County to draft comments on Forest Service dispersed‑camping plan that would designate sites and limit roadside camping

Chaffee County directed staff to draft comments to the U.S. Forest Service on a proposed dispersed‑camping management plan that would convert heavily used roadside camping into designated, delineated sites in several affected areas.

Gabe Hobson, senior planner, explained the agency’s motivation: a rapid rise in dispersed camping and denuded campsites during recent years has created sanitation, vegetation and water‑quality problems. The agency’s preferred approach would mark and delineate sites in areas with chronic impacts — allowing camping only in those designated locations, generally up to several hundred feet from the road — and then install signage, kiosks and physical barriers to prevent further campsite sprawl.

Hobson said the 30‑day comment period is ending imminently; if the county wants to object after a decision, commenters must first submit a substantive comment within the comment period. He described a subsequent 45‑day objection period and a multi‑year implementation sequence: year‑one specialist reviews and site screening followed by year‑two installation of infrastructure and monitoring.

Staff noted likely initial study areas in Chaffee County include Brown Creek and Fourmile (and Deer Creek was discussed). Hobson said the plan would not add broad fire restrictions but would rely on existing fire management procedures. He told commissioners the likely net effect in the project areas is a slight decrease in available campsites (staff estimated about a 5–10% reduction in capacity in impacted areas) as some severely degraded sites are eliminated.

A commissioner moved that staff prepare comments to the Forest Service; the motion passed on a voice vote. Staff offered to draft suggested language and return it to the board for review before submission.