Barbed-wire is stretched across the top of the fence. It lines the bottom of the fence, just above the ground, for miles. Fence posts pockmark the land. The fence itself is wrought tight along the border between ranch, private property, and open land, creating an enclosure aimed to keep animals in and people out.
“It’s the vanity project of a billionaire to show off his prized possession. Why buy a $500 million yacht when a $10 million one would do the job? Because you can show off your wealth. It’s a way to show off,” said Joseph Quintana, a member of the La Sierra Environmental Guardians Committee. They’ve been fighting for more regulation on a fence that has been constructed along miles of the Cielo Vista Ranch’s boundary in Costilla County since 2021.
Fence construction has encroached on residents’ land, often occurring without their consent, permission, or consideration. Locals have also witnessed wildlife being unable to cross – such as a turkey that was unable to fit between the grid of squares at the bottom of the fence and walked back and forth endlessly, confused.
Doe deer were seen separated from their fawns at the deer jumps. Unable to bring them across, the doe deer were forced to jump back into the boundary and try to cross somewhere else.
For the better part of the past three years, Cielo Vista Ranch’s owner, Texas billionaire William Harrison, has contracted construction of miles of this fence. The ranch’s 88,000 acres has a 60-mile boundary. Best estimates put the already-constructed fence at 20 miles. During a recent trip to see the fence, The Citizen viewed miles and miles of the fence. The construction has cut into the watershed of the area to a degree that the Colorado Department of Health and Environment has said they are investigating it.
The fence itself is miles long and miles apart. Entire already-constructed sections are not contiguous. Some neighbors are boxed in and boxed out. Stretches of county roads are the only break between the ranch’s property lines. Sections of hills have been shaved away to make way for the fence on steep hills that roll through the cañones.
A moratorium put in place by the Costilla County Commissioners in September 2023 was designed to halt construction. The moratorium, which prohibits construction of any fences over five feet in height, was put into place to prevent any further construction of the fence surrounding the Cielo Vista Ranch. However, the moratorium was ignored by the ranch; 12th Judicial District Court Judge Crista Newmyer-Olsen issued a ruling in October 2023 to halt construction entirely.
According to the La Sierra Environmental Guardians Committee, not a single strand of fence has been put up since that order.
During the latest commissioners meeting on Tuesday, March 5, the moratorium was extended by six months to Sept. 5, 2024. Costilla County Planning and Zoning forwarded its recommendation to extend it with the purpose of using the six months to research how to implement a fencing regulation in the county’s regular land use codes. There would be exemptions, such as fencing around water treatment facilities, electric equipment, and certain agriculture operations.
The Cielo Vista Ranch would not be an exception.
The members of the committee and many residents of San Luis, San Francisco, San Pablo, and Chama aren’t denying Harrison’s right to build a fence, although many would like to see the fence torn down to the last strand of wire. The issue stems not from the act of fencing, but the design of the fence itself. The miles of erected fence will have profound consequences on the watershed and the wildlife, and residents’ historic rights to access the land. They fear these consequences are occurring right before their eyes.
Harrison and his ranch manager, Carlos DeLeon, have stated that the main reason for the fence is to keep Cielo Vista Ranch’s inventory of 60 or so buffalo within the 88,000 acres. Intentionally or not, it is keeping every animal within the ranch, especially trophy elk. Harrison has created an enclosure that will keep more than just his buffalo inside. Seemingly, he’s creating a private hunting club in the shadow of one of the only privately-owned 14,000-foot mountains in the world, Culebra Peak.
The residents of San Luis, and especially the committee, find the buffalo excuse to be far from rational.
“There is no rational purpose for such a fence,” Quintana said. “It’s a fence that’s going to cost between five and 10 million dollars. There is no rational purpose. He says it’s to keep his bison in the ranch. He has 60 bison, but it’s an 88,000-acre ranch. The problem is that’s not a rational enough purpose for the risks. … There’s no rational purpose for that kind of fence. The risks way outweigh any benefits from that fence. The fence costs us so much damage. It’s going to, if it’s completed, the wildlife won’t be able to get out of the ranch, so therefore it’ll interfere with hunters’ ability to hunt.”
Elk and deer moved freely from private land to public land, giving hunters more of a fair shot to hunt. Many residents of Costilla County hunt for sustenance. They require a successful elk hunt to be able to provide for themselves and their community. Quintana said for the first time in his life, he saw a herd of elk on his property – which he says, during his life living on that land, has never happened.
A public meeting is set for March 19 with the Costilla County Commissioners to discuss Cielo Vista Ranch’s motion to appeal notices of violations and request that the fence be deemed “nonconforming” and allow construction to continue under that use after the injunction in court is resolved, or otherwise. The ranch will be making the case for the county to allow it to continue construction of the high fence.
Nobody expected such incredible nonsense
Joseph Quintana
During the commissioners’ meeting, residents wondered why the Division of Wildlife and Colorado Parks and Wildlife were nowhere to be seen. Costilla County chief administrative officer Ben Doon said the county had expressed concerns with CPW, but only received a packet about “Fencing with Wildlife in Mind.” It’s a 40-page document that shows the best fencing practices to mitigate animal endangerment and maintain livestock. None of it is seemingly enforceable by the state. It’s simply a suggestion to avoid problems in the future. A lot of the fencing recommendations are simple and effective, and far from eight feet high. The fence along the Cielo Vista Ranch’s border seems to have avoided any of the recommendations entirely.
The Citizen first reached out to Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s southwest public information officer, John Livingston, in this earlier story. Livingston’s reply was also to cite the CPW packet about “Fencing with Wildlife in Mind.” For this story, The Citizen reached out to statewide public information officer Joseph Livingston in an attempt to get a state-level response to the La Sierra Environmental Guardians Committee’s allegations. Livingston said in his email that he would defer The Citizen’s request for comment back to John Livingston in the Southwest region. At the time of writing, The Citizen has not received any new or renewed comments from CPW.
At a first glance, it just seems like the fence follows the roads and property lines. It does, even in the steepest terrain. Crews have moved bulldozers in and cleared 20-foot-wide paths of earth on angles of hills that exceed 45 degrees. Steep grades of 50 to 100 percent on hills that haven’t been touched by a diesel machine since they were carved by the creeks have now taken on the distinct look of a powerline project or a ski resort.
“No regard for the steepest of slopes,” Quintana said. “They’re just up and down for miles and miles going north.”
In the rolling hills that hide away arroyos, the dirt below the fence is eroding. Runoff has brought sediment to places down low from the hills and high up from the Culebra mountain range.
Besides erosion and its effects, the committee and the residents are concerned with what kind of pollutants are being brought by the sediment runoff. Sediment pollution can create problems for animals and humans, such as bringing heavy metals and dangerous chemicals, like arsenic, to the surface. The guardians committee called on the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to investigate the effects that runoff might have.
There’s no rational purpose for that kind of fence. The risks way outweigh any benefits from that fence. The fence costs us so much damage.
Joseph Quintana
John Michael, marketing and communication specialist for CDPHE’s Water Quality Control Division, said in an emailed statement to The Citizen, “CDPHE received a copy of La Sierra Environmental Guardian Committee’s letter outlining their concerns with development occurring at Cielo Vista Ranch in Costilla County and is investigating claims regarding alleged impacts to state waters.”
“Per state law,” Michael continues, “construction activities that disturb one acre or greater must apply for and obtain permit coverage under Colorado’s stormwater permitting requirements. The primary requirement of the Colorado Discharge Permit System for stormwater discharges associated with construction activity is to control the discharge of sediment and other pollutants from the site and to develop and implement a stormwater management plan. The permit also includes other terms and conditions for managing and inspecting construction activities, controlling pollutants, protecting water quality, record keeping, and reporting.
“The division is currently evaluating this activity to determine if it meets the conditions for requiring a permit. If a permit is required, the division will take steps to seek compliance with the requirements to obtain and comply with the permit.”
In some places, the fence completely separates the land from the water. Places that animals would know are the best crossings to get to the Culebra, San Francisco, or Vallejo creeks are now separated by a fence without a way for anything to cross or go around without traveling miles. Without a deer jump for miles at a time, you’re left wondering: what are the animals supposed to do?
The 3-inch grid at the bottom of the fence clearly won’t let anything in or out.
“The only thing that could make it out is a mouse or a squirrel,” Quintana said.
There are deer jumps cut out of the fence in certain sections, but there is no rhyme or reason to their placement. Deer fawns and elk calves, and smaller animals like porcupines, rabbits, and coyotes are not any better off. The cutout sections are still four feet off the ground.
Their best option for crossing are at some arroyos where the fence had to be built across the top or where land use holders can access the ranch at one of nine gates. But even those are miles apart. Animals who had their migration routes disrupted by an impenetrable fence are now forced to travel out of their territory.
The San Francisco Catholic Cemetery, which abuts the ranch, is now almost entirely boxed in by the fence.
“Nobody expected such incredible nonsense,” Quintana said.
The committee’s fight will continue as the County Commissioners and the Cielo Vista Ranch head to a potential trial in October. Judge Kimberly Cortez gave both sides an opportunity to resolve the dispute in August.
Shirley Romero-Otero, who has been fighting to maintain access to the land for decades and is on the La Sierra Environmental Guardians Committee, said in the commissioners meeting on Tuesday that whether a resolution happens in August or the trial commences in October, “We’re in it for the long haul. At the end of the day, we want that fence down.”