Larimer County officials hope to broker a compromise in a dispute between rural property owners and anglers sparring about access to the Big Thompson River through land washed over by a deadly 1976 canyon flood.
At issue are 17 unbuildable parcels the county owns but wants to relinquish in the Hayden subdivision in Drake. But a proposal to sell the lots — all under an acre in size — is not setting well with those who fish the Big Thompson and want access to the river.
They fear private owners will buy up the parcels and seal off public access to that portion of the river, which has been used by the public for decades.
“This is public property, and it’s been this way since 1977,” said Walt Graul, an angler and a retired assistant director of the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
Gib Dunning, however, said anglers can access the river from nearby U.S. 34 and don’t need to walk across his property to get to prime fishing waters. He said he hopes to buy the easement next to the land he has owned since 1981.
“I wish I could talk to these fishermen and ask them what is the benefit of having the easement here,” Dunning said. “It just doesn’t make any sense.”
The Larimer County Parks Advisory Board will consider at least six compromises tonight and issue a recommendation to county commissioners, who will make the final decision.
“Hopefully, we can satisfy a majority of the concerns,” said Gary Buffington, the county’s director of natural resources.
The Big Thompson Canyon flood of July 31, 1976, killed 144 people and wiped out hundreds of homes. A year later, the county used federal funds to buy 153 parcels of land washed over by the flood where homes could no longer be built.
But Larimer officials came to realize the county could no longer maintain the hodgepodge of lots.
“It really is a patchwork throughout the canyon,” Buffington said.
Some of the parcels are in the middle of the river, others next door to a landowner, he said. The county began selling the parcels in 2005, and about six have either been sold to an adjacent property owner or put up for public auction, Buffington said.
The parcels in the Hayden subdivision are in a dispute because of their proximity to private property owners and the river, he said.
“We are working to strike that balance between the public and the private concerns,” Buffington said.
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
