A sign to the Chris Park group campground.welcomes visitors earlier this week. Public land directly adjacent to Chris Park and nearby Haviland Lake would be privatized and used for homes and a golf course under a land swap being proposed by Tamarron Resort./Photo by David Halterman.

by Will Sands

Strong emotions are swirling around a pitch to replace a popular recreation area with nine holes of exclusive golf. The Glacier Club at Tamarron has proposed developing a portion of the Haviland Lake Recreation Area in exchange for two other parcels high on the Forest Service’s wish list. The agency recently deemed the proposal to be worthy of study and launched a public comment period. Numerous citizens and conservation groups are already coming out against the proposed swap.

Western Land Group, a Denver-based group specializing in facilitating public and nonprofit land transactions, has approached the Forest Service on behalf of the Glacier Club. The resort has secured options to purchase two 160-acre parcels that represent the only private inholdings remaining in the Hermosa Creek Roadless Area. One is located near the Hermosa Creek trailhead and the other sits high above the Animas River Valley at Mitchell Lakes. Speaking to the significance of the parcels, Cindy Hockelberg, lands forester with the Columbine Ranger District, commented, “These are parcels we’ve wanted to acquire for 20 years. They have strong natural attributes, and both are in danger of development.”

The agency has made several attempts to purchase the Hermosa Park and Mitchell Lakes pieces. However, the appraisal process and budget issues have prevented the Forest Service from being able to bring enough money to the table.

“We have made attempts to purchase those parcels, and we came up with what we considered to be fair market value.” Hockelberg said. “The owners declined. According to the process, we can only pay according to the ‘highest and best use’ of that land. We have never been close to what the property owners feel is the actual value.”

Tamarron hopes to help the Forest Service acquire the land in a more roundabout way. The Glacier Club has requested 265 acres north of the existing resort and currently inside the Haviland Lake Recreation Area near Chris Park. The acreage would be divided into homesites and another nine holes of golf would be built, bringing the resort’s total to 36 holes. Tim Wohlgenant, of the Western Land Group, explained that Tamarron listened to early opposition to the proposal and has scaled back the development plans. He said the 265 acres represents a significant drop from the golf community’s original request of 320 acres.

“The Glacier Club group has significantly scaled back the size of the parcel to address some of the concerns that the Forest Service was hearing,” he said. “The new request is smaller and also impacts the existing trails considerably less.”

In addition, new residential construction on the property would not boost the development’s overall density. “The Glacier Club already has a certain density approved by the county, and the new development would represent no increase in that,” Wohlgenant added. “Still, the Forest Service has a lot of concerns. Tamarron has taken a hard look at them and tried to address them up front before we enter the public process.”

Although the Glacier Club has modified its proposal and tried to lighten impacts, opposition is already coming out of the woodwork. Many people and groups are continuing to voice their desire to see the area south of Haviland Lake remain in public hands. In addition, a group, Save the Haviland Lake Recreation Area, has formed and now boasts a 200-person mailing list. Richard Robinson, the group’s founder, pointed to the existing use, saying that large numbers of people already use the parcel in question for hiking, cross-country skiing, bird watching and other activities.

“The Haviland Lake area is used very heavily for recreation by people from Durango but also by people from Farmington, Albuquerque and places as far away as Illinois,” Robinson said. “One of the most important things is that it’s accessible year round. Even on the snowiest day you can recreate. Whereas, the other two (Hermosa) parcels are not accessible in the winter and hard to get to in the summer.”

Kitty Benzar, an Electra Lake resident, agreed that Haviland Lake’s top attribute is its accessibility. Not only is the recreation area easy to get to, but it is open to a variety of uses, she added.

“It’s right off the highway, and you can be in remote country quickly,” Benzar said. “Haviland Lake is also multiple-use defined. There’s mountain biking, hiking and camping. It’s almost like an urban park but in a rural setting.”

A golf cart crossing sign is posted alongside a road at Tamarron Resort, north of Durango. The resort is proposing a swap with the Forest Service that would add another nine holes to the course./Photo by David Halterman.

Like most opponents of the exchange, Benzar and Robinson do not object to the Forest Service acquiring the Mitchell Lakes and Hermosa Park parcels. However, they question if 265 easily accessed acres in Haviland are a fair exchange for 320 relatively remote acres.

“I have nothing against the Forest Service acquiring those two inholdings,” Benzar said. “I think they should eventually, but I just don’t think it’s a fair exchange.”

Robinson echoed Benzar, saying, “Are we going to get two remote areas that have cattle all over them and are damaged by off-road vehicles or should we keep an area where once you get away from the highway, you can no longer see the signs of man.”

Individuals are not the only ones turning hard eyes on the proposed land swap. Several organizations have developed a keen interest in it and are also preparing their objections.

Chris Paulson, of the Colorado Mountain Club, agreed that the proposal seems to be out of balance. 4 Like Benzar and Robinson, Paulson and the CMC recognize the value of the Mitchell Lakes and Hermosa Park parcels. “It’s not that we don’t want the Forest Service to acquire those inholdings,” she said. “But do we really want to lose this particular parcel to make it happen?”

San Juan Citizens’ Alliance is also keeping a close eye on the proposed exchange. Like others, the group is also dubious that 265 acres of prime development property is of equal value to 320 acres of remote inholding.

“Our immediate reaction is that it’s not a value for value exchange in which the public will see the benefits,” said Amber Clark, of San Juan Citizens Alliance. “We think the public would be giving away more than it would be receiving. Hopefully the appraisal will tell that.”

In many ways, the exchange will hinge on the appraisal. The Forest Service determines fair market value of parcels by considering their “highest and best use.” All potential and possible uses for each of the three pieces will be considered.

“We’ll have a Colorado state-certified appraiser who will look at the value of the property,” Hockelberg said. “They’ll look at what’s legal and financially possible and determine what’s the highest and best use of the property. There’s definitely a substantial review process in place.”

Public input will also be crucial to the fate of the exchange. The Forest Service kicked off a 60-day comment period this week. Depending on the outcome of that scoping, an appraisal may not even be necessary.

“It’s good that the word is getting out,” Paulson concluded. “People commenting and letting the Forest Service know the value of Haviland Lake and Chris Park may be our only way of saving them” •