Naturalist Nights 2015 | Karen Schroyer
The Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness is experiencing a degradation of Wilderness character. Elevated amounts of visitation are causing crowding, leading to significant impacts to sensitive alpine areas and increased incidents of human waste and trash. Visitors are experiencing a loss of solitude. Human-wildlife conflicts are on the rise. In 2013 over 15,000 visitors descended on this backcountry area, mostly in the famous 4 Pass Loop and crowded Conundrum Hot Springs. This was a 40% increase over 5 years ago. Karen will discuss the issues and possible solutions with management changes we can make in the future.
Karen Schroyer is the White River National Forest Aspen/Sopris District Ranger. Before working in the Roaring Fork valley Karen held a variety of recreation management positions in Utah and Washington DC.
Naturalist Nights are brought to you through a partnership between Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, Wilderness Workshop, and Roaring Fork Audubon.
