Photo by Matt Lit
By Anya Kaats
A dispute over access to Crestone’s pet cemetery and public land has intensified after private landowners Elaine Johnson and Steve McDowell closed a road on their property that residents have used for decades to reach both the cemetery and adjacent Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land. After years of threatening to close the road, Johnson and McDowell finally took action following fire mitigation efforts conducted by the town where the access road had been utilized.
The closure has sparked controversy about public access rights and emergency evacuation routes, while Johnson and McDowell have cited concerns about illegal camping, littering, shooting and years of improper use of the area as grounds for the road closure.
“There have been progressively more problems with [the road usage] over the years — just a lot of just bad behavior,” Johnson expressed at the Jan. 27 Town of Crestone Board of Trustees meeting. “The cemetery should be a place of quiet contemplation, and not a shortcut to a shooting range,” added Johnson, who suggested a permanent shut down the BLM-access road and encouraged the town to provide alternate access to the pet cemetery.
Johnson argued that similar closures of private access to public lands have occurred throughout Crestone over the years, and claimed that BLM is happy the road has been closed. “Every single surrounding resident has called and thanked us or sent us cards and thanked us for doing it,” Johnson said. “BLM has closed numerous access routes to that area.”
Multiple residents submitted letters of complaint to the town, explaining that if a road has been used by the public for over 20 years without dispute, it should be recognized as a right-of-way.
The matter is further complicated by the fact that the land lies in unincorporated county territory, not within town boundaries. Town attorney Seth Walker reported that Saguache County officials are considering whether to declare the path a public road, which could require gathering affidavits and witness statements about its historic use.
In addition to access to BLM land and the pet cemetery, the closure has also raised concerns about emergency evacuation and fire mitigation routes.
Johnson and McDowell offered to allow emergency access through a different portion of their property near Galena Avenue, but some board members expressed concern about the practicality of this arrangement, as it would require cutting through a fence in an emergency. Johnson cautioned against relying on the cemetery road for evacuation, citing dangerous conditions. “The first little car that goes out there will be stuck and then everybody’s lined up behind them,” she said. “You cannot possibly be sending small passenger cars out that track.”
Crestone Trustee Kizzen Laki explained that the closure would affect mitigation in an area identified as particularly at risk according to Daniel Johnson of Saguache County Firewise.
Johnson requested time for tensions to ease before considering any compromises. “The fire mitigation created not great feelings between us and the town,” said Johnson. “Things need to calm down, and we need a month or so before approaching it.”
Saguache County is expected to send a formal letter to the landowners regarding the road’s status and town officials noted that any county decision to pursue the matter as a public road would be beyond its municipal control.
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