During a packed public hearing last week, residents of the Summit Lake area urged Montezuma County commissioners to help them improve a public road leading to an isolated parcel of Bureau of Land Management land that has the interest of recreationists.

But the commission decided to table the issue for further study and to see if the BLM could offer assistance improving Road 35.6 to the 1,200 acres of public lands.

“It’s accessing their asset, so I think it behooves us to bring them into the conversation and see what they can bring to the table,” said commissioner Keenan Ertel.

The BLM is interested in installing a parking lot and access point near the corner of Roads 35.6 and N that borders public lands. According to the BLM, recreation use would be nonmotorized, focusing on dispersed equestrian and hiking use with no trail development to deter mountain biking.

The public hearing was part of an overall update of a county road map to correct minor inconsistencies and identify subdivision roads.

The map update also made determinations on which roads in the county should be red-signed as private and which roads should be green-signed, as public and typically maintained by the county.

The Summit Lake subdivisions have red-signed roads, but after researching original plats from the 1970s, county staff discovered the plats clearly state the roads were designated for public use, so they recommended the roads be changed to green-signed.

While residents did not dispute the public-access language, they did express concerns about increased traffic impacting narrow gravel roads they have paid to maintain for decades.

Jon Kelly, an attorney for Summit Lake resident Michael Just, said his client is concerned that increased traffic will cause the road to deteriorate beyond what residents can afford to repair, and more people could cause trespass issues.

“The county should step up and budget accordingly to maintain the road and not put the burden on private property owners,” he said. Posted signs indicating private property along the route to public lands would also be helpful, Kelly said.

Longtime resident Joe MacLaren said there is a concern the neighborhood’s BLM land could become dominated by mountain bikers, similar to the Phil’s World area, and that the rough roads could not handle the traffic.

“I’d suggest exploring other access points – our roads are narrow,” he said. “I understand the access to public lands, but there is not enough room for two horse trailers to get by each other as it is. Please consider what we are faced with.”

Another resident said the road would require significant upgrades to handle increased traffic, including widening, stronger road base to prevent rutting, regular graveling and blading, culverts and bar ditches.

Kevin DesPlanques lives adjacent to where the proposed parking lot would be located.

“I’m at ground zero of this situation and not excited about more traffic. I’ve spent $10,000 over the years contributing to road maintenance, and now it could go to hell in a handbasket,” he said. “More traffic usually means more crime and more trash. Archaeology sites back there could also be put at risk.”

Since the BLM announced in June that it would like to add a parking lot to improve access to the public lands south of Summit Lake, more people have been driving through the neighborhood to check it out, said another resident.

“People aren’t sure where to access the land, I’ve seen ATVs crossing private property to get to it. We’ve had vandalism. There was a person someone described as a tweaker,” she said. “With more people, we need more of a law enforcement presence.”

Larry Dozier, of Mesa Verde Backcountry Horsemen, said the group supports access to BLM land.

“We’d like to see a parking lot so we can enjoy our public lands. We’re a responsible group, and would not go in when it’s muddy, or leave trash,” he said.

Equestrian Tif Rodriquez said she has ridden in the area, but has been told by a resident that she was trespassing, “even though it is a public road leading to public lands.”

County road manager Rob Englehart said that criteria for changing to a green-signed road include that the road meets county qualifications and that it accesses public lands. Road 35.6 does not, he said.

County officials suggested they would be more willing to consider taking on long-term maintenance of Road 35.6 if it were brought up to county standards by residents. A green road provides benefits such as donated county gravel, Englehart said, though residents would have to haul it.

It was noted that some green-signed roads are not maintained by the county, or up to county standards, because they don’t serve many public users.

When asked by a member of the audience if the public could use Road 35.6 to access BLM land, the commissioners indicated it appeared they could, but only from where the road borders public land.

County attorney John Baxter wondered if the putting up the red-signed roads in the Summit Lake area was a mistake made by past county officials.

“It appears they may have been mislabeled,” he said.

jmimiaga@the-journal.com