Counties, private firm and U.S. Forest Service outline plan to upgrade McClure Pass communications site

Pitkin County commissioners heard a multi‑jurisdictional briefing on May 12 about a proposal to upgrade public‑safety radio and cellular coverage at McClure Pass by building a new communications site with buried fiber, ground equipment and a roughly 195‑foot self‑support tower.

The presentation, led by Scott Morrell of Gunnison County, consultant Chris Stryker of Stryker Aero and U.S. Forest Service representative Kevin Warner, said the proposal aims to close what Morrell described as “the largest communications gap in the state for the DTR system” and to provide cell coverage from Somerset to Redstone, improving first‑responder radio interoperability and public 911 reachability.

Commissioners were shown engineering details and route plans. The project would run about 5.97 miles of buried fiber from the Wagon Trail/Highway 133 junction, using four conduits in an approximately 24‑inch trench with roughly 49 handholds spaced about 800 feet apart, then follow state highway right‑of‑way and Ragged Mountain Road to the summit site. The ground compound would be about 100 by 100 feet and include an equipment shelter sized to accommodate multiple tenants. Presenters said the proposed tower height is about 195 feet, kept below 200 feet to avoid Federal Aviation Administration marking and lighting requirements in that location.

“We will enter at a just on the right side of the screen where the yellow comes up to 133,” Chris Stryker said while showing the route and construction approach. He added that open trenching is more cost‑effective than long sections of boring in the soils encountered and that the project has been through multiple prior study phases dating to the early 2000s.

Presenters described past work and regulatory history: the shift from legacy VHF systems to a statewide digital trunked radio system (DTRS) after a 2004 FCC notice, a 2013 reinvigoration of planning, a 2017 Department of Local Affairs grant that was de‑obligated when overhead power lines proved unacceptable to the Forest Service, and a 2023 restart of the current private‑public effort. Warner said the Forest Service has accepted the project proposal (form 299) for review but that acceptance does not constitute approval; the agency and project proponent must finalize a collection agreement so the Forest Service can begin environmental analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Warner said the agency is exploring a categorical exclusion option for projects with less than 20 acres of disturbance that could use a decision memo rather than a full environmental assessment. He described next steps as completing a collection agreement, scoping public engagement, and completing the NEPA analysis; he said the Forest Service typically seeks to complete categorical exclusion work in roughly six months but timelines vary.

Local first responders urged expedited progress. Rob Goodwin, chief of the Carbondale and Rural Fire Protection District, and Brett Loeb, Pitkin County 911 director, described recent incidents on McClure Pass in which responders had trouble locating callers or had no cellular alerts. Sheriff Adam Mirdie of Gunnison County and Chris Stewart, Delta County emergency manager, also expressed support, citing interoperability benefits for 800 MHz and agencies that need to talk across jurisdictions.

Several community and resource concerns were raised: visual impacts from a nearly 200‑foot structure in forested terrain; construction access and the effect on a planned single‑track trail and trailhead improvements; maintenance and fuel logistics (presenters described truck access for a typical thousand‑gallon propane generator tank, refilled annually); and impacts to wildlife, heritage resources and forest hydrology. Ted (last name), Open Space and Trails staff, said his office has met the project team and is negotiating mitigation measures so the trail can be restored as single track after construction and revegetation work.

Presenters also discussed property and operating arrangements. Scott Morrell said Gunnison County has operated the existing site but that the Forest Service indicated the county’s special‑use lease would transfer to the project proponent (Arrow Marketing) if the new proposal is approved. Warner said the top‑of‑pass facilities, buried fiber conduit and an electrical special‑use authorization for Holy Cross Energy would likely result in multiple overlapping Forest Service special‑use authorizations along the same corridor.

No binding approvals were requested of the Pitkin County commissioners at the briefing. Commissioners and staff were asked to monitor and provide local input during Forest Service scoping and public comment. Warner said the Forest Service expects public scoping to determine the level of outreach and that comments could come from citizens, the county, or the local trail caucus.

The presenters identified the key remaining dependencies and risks: a signed collection agreement with the Forest Service, NEPA findings, coordination across two national forests and two counties, and market commitments from commercial carriers and other tenants. Scott Morrell said the project team is pursuing a mix of private investment, commercial lease revenue and grants, and that the current effort (begun in 2023) is the furthest the group has advanced.

Ending: The commissioners did not take formal action. Staff said they would bring back any requests for county support or formal comment once Forest Service scoping is announced and more project documentation is available.