Gov. Jared Polis showed up in San Luis on Tuesday to sign legislation inspired by the 8-foot tall fence that had been going up around Cielo Vista Ranch, and then popped into Frosty Acres Rolled Ice Cream in Alamosa to get a briefing from local farmers on the state of agriculture in the San Luis Valley.
Ice cream in hand, of course.
He ended his day at the Valley-Wide Family Medical Center to sign more legislation, this one HB25-1288, which supports federally qualified health centers.
In San Luis, with dozens of townspeople watching on, the governor evoked a 2002 court ruling that restored community access to the land which is known locally as “La Sierra.” State Rep. Matthew Martinez said it was an “honor of my life” to sponsor the legislation and shepherd it through the Colorado Legislature with the support of State Sen. Cleave Simpson of Alamosa.
Both Martinez and Simpson were on hand for the signing ceremony.
“You shouldn’t have to fight for that right because that is your right and this bill will help,” Polis said. “It can’t solve everything with one bill, but of course the current owner has been engaged in the practice of creating fences and barriers that has made your access much less convenient.
“I also want to add the fences have also hurt the people of Colorado because it’s hurt a state asset, our wildlife. It has hurt migration corridors. . .it has hurt the ability of animals to access their normal areas.”
The Cielo Vista Ranch fence is incomplete and on hold while Costilla County commissioners and William Harrison, owner of the ranch, attempt to work out an agreement on the design of the fence. The legislation signed by Polis allows local governments to have more control over fences proposed on private properties.
Polis said his goal would be to have the state do with La Sierra what Colorado did with Fisher’s Peak near Trinidad, which is to turn the historic lands into a state park so the public has full access.
In Alamosa, the governor met with potato growers Jeff McCullough and Tyler Mitchell and cattle rancher George Whitten. He heard about ongoing challenges with the aquifers of the Upper Rio Grande Basin due to the lack of consistent snow in the high country to feed into the rivers and streams.
He also heard about year-round labor challenges farmers face, and how the idea of higher tariffs set at the federal level add another layer of uncertainty.
Then the conversation turned to wolves. The state’s wolf activity map in April had tracked a wolf into northern Saguache County of the Rio Grande Drainage. The next update from the state on the movement of wolves released back into Colorado will come out Wednesday, May 28.
Whitten told Polis that the report of a wolf sighting really is what’s keeping cattle ranchers up at night.
“People are just anxious about it. It’s one of those things that is something that is unknown and something that is new and you’ve got all this fear,” Whitten said. “But they’re here and we’re going to learn more, but that’s the new reality.
“Certainly how you handle your livestock at home has a lot to do with how susceptible they’re going to be when that wolf shows up. If you have cattle that are fearful and run away, then the wolf is going to pursue and chase. If they turn around and face the wolf, then the wolf is going to go find something else.”