Imagine the place you feel most comfortable in, the place you call home. Now imagine that place altered overnight.
For over one hundred years, people have walked and traveled by horse, wagon and car, the road called Main Street. From the west edge of our community, Kingston, New Mexico, that road, which predates the Gila National Forest set aside in 1905 and even Sierra County, founded in 1884, leads deep within the National Forest until 3 miles further in, one reaches the Aldo Leopold Wilderness boundary.
That road, Forest Road 40E, has seen miners and merchants, visitors and residents, horses and trucks. The land is rich in history. The mountains and canyons nearby are full of stories, old and new. Middle Percha Creek has flowed hard in flood and at times disappeared beneath the sandy bottom.
Generations have called Kingston home. Now, less than a year ago, one spiteful man with lots of money, bought an old mining claim with the road to our wilds running through it. Our community and the US Forest Service seem to have always thought that there was an easement to always allow access, access for hiking, hunting, woodcutting and fighting fires.
In a spiteful action, he has locked the gate and posted a NO TRESPASSING sign. One man allowed to deny what generations of people have enjoyed as an unspoken right: access to the wild public lands that surround our town. He traveled the road many times before he bought the land and so was completely aware that the property had a public land access road.
Currently we are planning to celebrate the Gila Wilderness Centennial in March 2024 here in Kingston and Hillsboro. But NOW, we can’t even reach the wilderness area to respect and enjoy those public lands without driving 8 miles and then hiking 4 miles further. Much of the draw to Kingston for people is the close proximity of the National Forest and the Wilderness area. Now that is gone.
We are appealing to the US Forest Service who has the ability and power to correct this issue. They also have a good deal of time invested in maintaining the road for decades and as recently as 2017, spent the time to install a parking area at the relocated Ladrone Trailhead. They are also currently involved in restoring the Ladrone Trail which was heavily damaged in the 2013 Silver Fire flooding.
One man who smirks with his bought power should not be allowed to sever our long standing ties to the forest. The precedent to allow this to happen and to stand, is wrong and dangerous to all public lands surrounded by private ownership. Gates and locks will sever the forest from US Forest Service management control and we the public, will lose access while the fortunate few enjoy the forests and wild lands locked behind their gates.
We are asking the US Forest Service to put their legal might behind the effort needed to open this gate and to correct this problem permanently throughout our public lands. Nature is part of our community not a commodity to be bought and hoarded miserly.
We are also asking anyone who loves the National Forest, loves the Wilderness areas and has experiences out in those wild lands, to write an email letter telling your story. There are thousands of stories out there needing to be told about the Gila National Forest and the 3 wildernesses found within. Please express your outrage at losing access to your public lands to the US Forest Service and your government representatives
To the US Forest Service we say please, work hard and fast to open this gate and all gates for the people who need nature in their lives. This is not a moment to be nonchalant. This is the moment to say no, this is wrong and we will persist until the problem is in the past. If we all express ourselves and share our stories, we can cause needed change. Please write.
CONTACTS
Camille Howes – Gila National Forest Supervisor Camille.Howes@usda.gov
Michiko Martin – Region 3 Regional Forester Michiko.Martin@usda.gov
US Senator Martin Heinrich www.heinrich.senate.gov
US Senator Ben Ray Lujan www.lujan.senate.gov
US Representative Gabe Vasquez www.vasquez.house.gov
Steve — thank you for posting the emails of those who can impact the decision to unlock the wilderness that’s been unfairly snatched from us. I urge others to also use your voice to express the outrage we should all feel and avoid letting this situation become a precedent for any future similar actions.
Wow
Great article
Thank you🙏🏼
Please open up the access road to the public as we all need to share in the beauty of our wilderness.
It would be interesting to know the name of the owner, why has this not been reveled? Social pressure is powerful. It is also handy to know of any political/local connections. Has anyone approached Mr. Bar2 who bought the Boy Scout camp? He has a lot of pull in the county. Form a group, donate to a legal fund . . . take action if the forest service wimps out. See it as an opportunity to bring the community together. This is only one thing coming at us these days that will require people talking to each other and organizing for their self interest and protection.
There is a legal principal entitled, “Prescriptive Right”, which can apply in cases like this.
I hope, and assume, that someone has contacted an attorney familiar with land and property issues in order to become informed about the legal ramifications of this unfortunate situation.
Please keep us informed about any progress on this situation.
Thank you for your information.
For those of you who tried to click on the email addresses at the end of Mr. Morgan’s article, please copy and paste. They all came up ‘error’ when I tried to simply click on them. Worth the time and effort. We MUST get this forest road opened for the enjoyment of all.
Thank you for this article Steve! I will do my part to submit letters to get that gate unlocked. I’ve enjoyed so many beautiful walks, hikes and mtb rides along and on that road. What a terrible thing this man has done to his own community!
High Country News has been reporting similar actions blocking the public’s access to rivers by private land owners who own or lease around it and fence it off to the public. It’s all very disturbing.
Can you be a bit more specific on the trail’s location? Not sure I know where it is on the map. Thanks
I believe they are referring to West Main Street
I know exactly how this feels. Some individual or entity put a gate up on the back side of the river. Thus no longer allowing me access to areas I have visited since I was a kid. It really stinks. Hope the forest service will listen to the public concerns.
We live next door to the Kingston home of the people who locked the gate. They quit acknowledging our presence when we had a Biden for president sign in our yard and they had a Trump sign in theirs. They think they are patriots and Democrats are criminals. Additional in a Deming newspaper article the folks here who are protesting the road closure were called criminals by the man who closed it. Actually it is the other way around.
I went recently to go to my favorite place to camp. Like many of you, this part of the National Forest is a real gem. I did not realize one could not access the road which leads to the National Forest. I assumed the owner forgot to leave the gate open. Not the case as it turns out. I felt sad and angry. I had driven two and half hours to only find a locked gate.
I believe the owner knew very well what he was doing when he bought this property. Maybe some feel powerful to swindle people out of their joy. To control and be right no matter what. I feel sad for the owner. After all, he only wanted to do the right thing. Have a nice day.