Colorado’s mountains, trails, parks and back roads were flooded with an unprecedented number of visitors last year. Unfortunately, the crowds also damaged natural resources in a variety of ways. Garbage was left behind and stacked next to already overflowing dumpsters, campfires were left unattended and/or not extinguished properly, fragile areas like tundra and wetlands were trampled, consideration for other visitors was not adhered to, and users drove off established roads and cut across hiking trails causing erosion issues. While Colorado’s state and federal natural resources agencies encourage everyone to get outside, visitors venturing into the great outdoors must take responsibility and care for our precious natural resources. To view the full article visit the Pagosa Springs Sun.