Mountain radio tower still in assessment phase

By Linda Bell
Correspondent

The county's request to build a 40- to 60-foot radio tower near the summit of Middle Bald Mountain is still being studied by the U.S. Forest Service, according to Carol Kruse, special projects coordinator for Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland.

Kruse said a public meeting will be scheduled for late September or early October in Red Feather Lakes to present an analysis of reasonable alternatives to the public.

"Right now," she said, "we are still in the general data collection stage mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act to assess if any resources are in jeopardy at the site."

Kruse said the Forest Service has three decisions to make about the site: Is Middle Bald Mountain a suitable communication site? If so, what site designation is appropriate? Is the Forest Service going to issue a facility lease to Larimer County?

She said there are five possible site designations: forest service only; government only (including local); low-power/non-broadcast use, which could include cellular; low-power broadcast like FM radio or cable TV; and broadcast, which would include all of the other designations in addition to big-watt radio and television stations. Kruse said that during the initial scoping process the Forest Service did not receive any interest in either the low-power or broadcast uses for the site.

She said once the public has had a chance to review and respond to the proposed alternatives, the Forest Service will decide how best to proceed and whether a full environmental impact statement should be initiated in addition to the required assessment.

The Forest Service is working closely with Blue Mountain Environmental Consulting in Fort Collins, a subcontractor to Mangi Environmental Group of McLean, Va., the company hired by the county to scope and engineer the site for the Forest Service, Kruse said.

She said the consultants are particularly looking at cool season botany, warm season botany, wildlife patterns, hydrology, soils and the visual impact of a tower at the location. In addition, she said, they are working closely with the county telecommunications team to determine what kinds of roads will be needed to access the tower, how and what kind of power will be supplied and where buildings might be located to minimize impact.

The Middle Bald Tower is part of a larger $8 million project the county proposed to link five towers in the western part of the county and Wyoming to improve emergency services communications between the county sheriff's department and local fire districts throughout the Cache la Poudre River corridor and bring them all up to a standard 800 MHz system.

Middle Bald Mountain is located about 40 miles northwest of Fort Collins and five miles southwest of Red Feather Lakes. David Rowe, the county's microwave systems administrator, said two of the five proposed towers were built in 2006 on Bull Mountain near the Laramie River Road and on Pole Mountain in Wyoming. In addition, he said, the county has a two-year permit to use an existing facility at Bear Gulch northwest of the Crystal Lakes subdivision that already has a commercial FM radio tower, while a fifth tower, which may or may not be required, could be located on or near the Glacier View Meadows subdivision above the Poudre River.

Kruse said she doesn't anticipate a final document on the Middle Bald Mountain communications site to be available for public review until late spring, with a possible final decision being made later in 2008.