Mancos Trails Group board of directors sends letter to the editor of The Cortez Journal expressing our solidarity with federal workers and our unwavering support of public lands. You can read the letter in the Journal or below:

The Mancos Trails Group has long partnered with the United States Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to plan and maintain several local trail systems. We are writing to express our solidarity with the staff of these agencies in the face of unprecedented threats.

We know firsthand the commitment these federal land managers have toward stewarding our public resources in alignment with their expertise. They are our friends, our neighbors, fellow trail users and people we see in the community on a daily basis. We salute them for navigating management of the land and resources to balance the needs of wildlife, recreationists, commercial interests and the public-at-large.

As a small, volunteer-run nonprofit organization, we are no strangers to the limits of budgets and to making smart choices about how to most responsibly direct funds. Outdoor recreation contributes $17.2 billion per year to Colorado’s economy, and according to a local 2024 economic impact study, brings over $100 million per year and 724 jobs to the economy in Montezuma County. Investment in stewardship of public lands keeps people visiting Montezuma County, keeps dollars flowing into local pockets, keeps many of our neighbors employed, and gives us all something fun to do on our days off.

We, the board of Mancos Trails Group, express gratitude to our friends and partners on staff at all of our local public lands agencies, and urge our representatives at the federal level to act to protect these invaluable human and natural resources.

Jen Magnuson, Board Member-at-Large, for the Mancos Trails Group
Mancos

As MTG has grown as an organization, since it's inception in 2017, we've discussed forming a membership to help sustain the organization financially. One of the first things about building and maintaining local trails is that it takes lots of volunteer hours and money! That means strong community support! We rely on individuals and businesses who love trails to help fulfill MTG's mission: "to promote trail stewardship, develop and maintain sustainable trails, and promote positive trail interactions among all trail users in the scenic Mancos Valley".

We are very excited to announce that MTG has a membership program! Membership is encouraged for all trail users, locals and visitors, to help support local trails. To learn more and become a member please visit our website.

​Thank you for supporting your local trails!

The season closure is now in effect to protect wildlife habitat. The trail system will reopen May 1st, 2025, trail conditions permitting.

Press Release: Tuesday, November 26, 2024
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Colorado
[email protected]

https://www.justice.gov/usao-co/pr/us-department-justice-brings-lawsuit-stop-unlawful-fencing-forest-service-land-0

DENVER—The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced today that it has filed a lawsuit alleging that Patrick Pipkin, Brian Hammon, and a group of unidentified persons unlawfully placed fencing, without permission, on federal public lands near Mancos, Colorado.  The lawsuit, which was filed in the federal district court in the District of Colorado, seeks to clarify that such activity is not permitted and to prevent future unlawful fencing of the area.

In its complaint, the United States alleges that in October 2024, Mr. Pipkin, Mr. Hammon, and other unidentified individuals erected miles of fencing on public land in the San Juan National Forest that is owned by the United States and managed through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service.  The public uses this land for many purposes, including recreation and grazing.  The defendants used fenceposts and barbed wire to erect the fencing, which obstructed free passage across a large area of this land. While much of the fencing materials were later removed by members of the public, some of those materials, including barbed wire, remain on the land.  The lawsuit also alleges that since that time, Mr. Pipkin has regularly posted notices in the town of Mancos, signed by him as a representative of a group called the “Free Land Holder Committee,” which purport to exercise authority over the public’s use of this land and set deadlines for members of the public to act to protect their rights. 

The complaint asserts claims under the Unlawful Inclosures Act of 1885 and for civil trespass.  The lawsuit seeks a court order to prevent further obstruction or intimidation of lawful users of this popular area and further harm to the land and the public, and to ensure continuing free and lawful access to public land.

“Public lands belong to all of us, not to any individual person or group. It is unlawful to construct fences on Forest Service lands without the Forest Service’s permission,” stated Matt Kirsch, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado.  “We have filed this lawsuit to make clear that these federal lands remain open to the public for all lawfully permitted uses, and to prevent anyone from obstructing that public access.”

The claims made in the complaint are allegations that, if the case were to proceed to trial, the United States would need to prove by a preponderance of the evidence.
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This case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Lake and Bill Scarpato.