Although the court case filing requested by the Archuleta Board of County Commissioners on June 18 concerned a controversial road — Bristlecone Drive — in the Colorado Timber Ridge Ranch subdivision, the lion’s share of the discussion at Tuesday’s meeting focused on another controversial (and apparently closed?) road: US Forest Service Road 649 D.
According to the discussion we heard on June 18, USFS 649 D is about a quarter mile of poorly maintained road in the Oak Hill Ranches area, a very rural, secluded neighborhood situated roughly halfway between Aspen Springs (Highway 160) and Burns Canyon (Trujillo Road.) You can get a feel for the sparsely-developed neighborhood in the following video, posted to YouTube by Pagosa realtor D. West Davies:
If you watch the video, you can get a sense of what a wildfire might mean to this neighborhood, in terms of available fuels and in terms of roads providing to escape routes.
We are listening here to County Attorney Todd Weaver at the June 18 meeting:
“Agenda Item E is basically to direct staff to write a letter to the US Forest Service in support for keeping Forest Service Road 649 D open. Essentially, a citizen has requested this letter from the BOCC, asking the Forest Service to keep the road open. This road is in the Polito Canyon area, and it connects USFS 649 to… I believe… Ranchland Drive.
“Historically, 649 D was designated as an emergency evacuation route by the Sheriff’s Office. In May, the Emergency Operations Manager [Mike Le Roux] determined that another [emergency] route was better suited to their needs and basically told the Forest Service, ‘We don’t need this road for emergency evacuation, so you’re free to close it if you want to.’ And as I understand it, the Forest Service does intend to close that road. It’s basically a jeep trail…”
A couple of problems with Mr. Le Roux’ decision became apparent during a presentation by Oak Hill Ranches resident Wayne Bryant.
Mr. Bryant filled the commissioners in, on road access guaranteed by the federal government to certain long-established Forest Service roads:
“RS 2477 was a bill passed by the US Congress back in 1880, and what it basically did was, it allowed people — as expansion was occurring out west — to continue using [federal roads.] People could purchase land, and the Forest Service was not allowed to cut off access. It was very controversial for many years, and finally under the Reagan administration, Ken Salazar set the record straight. Basically, any federal road built prior to 1977 is covered by RS 2477…”
The law RS 2477 (which, according to my research, was passed in 1866) consists of one sentence:
“…The right-of-way for the construction of highways across public lands not otherwise reserved for public purposes is hereby granted.” In 1866, a ‘highway’ in the American West was often nothing more than an slightly improved wagon trail.
RS 2477 was repealed in 1976 under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA)… but the repeal specifically protected “valid existing rights.” Thus, right-of-ways that qualified as RS 2477 roads prior to 1977 must remain open to the public, and this would presumably include USFS 649 D… which appears on maps dating back to the 1950s, according to Mr. Bryant.
The other key problem relates to escape routes in case of a forest fire. Oak Hill Ranches are served by just two escape routes, one going west and one going east. According to the testimony we heard from Oak Hill residents, USFS 649 D is a preferred connection to the route heading east. If a forest fire were approaching the subdivision from the west, 649 D would prove be a very valuable escape route.
Mr. Bryant asserted that the Oak Hill Ranches HOA has the financial means to keep the road passable — at no cost to the County government — so long as it is used only as an emergency escape route.
The BOCC, however, had reservations about writing a letter to the Forest Service asking that the road remain accessible to the public. Commissioner Ronnie Maez said the road, if left open, should properly remain accessible for general public use, rather than being merely an emergency route. (He did not go so far as to suggest, however, that County Road and Bridge would therefore maintain the road.) Mr. Bryant asserted that his HOA does not have the financial means to maintain a fully-public road, and that the west end of 649 D connects with a private road within the subdivision (Ranchland Drive), thus making 649 D impractical for use by the general public.
The discussion was lengthy, but in the end, Commissioner Steve Wadley moved to have County staff send a letter asking the Forest Service whether 649 D was in fact an RS 2477 road, and if so, how the Forest Service would justify the road closure. The motion passed unanimously.
So there’s hope that this road will remain open. Open to certain users, at least.
The lawsuit approved at the conclusion of the June 18 meeting concerns a different road:
Bristlecone Drive, now sporting a “Private Road – No Trespassing” sign.
Bristlecone Drive runs mainly east and west through the Colorado Timber Ridge Ranch subdivision. Like many of the subdivisions approved by the Archuleta County government over the past 50 years, the Timber Ridge Ranch subdivision was formerly a working ranch — in this case, a ranch owned by the Gomez family. In 1998, a limited partnership called Colorado Timber Ridge Ranch purchased the Gomez Ranch for $3.5 million, and proceeded to plat dozens of residential lots connected by about a dozen residential gravel roads.
According to the County Assessor’s website, most of the parcels appear to be around 5 acres in size, and maybe half of the parcels appeared to have homes built on them as of 2018. The subdivision welcomes horse owners, and maintains an Equestrian Center. A sign near the subdivision’s west entrance asks drivers to slow to 5 MPH when horses are present.
By 1998, when Timber Ridge was applying for subdivision approval, the Archuleta County government had learned a few lessons about the problems created by allowing indiscriminate residential development — especially, the problem of road maintenance. As I understand it, the County agreed to accept the rural Timber Ridge roads on the condition that the subdivision maintain its own roads. The residents subsequently formed a Metro District (in 2012) for the purpose of maintaining its roads and parks. The road maintenance is funded by a Metro District property tax mill levy and by HUTF (Highway User Tax Funds) contributed by Archuleta County.
Bristlecone Drive serves as the subdivision’s main arterial, and as such, has been paved. Some of the pavement is in less than perfect condition.
Paving a road with asphalt accomplishes a couple of things. It prevents the air-borne dust and washboarding common to rural gravel roads. And it allows vehicles to travel at higher speeds. Thus, it attracts truck traffic. Like, for example, large garbage trucks headed for the Archuleta County Landfill.
Two more things about asphalt pavement. It’s expensive to apply. And it’s expensive to maintain.