Barking Dog Trail is now
closed
We regret that after 50
years of providing access, we have been forced to close our trail.We wanted to keep it open but we just don't have the ability to keep out the troublemakers. It is just not worth it.
We have instructed the Boulder County Sheriff to issue citations to anyone on our property without written permission.
balarat@comcast.net
We
have
closed Barking Dog Trail to the public. We are sad that we can no
longer share our beautiful land with quiet users, but it has become too
much of a burden to deal with the trespassing and vandalism that has
plagued our attempts to restore the damage from illegal offroad
activities. Much of this damage was caused by the Mile-Hi Jeep
Club and Trailridge Runners 4WD Clubs who repeatedly tore down our
gates, removed our signs, trashed our land, and destroyed our
reforestation projects. These clubs still get grants from the
state of Colorado, but we are forced to use our own resources to fix
the damage they have caused to our property. We can no longer
afford to do this.
History
In
the early 20th century, a wagon road was constructed along Balarat
Creek by the Smuggler Mining and Milling Company for access to their
mines. Use of this private road was strictly controlled by the
mining company. After the mines went out of business, it reverted
to a single-track trail that was enjoyed by hikers and equestrians, who
had permission from subsequent owners. Our family bought property
traversed by this trail in 1960, and continued the tradition of
granting permission to quiet users. We purchased the rest of the
property in the 1990s, after illegal motorized use started to
increase. The real
trouble began on November
22, 1996, when a Trailridge Runners 4WD Club member named Donald E.
Owens
was charged on Violation Notice number
F1845105 with constructing or maintaining a road or trail without
authorization on National Forest System Lands (36CFR 261.10a).
Shortly thereafter, the illegal construction activities moved to
private land. Adam
Mehlberg and other members of the Trailridge Runners 4WD Club came onto
our property without our permission and used chain saws to widen the
trail to accommodate the large vehicles increasingly favored by the ORV
clubs. Since it was private land, it was out of the jurisdiction of the
USFS, and nobody was ever caught or charged. Mehlberg later
bragged that ORV clubs used grant money from the state of Colorado to
pay
for these activities. We immediately closed our trail by
blocking it with boulders and gates, and we posted it with signs.
These barriers were removed and our signs were torn down in May, 1999
by a group called "Hobo Jeepers" which drove 15 jeeps across our
property and spilled oil into Balarat Creek. We were unable to
get help cleaning up the spill, so we replaced the barriers and worked
with the Colorado State Forest Service to replant trees and vegetation
that had been stripped from the landscape by the ORV clubs.
The barriers were again destroyed in June, 2000 by members of the
Mile-Hi Jeep Club and Trailridge Runners who also defaced our signs and
killed scores of trees, denudng the land once again. COHVCO
defended these clubs, claiming we did not own the trail. Gene
King and other COHCVO officials came onto our property without our
permission, initiated a smear campaign against our family, and wrote
letters encouraging ORV users to continue trespassing on our
property. Gene King, the unrepentant trespasser who refuses to
recognize private property, now sits on the Colorado state board that
is responsible for awarding grant money to his friends.
Why is this group of vandals and trespassers still getting
grant money from the state of Colorado?
There is
nowhere to drive but in our stream, and nowhere for the oil to go but
into the water.
This series of photographs was taken in 1999, showing the Mile-Hi Jeep
Club's
infamous 15-jeep trespassing/vandalism run on Barking Dog Trail and oil
spill into Balarat Creek. This event ultimately led to the
complete closure of Barking Dog Trail, because the owners could not
afford to pay for restoration of the damage from this and subsequent
ORV activities by these groups.
State grant
money is not available to landowners to clean up after ORV users who
trash their property. Why not?
...because Gene King is a member of the group, and somehow he got himself onto the board that hands out the grants!
This is the same Mile-Hi Jeep Club group that spilled oil in Balarat Creek.
Mile-Hi Jeep Club leaders continue to break the rules:
"do as we say, not as we do" seems to be their motto.
But thanks to Gene King, they still get grant money!
Greg Mackey
destroys vegetation and trashes the environment at Left Hand.
Greg
Mackey, a representative of Gene King's Mile-Hi Jeep Club, continues to
demonstrate his utter contempt for
both public and private property. In this photograph, he has
taken his jacked-up vehicle off the road for the thrill of driving over
obstacles and vegetation. Landowners in the area often observe
this type of behavior by club members--sometimes on their own
property. But Mr. Mackey
has been trying to keep the Left Hand off-road area open to
four-wheeling by misrepresenting his club's activities to the U.S.
Forest Service. He has told officials that he and his fellow club
members stay on the trail and don't trespass. His actions,
documented here, tell the real story.
Links
Judge orders Ramey to pay Boslough $33,097 -- Rebukes Pettem for misrepresentation (PDF file of Dec. 5, 2007 order)
Prof. Rothman discusses Silvia Pettem's lack of qualifications (HTML file of report) (PDF file of report)
Ramey fails to produce Pettem's "phantom deed" (PDF file of Judge Whalen's Aug. 27, 2007 order)
Ramey fails to produce evidence of adverse use (PDF file of Judge Mallard's Feb 16, 2007 order)
Article that discusses Silvia Pettem's ethical lapses in Boulder County land grab attempt
OFF-ROAD CLUBS RESORT TO ANTI-LANDOWNER HARASSMENT AND VIGILANTE ACTION
MILE-HI JEEP CLUB
PHOTOGRAPHIC TOUR OF BALARAT CREEK RANCH AND BARKING DOG TRAIL (NOW CLOSED)
Balarat Creek Ranch is a family owned and operated ranch.
It is the site of the historic Boulder County town of Balarat, privately owned since 1878.
Our mission is environmental and historical preservation.
