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Colorado's Lieutenant Governor Plans Trip to Phil's World

Austin Cope
/
KSJD
A view from the Ledges Loop section of Phil's World trail system near Cortez

Montezuma County Commission Chair Larry Don Suckla, Cortez City Manager Shane Hale, and avid cyclist Dani Gregory will ride the Phil’s World Trail for an hour with Colorado’s Lieutenant Governor Donna Lynne on Thursday.

 

 

The Lieutenant Governor’s Communications Director, Holly Shrewsbury, tells KSJD that Lynne is making this trip to check on the progress of the Path to Mesa Verde Trail project. Community Services Director James Dietrich says that her visit will kick off the planning stage of the trail. Officials from the County, the City of Cortez, and federal public lands agencies will meet the evening before Lynne’s arrival to discuss how and when to hold future public meetings about the trail.  

 

The Path to Mesa Verde was among 16 trails in Colorado proposed by Governor John Hickenlooper at the beginning of 2016. It would connect Cortez, Mesa Verde, and Mancos, but the County has not identified specific routes so far.

 

The Montezuma County Commissioners also said at their Monday meeting that they want to consider more biking and hiking trails to connect Mancos, Dolores, and possibly Moab in the future. Commission Chair Suckla and Commissioner Keenan Ertel discussed a possible “rails to trails” path following a former railroad grade between Dolores and Mancos, and an off-highway vehicle trail that could connect to Moab. The commissioners have made previous statements touting the economic benefits of trails like these.

The Commissioners did not discuss funding, implementation or other details of the trails, and Dietrich told KSJD that those ideas are still in a conceptual stage. The Commission directed the County’s GIS Manager Doug Roth to prepare maps of the old railroad grades to show to the Lieutenant Governor during her visit later this week.

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