Aspen Journalism
Pitkin County Open Space and Trails ranger Megan Ballard at right removes debris from the Rio Grande trail in Aspen recently. (Daniel Bayer/Aspen Journalism)
Trail use measured by Pitkin County Open Space and Trails rose sharply from 2019 to 2020, leading to land degradation and a spike in enforcement contacts for rangers working the county-managed public lands.
“OST has hosted a record number of visitors in 2020,” wrote Gary Tennenbaum in the budget supplemental request presented to the county’s board of county commissioners and OST board on March 2. Trail visitation, tracked by infrared counters, rose from 382,969 in 2019 to 551,869 in 2020 a 44% increase according to OST data shared with Aspen Journalism.