Ideas. Stories. Community.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Donate during KSJD's Spring Fund Drive and you could win a Super73 E-Bike! Click here to donate NOW.

First "Paths To Mesa Verde" Meeting Fills Mancos Town Hall

Gail Binkly
/
KSJD

A Thursday night meeting regarding the proposed Paths to Mesa Verde drew about 80 people to the Mancos Town Hall.

The bicycle and pedestrian trail is envisioned as reaching from Cortez to Mancos and connecting significant sites along the way including the county fairgrounds, Phil’s World bike trail, and Mesa Verde National Park. The project has generated considerable enthusiasm, but county public-lands coordinator James Dietrich warned it is “not a slam dunk” and will be tough to complete. The owner of the design company, Peter Loris of Loris and Associates, agreed, “It’s not an easy trail.” Challenges include steep slopes, wetlands, floodplains, archaeological sites, and narrow county roads. Loris said the trail will be built in phases as funding allows. The location of the first phase has not been decided, but the goal is to start construction in the summer of 2018. Citizens raised several questions, including about impacts to private property. Kathrhyn Fulton of High Desert ROW Services said eminent domain will not be used, meaning private landowners can veto the trail’s crossing their property. Another public meeting is planned for Cortez in late January. Dietrich said although county planners know recreation can’t fill the county’s coffers, it can be a piece of the economic pie.

Gail Binkly is a career journalist who has worked for the Colorado Springs Gazette and Cortez Journal, and was the editor of the Four Corners Free Press, based in Cortez.
Related Content