What Toll Did 2020 Take on the Colorado Outdoors?

Photo: Christian Murdock, The Gazette

Posted By Seth Boster | The Gazette | Jan 4, 2021

In this article from The Gazette, Author Seth Boster unpacks the impact that 2020 has had on Colorado’s wilderness. Because of social distancing regulations, many people flocked to the outdoors in this record breaking year. The large number of new users has had a significant impact on our public lands that is sure to alter the way we experience these wild places in future years.  

An excerpt from the article:

“Scott Fitzwilliams was supposed to be off work. But as supervisor of America’s most trafficked national forest, “you’re never off work,” he says. So there he was Fourth of July weekend, supposed to be enjoying the serenity he had always known at a lake within White River National Forest. “Popular,” Fitzwilliams had always known it, “but usually kind of a local place.” Not in 2020.The shoreline was packed with people. Dogs ran off leash, their waste left unattended. All-terrain vehicles rumbled nearby, some off designated paths. Campfires were outlawed across Colorado at the time, including here. But that didn’t stop people with their brand-new tents…” Read Full Article Here

Photo courtesy of U.S. Forest Service
During summer 2020, cars regularly lined
the road to Brainard Lake in Boulder County.