Ten miles north of Mancos, Colorado, in the San Juan National Forest, about 200 community members, land owners, tribal members, and people passionate about public land recently gathered at the Chicken Creek trailhead to dr i nk hot cocoa and listen to live music . The blue sky, crisp winter air, and tall ponderosa pine trees made an idyllic scene for gathering to celebrate public lands.
Regina Lopez-Whiteskunk is a Ute Mountain Ute tribal member. She spoke to the crowd about the meaning of feeling connected to the land.
“We are the land. She is us. Without that, we wouldn't have anything beneath our feet. Without that, we wouldn't have much to fight for. Indigenous people, this is our identity. Each of you has a place on this earth that your family derives from. You are Indigenous to some place on this earth,” said Whiteskunk.
The San Juan National Forest is 1.8 million acres in size. It’s a shared space used by members of the public, including land owners, Native Americans, cattle ranchers, skiers, snowmobile riders, snowshoers, hikers, campers, and more.
The Public Lands Celebration was a reaction to an attempt by a group to claim ownership of more than over 1,400 acres of Forest Service land north of Mancos.
In October, a small group of survivors of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints who call themselves the Free Land Holders put up a fence around the area.
The Free Land Holders argued their ownership with local enforcement, saying they d id not respect the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service. Their argument was based on esoteric interpretations of the U.S. Constitution, the Louisiana Purchase Treat y , and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
The group's methods also align with the Sovereign Citizens movement, an extremist anti-government sentiment that believes the U.S. government is illegitimate. However, the Free Land Holders have claimed they are not part of the sovereign citizens movement or FLDS.
Ryan Borchers was one of the Mancos community members who helped unwind barbed wire and fence posts that the Free Land Holders had put up. Borchers said after removing the fence, the community decided to plan a celebration.
“We decided not to be in a confrontational spirit to the Free Land Holders. You know, land grab, but rather, truly a reminder of our gratitude and just reconnection to public land. It's easy to take this for granted. For us, this is a way of life. We've grown up in this public land situation,” said Borchers.
In November, the the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the Free Land Holders, calling their fence “unlawful.”
Dave Neely , a supervisor for the San Juan National Forest , explain ed that public lands in the United States are owned collectively by all U .S . citizens.
“The multiple-use concept is a profound experiment in American democracy to put shared natural resources that are so important for all of us into the public trust for the use by all of us,” said Neely.
The Public Lands celebration ended with guest speakers and music echoing throughout the forest.
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