BLM offers rare reward to catch saboteur of Prince Creek trail
BLM/Courtesy photo |
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is offering a $1,000 reward to try to find the person or persons responsible for sabotaging trails in the Prince Creek network last month.
“The BLM continues to investigate the incidents but has not identified suspects,” the agency said in a statement. It’s hoping that the $1,000 offer loosens some lips. The reward will be given for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.
Midvalley cyclist Colin Osborn was climbing the Skillsaw Trail on June 15 when he discovered a board punctured by about 15 nails placed on a singletrack trail. The board was obscured by dirt and pine needles. The nails were positioned to cause a flat.
He said he was lucky to spot the board after stopping for a drink.
Osborn continued up the trail, which evolves into a route called Creekside, and found a second board featuring about 30 nails.
The BLM revealed Tuesday that a third board with nails was found on the ground along Creekside that same day.
The Prince Creek Trail network is southeast of Carbondale. The variety of trails has become immensely popular in the past decade.
Carbondale bicycle shops and the Roaring Fork Mountain Bike Association warned bikers about the sabotage. BLM officials investigated the incident but have no solid leads.
“From where the investigation is today, we really need some information,” BLM spokesman David Boyd said.
The federal agency doesn’t have a regular Crime Stoppers program, so it took awhile to budget the money for the reward. While the offer of rewards in criminal cases isn’t unheard of for the agency, it is rare. Boyd said he works with five field offices and has only seen one of two rewards previously offered in 10 years.
BLM Colorado River Valley Field Manager Steve Bennett said in a statement that the agency takes the incident very seriously.
“We simply do not tolerate this behavior and will seek convictions against the responsible parties,” he said.
Anyone with information about the sabotage can call BLM law enforcement at 970-876-9000.
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