Colorado land access

[Ragnüs]

i just got back from my first Colorado archery mule deer hunt. I drew a tag near Gunnison . I scouted an area that was BLM land that connected to national forest with no private land in-between. however about 2 miles in and a gain in 1800 vertical feet I walked upon a barbed wire gate that said "please close gate jun1st -sept30th." from what i read private property in Colorado does not have to have a no trespassing sign posted nor does the land owner need to have a fence designating their property line. I used onx maps to find property lines and did made my hunt plan by following the public land access. So not knowing what to do i turned back, especially not wanting to potentially trespass and lose hunting privileges or get hit with fines. I thought it could be an outfitter that purchased rights from the feds, but i don't think its legal to put up a fence regardless or outfitter privilege since it is public land. Anyone ever experienced this?

 

[Wingnutty]

Probably just a fence separating two grazing allotments on public land.

 

[MuleyFever]

Its just a livestock gate on public land if you were reading your map right.

 

[Davebuech]

Many parts of FS and BLM that are public are fenced. Ranchers lease areas under govt contract to graze cattle in these areas. The fences allow some “containment “ of cattle to specific areas.
When going through a fence gate, regardless of private or public. Always close the gate unless you found it upon on arrival. Usually there is a sign on the gate but not always.

 

[SuspiciousFish]

I ran into this as well. Last week drove our side by side to the top of Boot Mountain in CO and there was a fence crossing the road. There was a little grate that could fit an ATV but not our Can Am. I was pretty pissed since we wanted to go down into the other valley. Its public land but it seems the cattlemen are still able to carve it up and roam their cattle at our expense.

 

[MuleyFever]

I ran into this as well. Last week drove our side by side to the top of Boot Mountain in CO and there was a fence crossing the road. There was a little grate that could fit an ATV but not our Can Am. I was pretty pissed since we wanted to go down into the other valley. Its public land but it seems the cattlemen are still able to carve it up and roam their cattle at our expense.

Sounds like you came across a 50" trail restriction.

 

[SuspiciousFish]

Sounds like you came across a 50" trail restriction.

Not in this case. OnX clearly shows its a vehicle road and the road had wide tracks. No sign indicating it was a ATV only trail. The grate is where the yellow SXS marker is. I am going to have a talk with the local Ranger District. They could have at least but a gate or something. I took a picture and can post it later this weekend. It was the last day of our hunt and I was pretty heated about it as we were in a last ditch to try to get into the valley.


Ranger

 

[streetdoctor]

Not in this case. OnX clearly shows its a vehicle road and the road had wide tracks. No sign indicating it was a ATV only trail. The grate is where the yellow SXS marker is. I am going to have a talk with the local Ranger District. They could have at least but a gate or something. I took a picture and can post it later this weekend. It was the last day of our hunt and I was pretty heated about it as we were in a last ditch to try to get into the valley.

View attachment 453005
Ranger

You could have always walked....

 

[SuspiciousFish]

You could have always walked....

We ended up walking through the gate and glassing the valley. The rain shadow from the mountains made everything too dry anyway. Its not that big of a deal. Just something I could channel my frustration into from 5 days of hard hunting without seeing elk. It kind of became a tongue and cheek thing to get pissed over, especially since fencing public land has been an issue since the early days of the Wild West.

 

[streetdoctor]

We ended up walking through the gate and glassing the valley. The rain shadow from the mountains made everything too dry anyway. Its not that big of a deal. Just something I could channel my frustration into from 5 days of hard hunting without seeing elk. It kind of became a tongue and cheek thing to get pissed over, especially since fencing public land has been an issue since the early days of the Wild West.

I hear you. I got attacked by sheep dogs last year on public land.

 

[def90]

Yes, there are fences and gates on public land in Colorado. If OnX didn't show that it was private then it was just a public land fence that is used for grazing allotments as mentioned above.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

If it had been private, the sign wouldn’t have asked that you close the gate.

 

[Ragnüs]

Probably just a fence separating two grazing allotments on public land.

that's good to know. I didn't know that cattle ranchers could lease land like this. where I was raised, fenced property typically meant it was private land. I appreciate the help!

 

[def90]

that's good to know. I didn't know that cattle ranchers could lease land like this. where I was raised, fenced property typically meant it was private land. I appreciate the help!

US National Forest and BLM land both have areas that are open for grazing leases. Hunt north of Steamboat Springs some day and you might run in to a heard of 10,000 sheep in the middle of the forest.

 

[def90]

Not in this case. OnX clearly shows its a vehicle road and the road had wide tracks. No sign indicating it was a ATV only trail. The grate is where the yellow SXS marker is. I am going to have a talk with the local Ranger District. They could have at least but a gate or something. I took a picture and can post it later this weekend. It was the last day of our hunt and I was pretty heated about it as we were in a last ditch to try to get into the valley.

View attachment 453005
Ranger

What does the current USFS MVUM map show for that road?

 

[Poser]

I found 2 cave creek roads on the Cortex App. One in Rio Grande NF and the other in Roosevelt. They both allow all vehicles.

 

[jayhawk]

I ran into this as well. Last week drove our side by side to the top of Boot Mountain in CO and there was a fence crossing the road. There was a little grate that could fit an ATV but not our Can Am. I was pretty pissed since we wanted to go down into the other valley. Its public land but it seems the cattlemen are still able to carve it up and roam their cattle at our expense.

It's not at your expense. I hate to tell you this but they pay MUCH more money to use that land than you do and you both still are able to use it.

 

[def90]

yep, forest service status for 673 is open with no notes on any gates..

Rio Grande National Forest - Alerts & Notices

 

[Poser]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SuspiciousFish]

For academic purposes here is the photo of the gate/fence. The grate on the right is big enough for an ATV and the wire across the main road is not able to be opened unless you remove a bunch of wire. It only blocks about 2 miles but it is a relatively important road if you came in from the North (Saguache) and were planning on camping down by La Garita creek to hunt that valley. The only other road access to that valley is from the South (Del Norte).

An additional note: This location is one of the few places in the area you can get Verizon reception.