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DURANGO, Colo. – Annual winter closures will go into effect Friday, Dec. 6, 2013, within the Grandview Ridge and Animas City Mountain areas managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the Twin Buttes open space managed by the City of Durango Parks and Recreation Department (City) to protect critical wildlife habitat on public lands surrounding Durango. This closure will remain in place until at least March 1, 2013, but no later than April 15, 2013.

The BLM and City use a “conditions-based” management approach, which allows the agencies to keep these lands open to the public until deer and elk migrate into these areas. However, when Colorado Parks and Wildlife reports that significant numbers of deer and elk have moved into the area, a closure is put into effect on BLM lands in the Grandview and Animas Mountain areas and the City lands in Twin Buttes.

The closure of Grandview Ridge and Animas City Mountain and Twin Buttes areas prohibits all public access until conditions allow the wildlife to move back to higher elevations.  

“These closures are in place because deer and elk are vulnerable to disturbance in winter,  and  must conserve energy to survive,”  said Connie Clementson, BLM Tres Rios Field Manager. “When humans encroach into areas where herds have migrated to find food and shelter, the animals must expend energy running through deep snow to avoid the intrusions.”

Closures in the Grandview Ridge area include:

• Sale Barn and Big Canyon trailheads off U.S. Highway 160 will be closed to all public use.
• Carbon Junction Trail will remain open from the Highway 3 trailhead to Crites Connection, continuing on to only the portion of the Telegraph Trail leading into Horse Gulch (these trails are all on private property).
• South Rim Trail, Telegraph, Sidewinder and other trails on BLM lands will be closed and cannot be accessed from the Carbon Junction Trail or other routes. 

Closures in the Animas City Mountain area include:

• BLM lands will be closed to public entry, except for a 1.5-mile trail loop on the lower portion of the mountain, which will remain open to public use.
• This loop can be accessed from the Birkett and 32nd Street trailheads or Dalla Mountain Park. Signs are posted at the top of the loop indicating the extent of the closure area boundary. 

Closures in the Twin Buttes area include:

• All of the trail system within the Twin Buttes development and on City open space in this area with access off of U.S. Highway 160 are closed.  Signs are posted at the trail system access points indicating the extent of the closure area boundary.

Maps of the closure area are available at the Durango Public Lands Office located at 15 Burnett Court in Durango and at the Parks and Recreation Department at 2700 Main Avenue. The areas affected by this closure order will be posted with appropriate regulatory signs and/or physical barriers.

The Durango area offers many other opportunities for winter recreation.  Areas open to the public adjacent to Durango include the Horse Gulch and Raiders Ridge areas, Fort Lewis College Rim, Overend Mountain Park and Dalla Mountain Park, and the popular Colorado Trail northwest of Durango. 

For additional information or to report violations in these areas, call the Tres Rios Field Office (970) 882-7296 and/or the City of Durango Parks and Recreation Department at (970) 375-7321.