John Reiber, the owner of mining land spanning three 14ers in the Mosquito Range, has sold about 300 acres atop Mount Democrat to The Conservation Fund, ending a thorny access issue on the popular Decalibron Trail.
But the deal does not include Reiber’s property across Mount Lincoln and he is still requiring that all hikers scan QR codes and sign liability waivers promising not to sue him if they are injured on his property. Reiber’s liability concerns have been a highlight of a statewide push to reform the Colorado Recreational Use Statute with other landowners across the state also closing access to their properties for fear of lawsuits from hikers, trail runners and anglers.
Earlier this summer, as he launched the innovative scan-and-sign liability waivers, Reiber said he would close access to the Decalibron Loop if lawmakers next year did not amend the state statute to better protect landowners from lawsuits.
The sale of Mount Democrat is a win for access. And it does not lessen the momentum of the push to reform the Colorado Recreational Use Statute, said Lloyd Athearn with the Colorado 14ers Initiative.
“There is still urgency here,” Athearn said. “People who own land where recreation occurs are freaked out. While this land purchase solves part of the problem at Decalibron Loop, it does not solve it statewide. We are still learning about all sorts of other recreation destinations where landowners are freaked out. And communities are just still understanding the ramifications of what would happen if recreational amenities that are fully or partially on private land are suddenly closed. I think legislators are realizing that, too.”
Reiber began discussions with The Conservation Fund earlier this year — before he installed signs with QR codes on his property.
He said he did consider how a sale might slow momentum for the groups calling for reform of the Colorado Recreational Use Statute.
“The focus on recreational access needs to be across all of Colorado, not just on the Decalibron Loop,” he said.
Reiber remains adamant that without reform to state law that improves protection for landowners, he will close access to Mount Lincoln and his property that traverse below the summit of Mount Bross. His family has owned those lands since the 1950s. (He acquired the Mount Democrat mining property in 2010.)
The QR code liability waiver “is a stopgap,” Reiber said.
“This was a hard decision, but now that it’s made hopefully people can recreate at least on Mount Democrat without as much stress on them and on me,” he said, applauding The Conservation Fund for working through “numerous questions and obstacles.”
“I do think most people want to respect land ownership but they also want the opportunity to enjoy these places,” he said. “Maybe we can work to make those things come together and get this change to CRUS.”
How the sale will work
The Conservation Fund plans to transfer the land to the U.S. Forest Service once it is reimbursed by the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. The plan is similar to the one the nonprofit used in acquiring and transferring Sweetwater Lake to the White River National Forest.
The Conservation Fund partnered with Park County and the Pike San Isabel National Forest to secure the deal with Reiber. The fund has been involved in almost 200 transactions with the Forest Service in 27 states, most of them involving reimbursement and support from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which uses about $900 million in annual royalties paid by off-shore energy companies to buy and protect land.
“It’s what we do,” Kelly Ingebritson, the Colorado project manager for The Conservation Fund, said, adding that “we stand ready” to work on other lands and her group supports efforts to update the Colorado Recreational Use Statute, or CRUS.
The deal includes land on Mount Democrat that accesses Mount Cameron, a 14er owned by the Forest Service. The summit of Mount Bross, which is owned by several individuals, remains closed to the public but Reiber’s land traverses just below the summit and hikers who sign liability waivers can access that portion of the Decalibron Trail.
Reiber closed access to his land accessing three 14ers in 2021, then again in March, saying his attorneys warned him he was “rolling the dice” with hikers who could sue him if they were injured on his property, which includes several old mining structures. His closure followed a hearing where Colorado lawmakers declined to forward legislation that would have amended the 1977 Colorado Recreational Use Statute to better protect landowners.
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Reiber said he was unable to secure — or afford — insurance on his property. All the liability concerns stem from a 2019 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals that affirmed a $7.3 million award for a cyclist who was injured on a washed-out trail at the U.S. Air Force Academy outside Colorado Springs in 2008. The cyclist argued the academy knew about the trail damage and failed to adequately warn recreational users about the hazard.
That decision sparked widespread liability concerns by landowners across the state. The owner of Mount Lindsay also closed access to his 14er in the San Luis Valley. The owner of land used by the Leadville 100 running and bike races also required all participants and race spectators to sign waivers this year.
The Fix CRUS Coalition has grown to a group of 39 members, including large recreation nonprofits, local governments, land trusts, businesses and 2,500 individual members. The group has highlighted Reiber’s concerns on the Decalibron Loop as an example of how communities and recreational users lose when private landowners close access for fear of lawsuits.
Hiker traffic to the popular Decalibron Loop trail that traverses the property dropped by 15,000 in 2021 when Reiber closed access, and tax revenue in nearby Alma fell 19% in June and July 2021. The Colorado Sun counted a 55% decline in spending in Alma from May through October 2021 compared with 2020, a year when the state’s highest peaks drew record numbers of hikers.
Anneliese Steel with the Fix CRUS Coalition said the group was thrilled to see access issues on Mount Democrat resolved.
“This does not deter our efforts,” Steel said. “The reason John sold was liability concerns. He still owns Lincoln and the connection on Bross. This has never been about one landowner. This is much bigger than these 14ers and we are going to charge ahead. We have a very strong coalition and high hopes for 2024.”