Colorado Springs Assholes on ATVs trash Velocity Basin

[Alpinord]

This is infuriating. I hope this isn't anyone here.

ATVs suspected of damaging alpine tundra north of Silverton

Here's Velocity Basin w/Silverton Mtn to the left in mid-April:

[Bruce Springskiin]

Good, actions like this are ruining the perception of all off road users. I see more and more rentals of side by sides around here. Some just go site seeing, but some drive out to the National Forest or ranch land and just tear shit up. Rental companies do not provide any instruction, safety talks or limitations on where to go. Accidents are on the rise.

[uglymoney]

I saw this on one of my feeds yesterday. Idiots. So many atv's down there anymore though it just seems inevitable. They definitely are going to have to find a better balance to keep this stuff from happening more often...sad that it will eventually come to more babysitting of everybody. I preferred it when they were mostly just jeep trails.

It is cool that they were busted and caught!

[Foggy_Goggles]

The side by side thing is totally out of hand. People literally spend $20K and think they can drive them anywhere. I have no idea what the answer is as the enforcement capabilities of the FS and BLM are pretty close to zero in many areas.

[hatchgreenchile]

I think that drainage was trashed long before a few UTVs came through. We are talking about a Superfund cleanup area.
Ticket them, but let's keep this in context.

[Alpinord]

I think that drainage was trashed long before a few UTVs came through. We are talking about a Superfund cleanup area.
Ticket them, but let's keep this in context.

Are you serious?

So, you are saying it's OK for UTVs/ATVs, etc to trash a sensitive area because there is a trashed out area nearby? The Gold Mine site is behind in the image and at the bottom of Velocity Basin. Sure there are impacts above from past mining, but it takes forever for these areas to heal (if at all). They need to be allowed to do so and need help not rationalization to go ahead and trash it more because it was in the past by other assholes.

[hatchgreenchile]

I'm not getting choked up about two UTVs riding off trail next to a Superfund mine. I'd be more pissed if they were doing donuts in the American Flats alpine.

The cleanup covers dozens of sites, not just Gold King, one of which is up Velocity. There will be dozers and excavators up there in no time tearing that area up. Who knows how much work needs to be done, but it's doubtful that is a prick in the mountainside.

I guess I'm not infuriated and leading a social media investigation to find the perps. Sounds like they were identified and fined, all you can really do in hindsight.

[Alpinord]

You are clearly part of the problem not the solution.

Every year there is creep and it encroaches more and more into areas. This is about awareness, not a witch hunt.

Quit doing (and condoning) this shit and respect what we do have left.

[hatchgreenchile]

Yawn. So much learned from my two posts on the matter, feel free to come to whatever conclusions you want.
When some of the decades long remediation work begins on that mine, send pictures. I'm sure the sensitive land will be avoided by the dozers.
It's going be ugly.

[Buster Highmen]

The town of Silverton has allowed an ATV culture that regularly gets out of hand in town and on the surrounding jeep roads. Now there's flight for life several times a week in the summer, let alone any concern for the impact to the areas natural setting.

Personally, I think all that two stroke shit should be more limited and allow for more quiet. And for those fucknuts out there who will try to raise the false equivalence of the summer Silverton atv scene to winter heli use in the San Juans, have fun with your straw man.

So I'm bummed it happened, bummed there's so many assholes and I hope there's a community who would stand up against it but I'm not losing sleep over it.