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Adoption Status: ADOPTED
8,662 acres (13.5 square miles)
How to get there
The East Divide/Fourmile Park roadless area is located about
10 miles southwest of Glenwood Springs. You may approach the area from Glenwood
Springs or Silt.
- From
Glenwood Springs, take Garfield County Road 117 to Sunlight Ski Area. The road
becomes Thompson Creek Road (FS 300). From Fourmile Park, Trail 2091 travels up
Fourmile Creek and down Road Gulch to the East Divide Road (FS 801; see below).
This trail is legal for snowmobile use. Stay on FS 300 along the eastern edge
of the unit. The closed County Line Timber Road (FS 300.4A; also open to
snowmobiles) branches off to the west. Further along FS 300, the southern
boundary of the unit is drawn along a gas pipeline.
- To
reach the western portion of the unit from Thompson Creek Road, follows signs
to Haystack Gate, and take Reservoir Park Road (FS 812; high clearance) through
Elk and Reservoir Parks to East Divide Road (FS 801).
- To
reach East Divide Road (FS 801) from Silt, go south on CR 311 to CR 313. This
becomes FS 801 at the forest boundary. You will pass some private inholdings
and the western end of Trail 2091 through Road Gulch. As you drive south along
the western edge of the unit toward Reservoir Park, you will pass several
closed, abandoned roads that penetrate the roadless area to the left.
- The
USGS 7 1⁄2’ quads for the East Divide/Fourmile Park RA are Center Mountain and
Quaker Mesa.
Setting
The East Divide/Fourmile Park roadless area sits on the
divide between the Divide Creek and Crystal River watersheds. This is a gently
rolling divide, forested in a mixture of spruce/fir and aspen. There are also
areas covered in brushy Gambel oak, and large open meadows, such as Fourmile
Park. The terrain is moderately steep and steady. Log Gulch originates in a
steeply eroded, slumping trench at the high point of the unit. The headwaters
for East Divide Creek are also within the area. The elevations in the unit
range from 8,100 feet at East Divide Creek to 10,236 at the head of Log Gulch.
What’s special about it?
As a forested, mid-elevation divide, this area is an
ecological transition zone between summer and winter range for big game. Elk
calving occurs here, and northern goshawks have been sighted. The area is part
of a chain of wildlands that connect the Grand Hogback to Battlement Mesa,
Grand Mesa, and the Raggeds Wilderness Area. Areas such as this are largely
unprotected on public lands, despite being especially critical for wildlife.
State Wildlife Areas lie to the north, just outside the National Forest. The
area is a recreational destination for hunters in fall, and snowmobilers and
cross-country skiers in winter, but summer traffic is light.
Potential threats
During the high traffic of hunting season, numerous
vehicular incursions into the area occur on the closed roads that originate
from FS 801 and FS 300. These incursions disturb wildlife and the tracks
encourage future trespassing.
Much of this area is designated for timber harvest in the
WRNF’s Management Plan due to its dense coniferous forests containing a high
percentage of the commercially valuable Englemann Spruce. The area is also
known for its oil and gas potential and much of it was leased in 2001 and 2003.
Given the Administrations orders to expedite energy production on public lands,
it ie reasonable to anticipate this area will come under increasing pressure to
be drilled.
Other info
There are two active cattle grazing allotments in the area,
and you will encounter stock ponds and fences. In addition to acreage
recognized by the USFS, conservation groups have identified 1,122 more acres of
roadless area associated with the East Divide/Fourmile Park RA. These occur
along the gas pipeline at the south boundary and in the Park Creek area north
of Baylor Park.
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