|
||||
|
Feb. 24, 2001 By Janelle Holden Building a home less than 100 feet outside of her property line will be an expensive error to fix for Mancos resident Susan Joshua. In 1997, Joshua and her husband mistakenly built an approximately 400-square foot house and root cellar on Bureau of Land Management land adjacent to the 70 acres Joshua owns in Weber Canyon. Now the couple will likely pay up to $20,000 to relocate the house and rehabilitate close to an acre of land within the Weber Mountain Wilderness Study Area. "Our plan is to work with them to give them the rest of the summer to tear this thing down, rehabilitate, and rebuild on their property," explained Clyde Johnson, a BLM realty specialist based in Durango. "It’s the kind of deal where you can’t pick the house up and drive it over to another site. I think it’s got a concrete foundation." According to Johnson, the land has been surveyed, but because of a misunderstanding between the former owner and Joshua, the couple was unaware the house was built on public land until they spotted the brass caps on the property that marked the BLM corners. Joshua then notified the BLM in the fall of 1999 of a possible error. Although the trespass is not considered "adversarial," the BLM has given Joshua an April 10 deadline to submit a schedule for the home’s removal and reclamation of the land, or propose a land exchange in writing. Either way, Susan Joshua will be responsible for an estimated $1,300 to $1,500 in back rent and the time it took for BLM staff to process the trespass. Although it is theoretically possible that Joshua could pursue a land swap, Johnson said it’s not likely. The couple would have to put up a minimum of $12,000 to begin the possibly unsuccessful exchange which typically takes one or two years to complete. "Our past experience with wilderness interests would discourage any sort of surface disturbing (or occupancy) activity in Wilderness Study Areas," a Feb. 1 letter to Joshua from BLM field manager Cal Joyner explained. "Even grandfathered uses of oil and gas leasing in WSAs have come under close scrutiny and opposition from our wilderness interests. Some court cases have also restricted what can be authorized in WSAs." Because the area is being studied for wilderness, Johnson predicted a land exchange would be highly controversial and likely to fail. "Not only is it your common, everyday, interested public who will comment on what’s going on on public lands, but we would make a special mailing to several — 15 or 20 — interest groups related to wilderness study areas in the state of Colorado. And It’s our expectation that these folks would just fry these people for trespassing on public land. It would not be the least bit a passive response." Johnson also said these types of trespasses are not uncommon. Joshua is currently working outside of the area and could not be reached for comment. |
||||
|
Copyright © 2001 the Cortez Journal.
All rights reserved. |
