SITUATION: USFS is proposing a permanent closure of Jones Gulch to ALL HUMAN PRESENCE for half of each year: November 1- April 30.
BACKGROUND: Jones Gulch is bounded by an active ski area on 3 sides, and the Town of Keystone / Montezuma road on the 4th side. The map is linked here and the full proposal is linked here.
Per the USFS, there is minimal human activity in Jones Gulch during this time, and access from the ski area is already disallowed. The USFS argument is basically even one human could scare rabbits, and if the rabbits are scared in this small area, there might not, at some point in the future, be a Lynx, even though Lynx ranges are huge ~100 square km.
This action would close trails, including to Ida Bell Mine. It is unclear if the trail behind the neighborhoods would be affected.
WHAT CAN YOU DO: Several of you asked what to have various HOAs and interested community members do. They need to send comments to Sarah Strehle, USFS, at sarah.strehle@usda.gov with a subject line of Comment on Jones Gulch Area Closure #66332