A famed but controversial motorcycle rally may be moving to Montezuma County.

On Monday, the president of the Four Corners Iron Horse Motorcycle Rally board approached the county commission regarding the possibility of moving the popular event to the county fairgrounds beginning in 2002.

Citing inadequate facilities at the event’s current venue in Ignacio, Warren "Easy" Bernard requested use of the fairgrounds as a potential alternative for the 10th annual gathering, which last year attracted 30,000 leather-clad motorcycle enthusiasts.

"We wanted to open up the lines of communication to this county about having it here because the situation in Ignacio has become topsy-turvy," Bernard said.

The annual rally has become more and more controversial because of the increased traffic, noise, and crime that it brings to host communities and those nearby. Opposition to the event culminated last year when La Plata County Sheriff Duke Schirard lambasted the event as marred by drug sales, drug and alcohol abuse, wanton nudity, public sex acts and violence.

The event, which brings with it hundreds of volunteers and private security to help organize events and create order, stretches local law-enforcement agencies to the limit.

Last year, five bikers participating in the rally were killed in traffic-related accidents during the event and more than the usual of amount of DUIs were issued.

In 1997 a woman attending the rally was murdered by a companion at a campsite north of Durango.

But supporters of the event point to the increases sales taxes it brings to local governments and the shot in the arm it provides area businesses, including restaurants, hotels, gas stations, and retail stores.

Rally organizers estimate that the events pumps $13.5 million into local economies that stretch from Farmington to Cortez to Durango and Pagosa Springs. Reportedly, $50,000 was raised for charities last year through the rally, and in the last seven years $400,000 has been donated to local non-profit groups and motorcycle-rights organizations.

Last year the rally was honored with an Outstanding Contribution to the Community Award by the Durango Area Chamber Resort Association.

Bernard told the commissioners that the incidents of illegal activity have been exaggerated and that most of the problems come from locals attending the event, not persons that travel from other places to attend.

"Even Duke admitted at a meeting afterward that there was some exaggeration," he said. "Most of the trouble is from non-bikers who just come to party. Last year it went smoothly, regardless of what Duke said."

The event is often attended and always supported by U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, (R-Colo.), himself a Harley-Davidson aficionado and ardent opponent of laws that would require motorcyclists to wear helmets.

The Ignacio town board vowed in October not to oppose the event, and the Southern Ute Tribe previously agreed with rally organizers to keep it at the Sky Ute Events Center in Ignacio through 2005. Apparently, however, that agreement is not ironclad.

Bernard said the event’s organizers and participants have their eye on the more spacious Montezuma County Fairgrounds for future rallies. He cited the 80 acres of open space, its more direct access to a major highway, an on-site race track and its relative isolation from Cortez as reasons for looking into the possibility.

"Your facility would handle the event very nicely because it is much more conducive," he said. "(In Ignacio) we have just run out of room."

The commissioners did not support or oppose the possibility. Commissioner Gene Story said that the fairgrounds facility is potentially available to any group that wants to use it, as long as "certain standards are met." The commission emphasized that many issues involving a multitude of entities would have to be dealt with and involved before it could happen.

"We do not want to discourage you, but there are many issues that will surface, especially whether our limited law-enforcement capability could handle such a large event," said Commissioner Gene Story. "The ball is in your court on this."

Bernard wants to announce to the public by July 2001 whether the event will move to Montezuma County in 2002 . Before that happens, he plans to set up meetings with local law-enforcement agencies.

"We do not want trouble with law enforcement," he said. "A lot of these people (rally participants) look intimidating, but they really just want to be left alone to enjoy the event. The last thing they want is trouble with the law. Despite what Duke said, the event last year went smoothly and it is always a big economic boost for communities."