The latest complaint about rowdy boater behavior at the popular North Star Nature Preserve float east of Aspen left one Pitkin County commissioner fuming.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a problem,\u201d Commissioner Greg Poschman said Tuesday during the board\u2019s weekly work session. \u201cThe resource at North Star is being degraded.\u201d<\/p>\n
Poschman said a property owner along the Roaring Fork River within the nature preserve emailed him to report that a group of stand-up paddleboarders floated the river at 3:30 a.m. Tuesday with bright lights and loud music.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seems like we have a situation of more and more people enjoying North Star,\u201d he said. \u201cI think we need to open it up and I don\u2019t want to wait until next year. I\u2019d like to see solutions proposed (now).\u201d<\/p>\n
Commissioner Patti Clapper, however, pointed out that the summer season will only last another few weeks at this point and that the North Star Master Plan is set to be readdressed next year. That would be best time to try to figure out solutions, she said.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, Clapper reiterated that North Star is closed from dusk until dawn and that boaters and floaters are not allowed to play music. Those who witness behavior that contradicts those rules should call the Pitkin County Sheriff\u2019s Office, she said.<\/p>\n
Irv and Stephanie Don are well-aware of the problems at Stillwater because they live across the street from the bridge.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had people urinate in front of me,\u201d Stephanie Don said Wednesday. \u201cI\u2019ve almost been hit twice by people trying to turn around.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also said she\u2019s seen young children walking in the highway, drunk people wandering aimlessly and people arriving the night before to park a car and reserve a space.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s become a water park, not a nature preserve,\u201d Irv Don said.<\/p>\n
The standard float through the North Star preserve from the Wildwood put-in to the take-out at Stillwater Bridge has exploded in popularity<\/a> in the past few years.<\/p>\n Parking problems a few years ago at Wildwood have been mostly cleared up with the posting of a U.S. Forest Service Protection Officer paid for by the county. In addition, county Open Space and Trails officials have made great strides in curbing rowdy, drunken behavior<\/a> and the trash that previously accumulated along the riverbanks, said Jessie Young, an environmental planner with the open space program.<\/p>\n However, Poschman said he\u2019s recently seen large groups of people partying on riverbanks, sometimes within feet of \u201cno trespassing\u201d signs informing boaters that they\u2019re in a nature preserve, he said.<\/p>\n Another problem is that the Forest Service could only find one qualified protection officer to hire this year instead of two, Young said. That has meant less enforcement of preserve rules.<\/p>\n Poschman said he\u2019s heard from residents who live in the East of Aspen neighborhood, as well as residents of the community in general, who have complained about the conditions at North Star.<\/p>\n Specifically, the Stillwater take-out is problematic because of limited parking, a lack of respect for the area and a lack of understanding that the road people park along is actually a state highway.<\/p>\n The Dons have lived in their home for 12 years, seven of which were peaceful and quiet. However, parking and crowding problems began about five years ago, they said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis has gotten worse every single year,\u201d Stephanie Don said. \u201cThis year is out of control.\u201d<\/p>\n She said she\u2019s \u201cextremely frustrated\u201d about the situation, has complained to the Sheriff\u2019s Office repeatedly and fears the situation won\u2019t improve until tragedy strikes.<\/p>\n \u201cThe saddest part of this is I fear that change will only happen if someone gets killed,\u201d Stephanie Don said.<\/p>\n Young said Open Space officials will begin outreach efforts in the near future to try to get a head start on next year\u2019s master plan process.<\/p>\n As far as the early-morning paddleboarders on Tuesday, Young said an open space official accessed camera footage and discovered that the offenders did not pass by the program\u2019s camera. That means they likely launched from private property, she said.<\/p>\n Young declined to release the location of the open space program\u2019s camera.<\/p>\n \u201cI just think a lot of people have no idea it\u2019s a nature preserve,\u201d Poschman said.<\/p>\n