Earlier this spring, the Forest Service invited Wilderness Watch to a meeting after we submitted comments on the agency’s proposal to rein in overuse at Navajo Lake in the Lizard Head Wilderness in southwestern Colorado. The Wilderness is in the San Juan mountains, with two of the state’s 14,000-foot peaks towering over Navajo Lake.
After conducting long-term monitoring, the agency has concluded that there is a lot of overuse in this part of the Wilderness, with 55 inventoried campsites, 29 of which are actively used. The Forest Service’s management guidelines for the area call for no more than six campsites at Navajo Lake. In response, the agency has put forth a proposal to establish nine designated campsites in areas already in use and to close the rest of the sites. The agency hopes these measures, along with visitor education, will curb overuse.
Wilderness Watch commends the agency for its efforts to protect the Lizard Head Wilderness with its proposed plan and for involving the public via a 30-day comment period. In our comments, we let the Forest Service know that we appreciate both its long-term monitoring efforts and its willingness to act to protect the Wilderness based on the monitoring results. We also noted our support for the agency’s proposal to limit campsites around Navajo Lake, though we question why the agency has proposed nine campsites rather than follow its guideline of six. Finally, we encouraged the Forest Service to let nature reclaim and rehabilitate the closed sites, and if tools are determined to be necessary, to use only hand tools to complete any work.
Photo: Kyle Alcorn
