Forest Service land on portions of Vail and Beaver Creek mountains closed to the public on Thursday. The closed areas are state designated elk winter range and concentration zones, used by elk herds for migration and calving.
In Beaver Creek, the Elkhorn trail will be closed through the month of June, as well as the Village to Village Trail from Chair 14 to Arrowhead. The May 6 to June 30 wildlife closing also affects the Two Elk trail through Vail’s Back Bowls, connecting the Vail Pass area to the town of Minturn.
In Minturn, the 0.7-mile Mini Mile trail near Memorial Park officially opened on May 2, said Ernest Saeger with the Vail Valley Mountain Trails Alliance, despite the signs in the area which might say otherwise.
It used to be a more common site to spot a herd of elk in Eagle County, but the population numbers have drastically declined in recent years. The newly formed Eagle County Wildlife Roundtable aims to provide a voice for animals as development plans are reviewed in the future.
Rick Spitzer/Special to the Daily
Eagle County’s wild animals inevitably pay a high price when new development happens.
Because deer, elk and other animals are unable to speak for themselves when projects are presented, a new group of Eagle County residents has organized to formally speak for them.
This week, representatives from the Eagle County Wildlife Roundtable met with the Eagle County Board of Commissioners to present a summary of the work they have completed in the past year. They also presented their vision of how their advocacy can evolve in the future.
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