The long road to protection is at last nearing the end for the Ansel Hall Pueblo.

The ruins-rich property just outside of Montezuma County has been the subject of long-standing negotiations between owners Bill and Merrie Winkler, the Bureau of Land Management and the Wilderness Land Trust. After ten years, Bill Winkler expects to close on the sale to the trust within the next few months.

Ansel Hall Pueblo is a 40-acre tract lying adjacent to BLM property, and has been in the Winkler family for 54 years. The Pueblo III site is named for the late Ansel Hall, Merrie Winkler’s father. Although not formally trained as an archaeolgist, Hall was deeply involved in the early National Parks systems, and pioneered educational and conservation programs. He also founded and headed up the Rainbow Bridge-Monument Valley Expedition in 1933, and led several field schools. At his death in 1962, he was president and manager of concessions at Mesa Verde National Park under the auspices of what was then known as the Mesa Verde Company.

His namesake site is significant to the archaeoogical record, and contains Chacoan and Mesa Verde style items, along with a great kiva. Although it saw field work in the late 1940s, the site has yet to be fully excavated.

The Winklers began scouting for some means of protection after the site fell under the scrutiny of the proposed Anasazi National Monument about a decade ago. While this proposal failed, it brought unwelcome exposure to the Ansel Hall Pueblo, which then experienced trespassing and looting.

Initially, the Winklers had approached the BLM and were offered an exchange option through which they could give up their land and be compensated with 40 acres of comparable BLM property.

Matters became "tangled up" in governmental details. But, because the Ansel Hall site is near a wilderness study area, a non-profit organization known as the Wilderness Land Trust became aware of the matter approximately two years ago.

The purpose of the Wildness Land Trust, begun in 1992 by real estate attorney John Mulford of Carbondale, is to acquire private land in order to preserve it and to limit development. Funded by private and foundation contributions, the group seeks out suitable stewards for acquired land, and either sells or donates it to those stewards.

The trust, under the auspices of Mark Pearson of its Durango division, agreed to purchase the land from the Winklers. It worked closely with Bill and Merrie Winkler and other agencies, including the Colorado Historical Society, from which it obtained a matching grant. This grant helps cover the costs of acquisition, costs associated with appraisals and title work, and an interpretive report of the site, which the trust will prepare.

According to Pearson, the BLM "will be the ultimate steward." This agency is, he said, "the best long-term manager who can care for it in perpetuity." He added that the reason the site is "so appealing for public ownership is that the Winklers have done a superb job of stewardship for many decades."

The BLM will purchase Ansel Hall Pueblo with Land and Water Conservation Fund moneys, Pearson said. He explained that this money comes from offshore gas and oil drilling, and that 35 years ago, Congress made the decision to funnel some of the profits back into protecting land and resources.

The intended sale has encountered many problems, and these have delayed its completion. Pearson cited access and easement problems, such as an unexpected debacle concerning Dolores County Road S.

The last 1/4 mile of this road was technically not a county road at all, as it had never been dedicated by the landowners to Dolores County, which had maintained it for over 50 years.

"Unexpected surprises like that have slowed us down," Pearson said. Even so, he expects the details to be finalized by the end of this summer.

As for Bill Winkler, he is simply hopeful that, at last, the sale will go through. However, he is deeply concerned that others will see what is the sale of private property by private individuals as a "federal land grab."

Additionally, he stressed that the site has nothing to do with the current national monument proposal. His fear is that, if a monument status should be declared for western Montezuma County, people will "jump to conclusions that the government is buying up property, and that’s not the case."