Funding has been approved for a major, controversial project expanding trails in northwest Colorado.

Off Rabbit Ears Pass near Steamboat Springs, the Mad Rabbit project has been called “the most contentious trails project in the state, maybe in history” by one city councilor. After more than a decade of debate that underscored the broader tug-and-pull between recreation, tourism and conservation across the West, the City Council this month voted to allocate $1.6 million for trail construction.

The vote was 4-2.

“I do have hope that it will be in good hands,” said one nay-saying councilor, Dakotah McGinlay. “I just think this funding could be utilized more locally.”

The funding comes from an initiative approved by Steamboat voters in 2013, Referendum 2A, setting aside certain tax revenues for trails. Some locals have called for more bike paths and sidewalks closer to town, rather than the world-class destination that supporters have long seen in Mad Rabbit’s trail system.

Critics, meanwhile, have seen harm to elk habitat. And despite the U.S. Forest Service’s “finding of no significant impact” — an 80-page environmental assessment — some have taken issue with the process outlined for trail construction.

City Council President Gail Garey called for a phased allocation of the $1.6 million “to ensure there is responsible use of the 2A monies.”

The project outlines 49 miles of new trail off Rabbit Ears Pass, along with 36 miles of unsanctioned, user-made trails closed and seasonal wildlife closures enforced.

Was the Forest Service up to the task? Garey questioned. “What happens if the U.S. Forest Service staff continues to be cut by this administration, or worse yet, some future version of the Big Beautiful Bill changes the use of what’s allowed on this land?”

Or what if current Forest Service leadership changed? she asked. “And we have a future representative that doesn’t adhere to the adaptive management plan and specifically the provisions requiring monitoring?”

Elk monitoring has been a top concern stated by Colorado’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW). An adaptive management plan, allowing flexible trail construction based on elk and other conditions, seemed to soothe concerns late last year, ahead of the City Council initially approving funding.

The council reconsidered this month following a letter from DNR Executive Director Dan Gibbs claiming “last-minute alterations to the Adaptive Management Plan” that are “significant and unacceptable to Colorado.” He accused the Forest Service of “apparent bad faith.”

In response, the Forest Service’s local District Ranger Michael Woodbridge told Steamboat’s City Council: “We didn’t take anything out of the adaptive management plan about CPW and DNR other than clarifying their decision-making authority. … We clarified that these are Forest Service decisions. There’s still a lot of involvement in the adaptive management plan of us working with DNR and CPW throughout the life of this project.”

Amy Dickson joined the majority of Steamboat’s City Council in expressing trust in the Forest Service.

“I still feel like what we were presented at those (past) meetings is what we’re seeing tonight,” she said ahead of the funding approval.

In terms of proposed phased funding, “people who do not support this will continue to not support it, regardless of whether it’s phased or not,” Dickson said, “and they have a right to.”

Larry Desjardin has been an outspoken opponent, representing Keep Routt Wild. He has viewed the Forest Service’s environmental assessment as “seriously flawed” and the perceived lack of collaboration in the adaptive management plan as “setting a terrible precedent that has ramifications statewide.”

But years of collaboration led to compromises, Mad Rabbit supporters have said. The 49 miles of new trail are down from nearly 80 envisioned at one point.

“It’s been hemmed in close to Highway 40; 90% of trails are within a mile of a road,” Woodbridge said.

At the City Council meeting, Laraine Martin of mountain biking nonprofit Routt County Riders again emphasized her organization’s pledge to support the Forest Service.

“Innumerable individuals will be transformed by the experiences they have on this network and will be inspired to steward the land in their own multitude of ways,” Martin said.