Info and Map
You may have heard about the recent construction of illegal fencing in the Chicken Creek area. Not only were fences put up illegally, but the fence builders wantonly damaged parts of the forest by cutting down trees and brush to make roads so they could build their fence. After receiving trail user reports of illegal fence building in the forest, Mancos Trails Group made initial contact with the Forest Service in early October. Like many Montezuma County forest users, we were very concerned.
Almost overnight, word spread among the community and by the next day a loosely organized ad hoc group of citizens banded together, forming a plan to remove the illegal fencing. As of Saturday, 10/12/2024, all of the fencing was taken down by a diverse group of volunteers from the Mancos community. This was a unique opportunity for our diverse community to come together and work shoulder to shoulder – cattle ranchers, grazing allotment holders, motorized trail users, cross country skiers, hunters, horseback riders, snowmobilers, trail runners, hikers, mountain bikers, dog walkers, and concerned individuals worked side by side for several days to remove 4.6 miles of new fencing. We are all united in our use of and love of our national forest.
Timeline
October 5-9 – Free Land Holder Committee (FLHC) starts to erect illegal, four barbed wire strand fence on 1460 acres of the US Forest Service land in the Chicken Creek Area of USFS. Claiming their entitled ownership according to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 1848. In the process they wantonly fell trees and destroy brush to make new access roads to build their fence.
October 9 – The Free Land Holder Committee ordered to cease fence building by the US Forest Service and the Montezuma County Sheriff.
October 10-16 – The citizens of Mancos rally together to take down the fence that was erected by the FLHC. Collaborating with all user groups, grazing allotment holders, equestrian, hikers, bikers, skiers, dog walkers, etc. Chicken Creek Coalition consisting of above users and groups is loosely formed.
October 18 – Patrick L. Pipkin of the FLHC posts another letter at the Mancos Post Office stating coordinates of the US Forest Service that he and his group the Free Land Holder Committee plan to secure by December 15, 2024.
November 14 – Citizens of the Chicken Creek Draft and publicly post an anti-proclamation statement to the Free Land Holder Committee and any potential other illegal land grabbers.
We, the Chicken Creek Coalition, are citizens of Montezuma County who represent different public lands users in the Chicken Creek area. We include USFS grazing allotment holders, the Mancos Valley Chamber of Commerce, Mancos Trails Group, Chicken Creek Nordic, Mesa Verde Back Country Horsemen, and numerous nearby private landowners.
We recognize no dispute in the ownership of land currently held by the United States Forest Service in the Chicken Creek area. These are public lands which have been entrusted to the United States Forest Service to manage, and we understand this management to include defending these lands against both false claims and illegal efforts to utilize them.
We will continue to expect and enjoy unimpeded lawful use of these lands now and in the future, up until such time as the United States Forest Service has lawfully made other provisions for the ownership or use of these lands.
November 26 – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado files 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. Read the DOJ official press release.
December 12 – The Chicken Creek Coalition was awarded the special Community in Action Award from the Mancos Valley Chamber of Commerce at The Best of 2024 Awards, held at Moondog Cafe and Bakery in Mancos.
January 9, 2025 – Free Land Holders file rambling response to lawsuit seeking to bar group from seizing public lands in Colorado. Here is an article on the filing from The Denver Post. Here is a copy of the document that was filed.
January 22, 2025 – MINUTE ORDER Plaintiff’s Motion for Telephonic Status Conference (ECF No.20 ) is GRANTED. A telephonic Status Conference is set for February 4, 2025 at 9:30 a.m. Entered by Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter on 1/22/2025.
February 4, 2025 – MINUTE ENTRY for proceedings held before Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter: Status Conference held on 2/4/2025. Defendants shall have up and including February 25, 2025 to file an answer that complies with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The telephonic Scheduling Conference set for March 5, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. is CONVERTED to a Status Conference before Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter in Courtroom A401, Fourth floor, Alfred A. Arraj Courthouse, 901 19th Street, Denver, Colorado 80294. Five minutes prior to the start of the hearing, the parties shall call the conference line 571-353-2301, Access Code 841686937# to participate. FTR: Courtroom A401. (rvill, )
ORDER REGARDING DEPOSIT OF SILVER COINS The Court held a status conference in this matter today, February 4, 2025. Defendants Patrick Pipkin and Bryan Hammon appeared. Mr. Pipkin preferred to be referred to as The Man Patrick and Mr. Hammon as The Man Bryan. The Court explained that, under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Defendants were required to file a formal answer to the Complaint. The Court gave the Defendants three weeks, until February 25, 2025, to do so. At the conclusion of the hearing, The Man Patrick said he was leaving a stack of silver coins with the Court, presumably as payment for any filing fee for any counterclaims he may choose to file. The Court strongly encouraged The Man Patrick not to leave the coins because the Court could not do anything with them. Notwithstanding the Courts directive to the contrary, the Man Patrick left a plastic container containing what appear to be twelve 1 Troy Ounce silver coins with the courtroom deputy. After the hearing, the Court verified with the courtroom deputy the number of coins and what they appeared to be. Based on an internet search, one ounce of silver is today worth $31.43 cents, meaning stack of coins is worth approximately $377.16. The Court has no way of processing these coins or using them to pay for any filing or other fees Defendants may incur. The Man Patrick is invited to return to the Court and retrieve the coins. Until that time, the Clerk of Court is directed to place the coins in a secure location in the Clerks office maintaining them under the above case number. by Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter on 2/4/2025. (norlin, )
March 3, 2025 – CERTIFICATE of Mailing/Service by Publication in the Denver Post by Plaintiff USA.(Scarpato, Victor)
ORDER REFERRING MOTIONS: 31 Formal Challenge to This Court’s Jurisdiction filed by Bryan Hammon; and 32 Formal Challenge to This Court’s Jurisdiction filed by Patrick Pipkin. Motions referred to Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter by Judge Daniel D. Domenico on 3/3/2025. Text Only Entry (dddlc1, )
You can follow along with the Federal lawsuit here.
Map -Chicken Creek Area, Mancos, Colorado
USFS Social Media post and press Release 10-23-2024
NEWS COVERAGE
https://www.the-journal.com/articles/free-land-holders-have-private-meeting-in-denver-court
https://www.the-journal.com/articles/feds-sue-group-that-put-up-fence-claimed-ownership-over-1400-acres-of-colorado-forest/
https://coloradosun.com/2024/11/26/free-land-holders-fence-colorado-sued/