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Adoption Status: NOT ADOPTED
8,564 acres (13.4 square miles)
How to get there
The Berry Creek roadless area is located just north of
Edwards and east of Wolcott.
- From
Edwards, FS 774 begins by traveling up Berry Creek to a large powerline, and
its service road. Cross the creek and stay on FS 774 (4WD) as it climbs the
ridge between Berry and June Creeks to meet FS 734. Taking this road to the
northwest provides access to Trails 1881 and 994 (both legal motor trails), and
it eventually meets Red Sandstone Road (FS 700; improved dirt). At this
junction, the spur road 993 leads to a sheepherder’s camp and unmaintained
trails. A trail (FST 992) goes west down Cache Creek from FS 700 as well. Stay
on FS 700 to reach Muddy Pass at the north end of the unit.
- Also
from Edwards, you can branch left off FS 774 in Berry Creek onto the Powerline
Road (FS 780). Stay on this briefly, and turn right (north) onto FS 778 (4WD),
which climbs the ridge between Berry and Beard Creeks and enters a parcel of
state land. At the end of this road, you can catch Trail 1881 down Red Canyon
Creek to the SW (back to the Powerline Road) or across the head of Berry Creek
to FS 734 (described above).
- From
Wolcott, head north on State Highway 131 for 2 miles and catch County Road 6.
This becomes Red Sandstone Road (FS 700; improved dirt) at the forest boundary
and leads to Muddy Pass (see above).
- The
USGS 7 1⁄2' quads for the Berry Creek RA are Edwards and Lava Creek.
Setting
A long, low ridge, with a high point on Red & White
Mountain, runs east/west and divides the Piney and Eagle Rivers. The Berry
Creek roadless area occupies west- and south-facing drainages that originate
from the west end of this divide. The terrain consists of moderate rolling
hills that are deeply dissected by Berry Creek, Beard Creek, Red Sandstone
Creek, and Cache Creek. A small amount of spruce/fir forest is present on the
high divide, but the area is dominated by fairly arid aspen and mountain big
sagebrush communities. The elevation is 7,800 feet in lower Berry Ck and rises
to 11,000 feet at its head.
What’s special about it?
The Red & White ridge is an important mid-elevation
corridor that connects the high peaks of the Gore Range to lower-elevation
range on BLM lands northwest of Wolcott. It is thus a transitional zone for the
migration of big game. Mid-elevation areas on public lands, like these, are
largely unprotected and vulnerable to the fragmenting effects of roads.
In addition to accommodating a large herd of elk and a
moderate herd of deer, the Berry Creek area has been identified by the Colorado
Department of Wildlife as an area of high priority habitat. Berry Creek
contains a population of imperiled Colorado River cutthroat trout.
This area provides a quickly-accessible recreational
resource for residents in Edwards, who hike, bike, and walk dogs in the area.
It is also a popular area among hunters, and a 640-acre parcel of the State
Land Trust in the area is managed primarily for hunting activity.
Potential threats
Motorized incursions, particularly from private lands on the
southern boundary of the unit, are becoming an increasing problem. A network of
a bandit trails has developed in the area. Salvage logging continues to impact
the surrounding area in an ecologically damaging and inappropriate response to
beetle kill occurring in the area. Berry Creek is a popular place to dump old
refrigerators and abandoned vehicles. As private development in the Edwards
area increases, these pressures will also increase.
Other info
There are two active sheep grazing allotments in the unit.
In addition to acreage included by the USFS, conservation groups have
identified 238 more roadless acres associated with the Berry Creek RA.
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