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Steamboat Springs — A snowmobiler was cited during the weekend for entering Mount Zirkel Wilderness, the only ticket of its kind issued this season in the Hahn's Peak/Bears Ears Ranger District.

However, the U.S. Forest Service has logged 40 instances of snowmobile tracks entering local wilderness areas, a violation of federal law, district recreation specialist Kent Foster said.

Most people are not caught in the act, and even more instances are never discovered because fresh snowfall covers snowmobile tracks, Foster said.

The U.S. Forest Service has signage at all entry points into its wilderness areas notifying people about the restrictions, but in the recent incident near Summit Lake Campground in Buffalo Pass, snowmobilers sped past a Forest Service employee into the wilderness area.

"They had ridden right by the sign and didn't notice it," Forest Service spokeswoman Diann Ritschard said.

"There's that elusive powder that's out there," Foster said. "(But) there's enough country out there without going into (a) wilderness area."

There are four designated wilderness areas contained within the Routt National Forest - Mount Zirkel, Sarvis Creek, Flat Tops and Never Summer. Instances of snowmobilers entering wilderness areas tend to be concentrated in the Mount Zirkel Wilderness because of its proximity to the popular Buffalo Pass, Ritschard said.

All motorized and mechanized vehicle use has been prohibited in wilderness areas, for summer and winter recreation, since an act of Congress in 1964, Ritschard said.

Violators are subject to a minimum fine of $525, and repeat or malicious offenders can receive as much as $10,000 in fines, one year in jail and have their snowmobiles confiscated, Foster said.

"It's something that's taken very seriously. Wilderness is wilderness," Foster said. "We need special permits to go into the wilderness ourselves as we're managing it."

Last year, 14 violators were cited for entering wilderness areas on snowmobiles, Foster said.

This winter, the Forest Service has ticketed about 20 snowmobilers in the area, for various offenses including snowmobiling off designated routes, parking violations and using snowmobiles in areas designated for nonmotorized use, such as the west side of Rabbit Ears Pass, Foster said.