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Commissioners direct staff to prioritize Guinealla Pass management and OHV data collection under recreation plan
Summary
After reviewing the Recreation and Outdoors Management Plan (ROMP), Clear Creek County commissioners directed staff to prioritize two implementation efforts in 2025: short-term management to reduce unsafe parking and congestion at Guinella Pass, and a countywide, data-driven program to measure and manage off-highway vehicle impacts.
Clear Creek County commissioners on March 4 reviewed recommended implementation steps from the county27s Recreation and Outdoors Management Plan (ROMP) and directed staff to pursue short-term actions this year focused on two priorities: short-term management of Guinella Pass traffic impacts, and data collection and user-management planning for off-highway vehicle (OHV) impacts countywide.
Annie Saxton, ROMP project lead, reminded commissioners the ROMP identifies six recreation-management priorities: evaluate trail-system needs; address high-use trailhead impacts; develop user-specific management plans; manage creek access and river recreation; destination management (wayfinding, stewardship, trash, transportation); and recreation-economy planning. The board had previously asked staff to prioritize development of OHV user-management guidance; at the March 4 work session staff returned with a menu of implementation approaches and trade-offs.
On Guinella Pass the board directed staff, sheriff27s office and Road & Bridge to take immediate, short-term steps to reduce unsafe roadside parking and hazardous congestion during peak "leaf peeper" weekends. Commissioners asked for signage and stepped-up enforcement coordination between the county and adjacent jurisdictions and requested a scoping-level plan that examines longer-term options (shuttles, reservations, tolling) be brought back for consideration. County staff said they are exploring both near-term enforcement and outreach steps as well as a longer-term business plan for tolling and reservation models.
On OHVs, the board directed staff to design a data-driven program to define where illegal or problematic OHV use occurs, whether it is primarily county roads or access to U.S. Forest Service lands, and what enforcement or site-management strategies would be most effective. Commissioners emphasized the need for better measurement before choosing enforcement or consolidation strategies and asked staff to prepare a work-plan that includes grant options or consultant support for community engagement and data collection.
Other ROMP priorities (creek access, destination management, destination-marketing alignment and economy) will be addressed in parallel but at lower immediate priority; staff said creek-access and rafting-permit coordination is already underway. Commissioners said they expected observable deliverables before the end of the year and asked staff to bring a project plan for OHV data collection and a scoping plan for Guinella Pass management to a future meeting.
Outcome: Board gave direction to staff to prioritize two ROMP implementation activities in 2025: (1) short-term management and enforcement measures at Guinella Pass, and (2) a countywide data-collection and user-management program for OHV impacts; staff to return with project plans and funding options.
