Hot Springs enthusiast wants cabin restored

An avid visitor to the Conundrum Hot Springs in the wilderness southwest of Aspen is aiming to convince the U.S. Forest Service to put the roof back on an old cabin located close to the pools. Evan Ravitz, of Boulder, contends that the cabin is needed for safety from “vicious hailstorms” and late-spring snowstorms that strike the high mountain valley. The hot springs are the highest in the U.S. at 11,250 feet. Forest Service officials consider the cabin “an attractive nuisance” that is out of balance with wilderness values. The Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness management plan dictates that the agency will allow the vast majority of cabins and “fall into ruin at the hands of the elements.” Former Aspen-Sopris District Ranger Scott Snelson decided in August 2012 to have a crew remove the tin roof from the cabin. Ravitz said he is exploring whether the Forest Service followed the National Environmental Policy Act when it took the action. He said there was no public process before the action was taken in the summer of 2012. He is exploring whether the public was allowed to weigh in on the cabin issue when the wilderness management plan was created in 1988. If it appears National Environmental Policy Act was violated, “then we’ll talk to lawyers,” Ravitz said...more