Hike, camp, bike, fish etc. on public lands to develop and reinforce your appreciation for these natural areas. Take a friend, neighbor or child to help them enjoy, learn about and appreciate the need to protect and preserve these valuable natural resources.
Hike with a Purpose:
If you’re an individual who wants to protect and restore quiet on our public lands, yet can’t commit to specific volunteer schedules, then you might be interested in our ”Hike with a Purpose” program.
As part of the Adopt-A-District program, it allows volunteers to take an active role in helping the Quiet Use Coalition and the Colorado Mountain Club document and record individual experiences in local National Forests and BLM lands while you hike.
Volunteers head out on their own or with friends for a day or more, where they can take photos and record what they see on the Environmental Impact Report. Sending this information to the QUC is an important part of our work to gather information on proposed quiet areas and advocate for their protection.
To sign up, please email info@quietuse.org or write P.O. Box 164, Buena Vista, CO 81211.
Boreal Toad, a Colorado Endangered Species,
killed by OHV in Mineral Basin W. of Buena Vista
Be an Activist as You Play -- Adopt-a-District:
One way to support the QUC mission -- to preserve and promote quiet use areas -- is to ensure that QUC members and friends have a personal knowledge of the land; a love of the land provides for its spirited defense. Concerned individuals should approach the QUC with areas that we can work on to designate as quiet use. This is where our ”Adopt-a-District” program, a joint effort with the Colorado Mountain Club and the Southern Rockies Forest Network, will have a big impact.
Vera Smith, conservation director of the CMC, developed this project to monitor areas of Off Road Vehicle (ORV) abuses. The Adopt-a-District program teaches citizens how to monitor, photograph and document off-road vehicle damage, and how to interact with land managers to affect change.
By recording information observed in the backcountry during individual outings, supporters enable the QUC to use the information gathered to show hard evidence of ORV abuses to government agencies and legislators -- bringing pressure to remedy abuses. Hard evidence is the most effective way to gain support and bring about action.