Green Lake Rd. trespassing issue resolved for time being

Gunnison District ranger John Murphy met with Irwin area property owner JW Smith Friday afternoon to listen to his concerns. Smith owns a mining claim at the base of Ruby Mountain above Lake Irwin and people heading to Green Lake use the road that runs through his property. While meeting with Smith, Murphy watched as people trespassed and cut through his property. “JW agreed to remove the signs [warning people not to use the road through his property] and we agreed to do some things to better inform the public of the fact that they are on private property for a section of the road,” Murphy explained. “This will include some new signage and possibly some kiosks with maps on the road and at the Irwin campground.” Murphy said that during the meeting, he was amazed to see people fail to respect the property heading up to Green Lake. “I was very sympathetic to JW’s concerns and watched people driving and hiking the road do some things that were not very respectful of the private property owners,” he said. According to Smith, a lot of the problems are the result of incorrect information being provided through guidebooks and other local and national sources. “John Murphy was very informative and concerned about the impact that is happening in my area,” Smith said. “The road could be shut down due to deteriorating conditions but this would cause issues for access for land owners above me. The road through the private property is not a Forest Service road. There is an easement for the public to use this road to access the Forest Service road above the Ruby Mining District.” Murphy allowed that the road is in a nebulous situation. “JW Smith agreed to keep the road open as long as the USFS does some things to better notify the public that they are on private property and to respect the private property,” Murphy said. “The road is Forest Road 826.D1 and appears on our visitor use maps and on our motor vehicle use maps. The road has a long history of use by the general public and accesses private property further up the mountain. The Forest Service does not have a perfected access on the road crossing private property, which is not uncommon at all. We have many roads passing through private property without perfected easements. However, the Forest Service does have a prescriptive right to use the road based on the historic use of the road.” Ultimately, Smith simply wants people to respect his property. “There is absolutely no parking or trespassing allowed on this stretch of road, which is about 1.5 miles and on about 200 acres,” he said. The bottom line is that the public has used the road for a long time. But as more and more public use it, some abuse the privilege and go off the road onto a person’s private property. Both Smith and Murphy say that needs to stop. “The advice that I would give to people is to respect the land owner’s private property rights by staying on the road. Do not vandalize structures, equipment or tools located on private property. Access the area on foot or with the appropriate type of motor vehicle,” Murphy said. “The road is in very poor condition and can only be accessed with high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicles or OHVs. Do not park vehicles on the road going through the private property, and keep your dog on a leash while walking through the private property.” Murphy said the agency would begin compiling information to help make the public aware of the private property issues. “I will be working with my staff and developing a plan over the next couple of weeks,” he said. “Once we figure out what we are going to do we will try to implement the plan as soon as possible. Hopefully, this will be done this field season and no later than early next summer.” Overall, both Smith and Murphy said they valued the meeting and the positive discussion. “I greatly appreciate JW’s spirit of cooperation and I hope that we can resolve his concerns,” concluded Murphy. “I hope that when we complete the work we agreed to do that the concerns of the private land owners will be alleviated and the public can continue to enjoy the use of this road.”