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The season closure is now in effect to protect wildlife habitat. The trail system will reopen May 1st, 2025, trail conditions permitting.   A great way to support the construction and maintenance of local trails is with a donation to MTG. Now, through December 10th, you can donate as part of the Colorado Gives campaign. A charitable donation also makes a great gift to donate 'in honor of...'. If you miss the December 10th deadline you can easily donate on the MTG website.
Thank you for your support! 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. This case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Lake and Bill Scarpato. That's a wrap! We want to thank each and every person who came out to volunteer during MTG's 2024 trail work season! The amazing trails in the Mancos Valley wouldn't be possible without your help. We also want to thank and acknowledge each of MTG's private donors, sponsors and partners who support 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". Thank you!  MTG is continuing to take an active role in protecting our public lands from illegal trespass. We encourage each person who enjoys the trails to contact their public lands managers and elected representatives to voice your concern regarding this land grab.  It's also important, especially with the damage caused by fence (now removed) to remind folks that there are folks that have legal easements in the Chicken Creek area. Rush Ditch (the creek) is one such easement. There is a 50 foot easement on either side that shareholders use heavy equipment and OHVs in order to maintain the ditch. Like other trail systems in the area many current trails use historical roads. We ask that trail users traveling in the Chicken Creek area assume positive intent, as there are folks with legally established easements.  You may have heard about the recent construction of new fencing in the Chicken Creek area. MTG has been in contact with the Forest Service since it came to our attention last week, and like many Montezuma County recreationists, we are concerned. As of Saturday, 10/12/24, all of the fence has been taken down by volunteers from the Mancos community. This has been a unique opportunity for virtually all citizens of the county to come together - cattle ranchers, grazing allotment holders, motorized trail users, cross country skiers, hunters, horseback riders, snowmobilers, trail runners, hikers, mountain bikers, dog walkers, and virtually every other user group worked side by side for two days to remove 4.5 miles of new fencing. We are all united in our use of and love of the national forest. However, we are not out of the woods yet regarding this issue as the next step is for the Forest Service to file litigation to prove ownership in the courts. It's important that word gets out that the people of Mancos LOVE our public lands, and that we LOVE Chicken Creek! It's important that everyone knows that we care. What can you do? -Nick Mustoe, District Ranger [email protected], 928-266-5226 -Dave Neely, Forest Supervisor [email protected] -Senator Michael Bennet, 202-224-5852, https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/?p=contact Facebook, @SenatorBennet -Senator John Hickenlooper, 202-224-5941, https://www.hickenlooper.senate.gov/email-john/.... Facebook, @senatorhick There has been a lot of news coverage, see below for links to several news sources that provide some background information. https://www.the-journal.com/.../residents-remove-free.../ https://www.ksjd.org/.../free-land-holders-land-dispute... https://coloradosun.com/.../free-land-holder-forest-service/  The summer, and especially the August monsoon rains, impacted the Mancos Spur Trail in the La Plata Mountains. This lead to dense overgrowth and numerous downed trees. Due to a storm forecast, we had to cancel last month's Saturday trail work, but that didn't keep volunteers and trail adopters from working other days under more favorable skies. It took a few days to clear over a mile of dense brush, overhanding branches and eighteen downed trees. A huge thanks to the trail volunteers for their hard work keeping the trails clear!  Mancos Brewing Company is a huge supporter of MTG and we're happy to share news of the Summer Brewfest!
This year the Mancos Valley Summer Brewfest will be August 17th. Raising money for Mancos Valley Resources and Mancos FoodShare. Doors open at 1 pm, and music starts at 2 with Alex Westphal and the Blues Quartet on stage, followed by Farmington Hill at 4, and Little Wilderness at 6 pm to finish out what will be an awesome day of music. Beers served by Mancos Brewery, WildEdge Brewing Collective, Dolores River Brewery and Anarchy Brewing, Wine and Cider from Fenceline. More details can be found at Mancos Brewing Company's website or by visiting the Eventbrite ticket link. |
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