Thousands of acres of BLM land in Montezuma County are off-limits to the general public because they are hemmed in by private land.
What will it take to improve access? And what would the impacts be on neighbors who have enjoyed exclusive access to large blocks of public lands for years?
A tour of some of these landlocked BLM lands took place Friday to discuss various options and hurdles facing county government, the BLM, neighbors and user groups.
“We’re interested in providing more public access,” said Connie Clementson, district manager for the BLM’s Tres Rios office. “But it will take collaboration between the county, the public, and the BLM to work out a lot of different issues.”
Three large BLM areas within the county that lack public access, except for neighboring landowners. They include the escarpment at the base of Mesa Verde south of Cortez, an area south of Summit Lake, and a chunk of BLM land west of Cortez.
“Even we have to get permission from landowners to access these areas,” Clementson said.
The Mesa Verde land
BLM land along the Mesa Verde escarpment formerly was accessed via a road through the landfill.
But state regulations changed that, forcing a fence to be installed around the landfill operations to prevent unauthorized access after hours and illegal dumping. That closed the road and public access to BLM land.
The county is exploring the possibility of opening up another access point there, said commissioner Larry Don Suckla.
“We would have to see what the costs to the taxpayer would be, and discuss it more with our road manager and landfill manager to see if it is doable,” Suckla said. “As long as the safety issues are addressed, then it’s worth considering.”
A new fence along the road would prevent access to the landfill, and the permit boundary of the landfill might need to be revised.
Suckla said that if a road opened up, it would likely skirt the landfill to the south.
“It would not be graveled. If it were dry, people could make it back there, but if it was wet, it would not be passable,” he said.
The BLM is also agreeable to a public-access point there, Clementson said.
“If the county can figure out a way to connect a road to the BLM land, it would provide an access point for foot and horseback travel,” she said.
A small parking area on the county side would avoid a long BLM permitting process, she added.
The Sanitation District owns nearby land, and manager Tim Krebs has said he’s open to allowing public access through there.
Seasonal closures may be put in place during the winter months and mud seasons when the road is impassable anyway.
Red or green roads?
It’s a classic question in the Southwest, and it applies to roads in Montezuma County.
On the official county road map, green-signed roads are owned and maintained by the county. They’re open for travel and use to the general public.
Red-signed roads are typically privately held and access subdivisions and are not maintained by the county. Rather, each resident pays to maintain the road though covenants and/or homeowner associations.
Access is usually restricted to residents only. Mail delivery, law enforcement, fire and rescue have legal access.
Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin said it’s legal to park on the shoulder of a green-signed county road unless it’s specifically prohibited or it impedes traffic.
“Parking along the shoulder within the right of way is certainly allowed,” he said. “For the general public to be parking on a red-signed road would be trespass.”
Road 20 access?
West of Cortez, another large block of BLM land appears to be cut off from public use. However, an area off of Road 20 — a green-signed road — might qualify as a public-access point.
County Road 20 appears to end at the section line between private and BLM land, said county planner James Dietrich. If the county road’s right-of-way is the usual 60 feet at that point, it may provide a small public access point.
“From the middle of the road to the shoulder, it would be 30 feet, and that borders the BLM,” he said.
People could presumably park on the county road, and then enter the BLM from the county right-of-way.
For residents, public access to the BLM land at that point is problematic because the area is so isolated.
“I’ve had my place broken into, and have seen poachers back in here,” said Mike Chenard, who lives nearby. “We have a problem with kids partying here, and have to chase them off.”
Nowlin said he plans to meet with neighbors and the county on the issue of legal parking on green county roads.
He compared it to a past situation at the Boggy Draw National Forest boundary near Dolores.
“When there used to be dog-sled races there, the overflow parking would be along the shoulder of Road W,” he said. “We’ll need to work out where the boundaries are for public property, county right of way, and private land.”
Summit Lake BLM
South of Summit Lake, a large block of BLM land caught the attention of recreationists. But access appears to be restricted because red-signed roads lead up to it.
County Roads 35.6 and 35.9 take off from Colorado Highway 184 into the subdivision around Summit and Pruett lakes. They connect with Road N, which borders a short section of BLM land.
“Since they are red-signed roads, neighbors here watch it closely and run off people,” Clementson said.
The BLM has been meeting with the Mesa Verde Backcountry Horseman to see if there is a way to establish a trailhead into that area. They want to know if nearby roads could be changed to a green status to allow access.
“We’re interested in accessing other public lands that are convenient,” said Tif Rodriguez, president of the horse group. “Local trails we helped establish have been sort of overrun by hikers and cyclists like at Sand Canyon and Phil’s World.”
She said her group recognizes neighbor concerns of negative impacts.
“It’s frustrating, because people can be disrespectful,” she said. “But we as users provide monitoring and maintenance. We pick up trash and worked to educate the public on sharing and respecting the land.”
The authority to change a red road into a green road could lie with the county, officials said, depending on a road’s specific legal issues.
“It would be up to the commissioners, and involve a public process,” said county planning director LeeAnn Milligan. “One factor is the expense of adding more road miles to be maintained.”
What led to these BLM lands being cut-off from the public?
It has to do with the Homesteading Act being applied in the 1920s and earlier, said Marietta Eaton, manager of the BLM’s Canyons of the Ancients National Monument.
Before it became BLM land, it was held under the General Land Office. To encourage settling in the area, much of that GLO land was offered to those who could prove they could make it productive farmland.
“But there was no water, and many homesteaders could not prove it up,” Eaton said. “The land stayed private, and led to where we are today with these isolated sections of BLM.”
jmimiaga@cortezjournal.com
