The perpetual issue of unauthorized trails, or “rogue” trails, has risen to new levels in the minds of Colorado Springs-area land managers and recreation advocates.

That, they say, is due to a rapidly growing population up against a national forest and sprawling park system with little to no enforcement against anyone who might blaze a desired path. Those paths have been trampled more than ever during the pandemic, a time marked by unprecedented outdoor crowds. The paths are popularly formed without careful consideration of erosive grades and resident plants and animals.

And while officials say mountain bikers can’t be entirely blamed for the proliferation, the sport’s top advocate in the Pikes Peak region said “there’s some validity to that concern.” Medicine Wheel Trail Advocates Executive Director Cory Sutela recognized the issue has become “more pronounced” amid increasing ridership and enhanced capabilities of machines.

Today’s bikes “can do a huge amount of damage in a short amount of time on highly erosive soils,” Sutela said. “It’s not like it was 20 years ago, where there’s not that many people doing it and the bikes are really clunky and heavy.”

Footpaths have also been noted on steep, densely wooded slopes, while off-road vehicles have reportedly scoured higher mountainsides. On land deemed unsustainable, the rogue trails “can create significant management issues,” acting Pikes Peak District Ranger Jennifer DeWoody said in an email.

Such trails, she said, “can destroy wildlife habitats, disrupt wildlife migration corridors, harm fragile or rare plants, spread noxious and invasive weeds, cause soil loss, impact water quality and create safety and liability concerns.”

DeWoody said the local U.S. Forest Service base annually spends thousands of dollars on closing trails through brush cover, seeding and fencing.

The problem “has been coming to a head,” said Gillian Rossi, the city of Colorado Springs’ park ranger supervisor.

She oversees seven full-time rangers who patrol properties bought by the city’s sales-tax funded Trails, Open Space and Parks (TOPS) program, covering almost 7,200 acres. She said trail closing and restoration consumes some of the most time of her team.

“We have a parks system that isn’t nearly growing as fast as the population in Colorado Springs,” Rossi said. That population wants more trails, she said. “And they want them to happen fast, so they’re taking it upon themselves to create those trails.”

A recent flashpoint has come near Blodgett Peak Open Space, along what the city calls the Pikeview Frontage property. TOPS made a deal to acquire the acreage in 2020, with a vision to create a bike park there.

“It really takes you off your game plan of really pursuing (a trail network) for everybody when you have one set of individuals trying to build their own stuff,” said Britt Haley, TOPS manager.

The trails have been closed, worrying some cyclists who have frequented them, Sutela said.

“There’s a lot of fear,” he said. “I’ve talked to riders up there, and they’re really concerned that trails are being closed, and they don’t really understand the reason why.”

Sutela said he understands the aim for sustainability; conservation is within his organization’s stated values. What local mountain bikers have struggled with, he said, is a trend of plans that have either fallen short or shown no signs of developing.

Due to a tight parks budget and other complexities, it is uncertain when planning will start for Pikeview Frontage, for example. Same for Fishers Canyon, the 343-acre open space the city acquired last year for future trail development.

A master plan continues to be on hold for the El Paso County-controlled Jones Park. At a meeting regarding that plan in 2018, renowned trail builder Tony Boone suggested rogue trails represented demands that land managers weren’t meeting — particularly expensive, logistical downhill trails.

DeWoody acknowledged those demands. They have heightened since the widely-criticized reconfiguration of Captain Jacks Trail and the closure of Sesame Canyon Trail, each occurring after a years-long review.

DeWoody reiterated the environmental mission of the Forest Service. “Part of ensuring this balance and sustainability is to manage the land not only for recreation, but for plants, wildlife and water quality as well,” she said.

Sutela wondered about a balance when it came to trail planning.

“Right now, we’re not in balance,” he said. “Land managers on one side say, No, we can’t do it, and if you want to do it, you have to go through an onerous, mind-boggling process. And users are too far on the other side of saying, I’m just going to do what I want where I want.”

A broader conversation is needed, he said. Rossi agreed.

“Education is our No. 1 tool,” she said.