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Colorado State Forest Ecosystem <br />Planning Project <br />0 <br />• <br />August, 1994 <br /> <br />Setting and scope The 70,768 acre Colorado State Forest is located in north central Colorado along <br />the eastern boundary of Jackson County and North Park. The State Forest is <br />surrounded on three sides by public land: Routt National Forest to the north and <br />south, the Roosevelt National Forest (including the Rawah and Neota Wilderness <br />areas) to the south and east, and Rocky Mountain National Park to the southeast. <br />The western boundary abuts private and Bureau of Land Management lands. An <br />ecosystem management approach involving all federal and state natural resource <br />management agencies, county and local government, Colorado State University, <br />and private citizens is underway. <br />During the summer of 1993, the Colorado State Board of Land Commissioners <br />(State Land Board) initiated the Colorado State Forest Ecosystem Planning <br />Project. The project was established to provide the State Land Board with a <br />process tha t, in a dynamic world, indentifies and evaluates economic, social and <br />biological conditions of the Colorado State Forest. The planning process <br />culminates with a comprehensive, integrated management plan which presents <br />1) the State Land Board's vision of management for the Colorado State Forest; 2) <br />a social, economic and biophysical inventory of the Forest; 3) management <br />strategies (including implementation and monitoring strategies; and, 4) an <br />analysis of the potential impacts of management strategies. <br />Issues/problems being The Colorado State Forest Ecosystem Planning Process represents an exceptional <br />addressed opportunity to apply, document and interpret the principles of ecosystem <br />management in land use planning and monitoring on state lands in Colorado. <br />The project goals are to establish a planning and monitoring process on the State <br />Forest for the State Board of Land Commissioners, provide the Board with a <br />mechanism to define long term goals, develop management strategies for the <br />Forest, monitor ecosystem health, and foster an environment of cooperation <br />among stakeholders. <br />A sustainable future for Jackson County is of concern to many local citizens. <br />Economic opportunities are needed. Preserving local values and lifestyles is a <br />high priority. A framework for making decisions about development proposals is <br />hoped for. <br />One recent development proposal for a ski area near Cameron Pass stirred much <br />debate, controversy, and stakeholder polarization. <br />n <br />u