Lefthand Canyon, west of Longmont in Boulder County, will be the subject of a new management study, the US Forest Service announced Thursday.
After the historic 2013 floods took out motorized access to the Boulder Ranger District’s primary off-highway vehicle trails system, efforts are currently underway to begin future visioning for a sustainable, multi-use trails system in the Lefthand Canyon Off-Highway Vehicle Area, the service said.
The area has been closed to motorized use since the historic floods of 2013 — which resulted in extreme road, trail and resource damage — and included the obliteration of key access points and routes, slope failures, deep erosion channels and debris dams.
The Ranger District had been in the process of implementing a decision from a 2006 Environmental Assessment when the floods hit.
That implementation would have proactively managed the area to balance recreational opportunities and the protection of natural resources, however, the flood resulted in such an extreme changed condition, it necessitated additional environmental review for any management actions.