I am sure that the majority of what has been said plays a role, but as far as your Colorado Vacation Directory the answer is that only one person on the State Tourism Board, a former state senator from Colorado, is from NW Colorado. That Board is responsible for the directory and the majority of its members are either Denver/Boulder based or have ties to major ski areas. Now, anyone is allowed to be an advertiser and also anyone can join the Chamber of Commerce for a particular area of the state where visitor information is placed, but for a small lodge with snowmobile traffic, it can be cost prohibitive and not all that cost-effective to place those ads and join those chambers.Most of us in the snowmobile industry that have lodges are major corporations with deep pockets and marketing departments. Most of us are mom and pop operations whose fortunes ride many up and downs, but mostly the downs of snowfall. A bad snowfall season can be the ruin of many operations, so it is imperative that those of you who can continue to support your favorite local spot during the off seasons with fishing or hunting trips to ensure they can afford to stay open in the winter (winters cost a lot more to operate in both time and money). I know many places that tried and couldn't make it work over the winter.
You would think Steamboat Springs, CO near Rabbit Ears Pass would be an excellent chamber to belong to, but we have found them to be very expensive, not member friendly or at least not focused on members outside the downtown corridor. They are focused on downtown Steamboat businesses (i,e, how to increase retail sales for local stores) than on experiences that take visitors out of the downtown Steamboat area.
We look at tourism as the pie is unlimited. A lot of tourism folks in Colorado think the pie is limited and if someone is going to the boonies to snowmobile then they aren't spending money in their town or at their businesses. We really wish they would understand people are buying groceries, fuel, maybe even some lodging in their towns and exploring parts of Colorado you cannot experience solely at a ski resort or downtown. There are plenty of people who enjoy ski villages and those are their customers and maybe they do spend more money and garner more taxes overall. However, there are plenty of tourist who aren't into that and want the option to enjoy the backcountry whether on horse, snowmobile or on foot. They want access to areas that aren't overdeveloped with legions of condos and lodges and private property that restricts their access.
I can go on and on, especially on creating more wilderness areas when the forest service has the power and ability to designate its own restrictions on how a forest area gets used without having to declare it wilderness and then completely restricting the way that area can be used (i.e. no chainsaws to clear trails and kill infected trees so they don't further spread diseases/pests, no mountain bikes or snowmobiles so a person is limited to how much terrain they can see via a horse or on foot and horses which by the way a horse cause more trail damage than a snowmobiler who rides on top of the snow).
Regardless of our passions and ideology, restricting access to particular groups of outdoor lovers only causes more people to not experience the wonders God created for all of us to enjoy. Each outdoor group needs to be responsible with their use (i.e. no litering, no damaging trails etc.); but we need to allow all users access to the lands they love and the ability to enjoy them through the sport of their choice so that they grow to understand why the lands need to be protected for future generations and the importance of sharing those lands with people of diverse interests and ideologies. If you don't experience something (i.e. our unbelievably beautiful national forests) you don't understand its power and value and the need to preserve and protect it in ways that allow the most users to be able to continue enjoying them. How can someone replace the memory of seeing your fisrt elk, deer or bear or catching your first fish. Think about the memories you love most from your childhood or parenting era and most likely it is something you experienced with family and friends while in the forest or outdoors some place. It most likely isn't the fancy condo you stayed in while skiing, or restaurant where you ate a great steak one night, or the shopping trip you took. It was the neat little hot spring, the lake you hiked hours to get to to fish while attacked by mosquitoes or the great vista where you took a family photo while snowmobiling or the first bald eagle you saw in the wild with your kids or parents.
We should not be selfish and hold public lands for our own selfish uses and exclude others the opportunity to enjoy them because we are afraid of what others might do to them or afraid of losing what we have and cherish or the way we get to cherish it.
Yes. Previously to our facility being available to the public anyone could camp, but in certain situations that isn't an easy or even available option (like snowmobiling in the winter). We have opened our home, not a condo development, but one secluded cabin so people like snowmobilers from other states could see a land that was cherished and protected for over a century by the first US Forest Service personnel sent to survey the area for development. We respect our neighbors and the land. We never had any intentions to built multiple cabin developments and overcrowd the area. We are responsible and respective landowners in this area and we intent to continue to protect it.
However, protecting doesn't mean hoarding it all for yourself and never allowing anyone else to have access to it. Responsible protection means education and exploration for how can anyone else value what you value if you never allow them the means to experience the value of it themselves. I believe loving the land means serving it. And part of serving is sharing it with others and doing your part to instill in them the same love and respect you have for the land. Yes, everyone wants fresh untracked powder to themselves every time they go snowmobiling; however, the smaller the group that experiences it, the smaller the group available to protect it.
The GEMS Wilderness folks have been after our area too to restrict it so there is no snowmobiling. Would our small contingent of local landowners, most of us second homeowners, be able to fend off such a strong group funded and/or supported by billionaires such as Colorado US Congressman Jared Polis? Of course not. However, with enough advocates throughout the US that are willing to put in the time and effort to raise a strong enough grass efforts campaign, our area could be spared when the time comes which it may sooner rather than later. Do you think snowmobilers who have never been to our area and don't have a clue where it is located would bother to spend their time advocating for our little neck of the woods? Not likely and certainly not as avidly as those that have been, have seen and experienced the value of preserving our corner of Colorado.
We at Wild Skies hope that everyone who experiences our neck of the woods isn't there just for wanton self indulgence, but takes away with them the need to support, protect and teach others the need to contribute to the existence of such wild and wonderous places. It doesn't mean everyone needs to protect Colorado, but hopefully they join their state associations and maybe even support legal defense funds etc that work to protect what they value so it will be around for their children and future generations of outdoorsmen/women to enjoy.
Sincerely,
Wild Skies Cabin Rentals
