Rep. Matthew Martinez, an Alamosa Democrat, speaks at the Colorado Capitol on Jan. 24, 2025. (Sara Wilson/Colorado Newsline)
The Colorado House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that would reign in expansion of a controversial fence in the San Luis Valley that locals say is an environmentally damaging infringement on their land access rights.
The chamber passed House Bill 25-1023 on a 45-19 vote that was mostly party-line. Republican Reps. Carlos Barron of Fort Lupton, Matt Soper of Delta and Rick Taggard of Grand Junction joined Democrats in voting in favor of the bill.
“This is not just a private property rights issue, but the land grantees also have rights associated with this. The counties have tried to get their hands wrapped around this and have been unsuccessful, so that’s why we’re bringing this bill forward,” bill sponsor Rep. Matthew Martinez, a Democrat from Alamosa, said.
Martinez ran the bill with Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, a Denver Democrat.
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It would require land owners to submit an application to their local government for large fencing projects that are at least 5 feet high and one mile long on Sangre de Cristo Land Grant properties. This would mostly apply to Costilla County.
Local governments could approve or deny a project based on the reason for the fence and how it would impact wildlife, ecosystem health and the local community.
The bill’s goal is to halt construction of an 8-foot-tall fence on the Cielo Vista Ranch, which locals estimate is over 20 miles long and is nearly impossible for most wildlife to cross to access water sources and follow migration patterns.
“Wildlife herds are being separated and trapped in and outside of the property because of how high the fence is,” Martinez said during the bill’s House committee hearing earlier this week. “There’s erosion that’s causing new flood plains, sediment deposits in irrigation ditches and flooding out houses of locals.”
The ranch, which locals call La Sierra, sits on the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant. The land grant offers communal rights to graze livestock, hunt, fish, conduct religious ceremonies and gather firewood for descendants of Mexican settlers in the area. Courts have recognized an easement on the property because of its lengthy community use.
The ranch is owned by Texas billionaire William Harrison. He has previously said that the fence is necessary to keep out trespassers and contain his herd of bison. Locals also have keys to get onto the land through some gates in the fence.
But retired physician Joseph Quintana called the fence construction a “four-year nightmare.”
“I am witness to the changing wildlife migration patterns, as the fence now forces animals to cross through my property to access water. The community is horrified and heartbroken by what the fence is doing to the wildlife. We are baffled that the ranch owner does not see what is so obvious to everyone else,” he said.
The bill, if passed, would go into effect July 1 and wouldn’t apply retroactively to already-constructed portions of the fence.
Neither Harrison nor a representative for the ranch spoke during the committee hearing.
Attorney General Phil Weiser, a Democrat, testified in support of the bill and called the fence a “wire grid” similar to one at a prison. Animals cannot get through the small gaps in the wires or jump over the top.
He said that because the property is subject to an easement and the fence is creating a nuisance, it is appropriate for the government to step in with legislation like HB-1023.
“This bill is not about limiting property rights for quiet enjoyment, for what is true private property. This is a different sort of situation, and it is about how different groups can live together in harmony,” he said.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where it is sponsored by Sen. Cleave Simpson, an Alamosa Republican, and Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat.
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