The U.S. Forest Service says that every year, a half-million people climb one or more of Colorado’s peaks over 14,000 feet in elevation.
Most of the state’s 54 fourteeners are on federal land, so the hiking and climbing is usually legal. But eight are partly or wholly on private property, and in recent years public access has been closed or restricted on five of them. Their status needs to be clarified – outdoor recreation is key to the Colorado way of life, so it’s in the state’s interest to encourage landowners to allow hikers on the peaks.
A legislative committee has unanimously supported House Bill 1049, which could reopen public hiking on three of the peaks. The bill enjoys strong bipartisan support: Its main champion is Rep. Rob Witwer, R-Jefferson County, and its Senate sponsor is Dan Grossman, D-Denver.
State law usually protects property owners who allow public recreation access to their land. But the law doesn’t clearly shield them from liability regarding the thousands of abandoned mines in Colorado’s high country.
It’s impossible for private landowners (or even government agencies) to close off every possible old mine hazard, so in Park County, property owners now bar public access to the popular fourteeners Lincoln, Democrat and Bross. HB 1049 would solve the problem by expressly protecting landowners from lawsuits if hikers get hurt in the historic mines.
Witwer’s measure – backed by a broad coalition of recreation and property rights groups – passed the House agriculture committee this week 11-0. We urge the full House to give its approval and then pass the measure to the Senate.
