{"id":2099,"date":"2026-06-28T17:03:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T17:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2099"},"modified":"2026-06-28T17:03:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T17:03:09","slug":"billionaire-ranch-owners-fence-is-harming-wildlife-in-a-southern-colorado-valley-experts-find","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2099","title":{"rendered":"Billionaire ranch owner\u2019s fence is harming wildlife in a southern Colorado valley, experts find"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A controversial 8-foot fence erected by a billionaire ranch owner on long stretches of his property\u2019s perimeter is harming wildlife and degrading habitat across a vast valley in southern Colorado, according to a report by wildlife experts made public this month.<\/p>\n

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The report by two environmental consulting firms \u2014 one chosen by the ranch\u2019s managers and one by Costilla County leaders \u2014 found that the extensive sections of fence were threatening wildlife by blocking their movement to food, water and safe habitat.<\/p>\n

The 83,368-acre Cielo Vista Ranch in the San Luis Valley provides significant habitat for wildlife like elk and mule deer, according to the report. The ranch also may be home to threatened or endangered species, including Canada lynx, American marten, snowshoe hare and Gunnison\u2019s prairie dog. About a third of the ranch is protected under a conservation easement for elk habitat.<\/p>\n

\u201cElk, mule deer, and wildlife species need to access different areas of (Cielo Vista Ranch) and beyond to get to various resources and escape from threats such as deep snow during winter and hunting pressures,\u201d the report says. \u201cThe existing high fence can restrict wildlife movement along migration corridors, between seasonal use areas, and during daily movement to the point that it threatens the survival of individuals and the associated populations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report is the most recent evolution of a yearslong dispute over the fence pitting the local community and county government against the ranch\u2019s owner, William Harrison. Harrison, heir to a Texas oil fortune, began constructing the fence in 2021, prompting outcry from locals about erosion and water problems created by the construction. They also expressed concern about the fence\u2019s impact on wildlife populations.<\/p>\n

Harrison said the fence was necessary to keep his small bison herd on the ranch and to keep out trespassers. Hundreds of local residents are allowed legal access to the ranch \u2014 known locally as La Sierra \u2014 for grazing and collecting firewood through rights granted to their families before Colorado became a state. Those rights-holders have said the fence is intended to intimidate them or restrict their access, but Harrison\u2019s attorneys have said the fence is meant to ward off those without access rights.<\/p>\n

The ranch also encompasses Culebra Peak \u2014 one of the state\u2019s 58 mountains that reach more than 14,000 feet in elevation \u2014 and sells $150 permits to hike to the summit.<\/p>\n

Since construction began, the fence controversy has spurred litigation, a state-led water quality investigation, a new state law and rewritten county regulations banning large fences. Harrison stopped building the fence in 2023 after a judge ordered a halt to the project, but more than 26 miles of completed fence sections still line the ranch boundaries. Some sections of the fence span more than three miles and are located at elevations higher than 10,000 feet.<\/p>\n

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A 2024 settlement agreement between Costilla County and Harrison mandated the wildlife impact study. Ranch management contracted with Durango-based ERO Resources Corporation and county leaders chose the Wildlife Connectivity Institute of Gallatin Gateway, Montana, to complete the work.<\/p>\n

The 83-page study documents which species may live near the fence, how the fence impacts its surroundings and the wildlife, and how the ranch could make the fence more friendly to wildlife.<\/p>\n

County officials and Harrison have not agreed on how to implement the report\u2019s recommended changes to the fence, court filings show. A document filed last month by Harrison\u2019s attorneys states that, after months of negotiation, the two sides could not reach agreement by the court-mandated deadline of May 15.<\/p>\n

The judge in the case on June 3 sent the case back to the Costilla County Board of Adjustment for further proceedings to determine how much of the fence is subject to new county rules regulating\u00a0high fences.<\/p>\n

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Attorneys for Harrison did not respond to questions from The Denver Post about whether the ranch planned to implement any of the recommended changes before this story\u2019s deadline.<\/p>\n

At a Costilla County commission meeting on June 16\u00a0\u2014 after the county made the report public \u2014 community members called on Harrison to follow the report\u2019s suggestions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Mr. Harrison decides not to follow it, that\u2019s sad, because it\u2019s the right thing to do,\u201d said Joseph Quintana, a lifelong resident of San Luis who has been part of the community group leading the charge against the fence, called La Sierra Environmental Guardian Committee.<\/p>\n

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The report validates the community\u2019s original concerns about how the fence would impact wildlife, he said. The committee would likely be satisfied, Quintana said, if Harrison would make the recommended changes and agree to abandon plans to build any new fencing.<\/p>\n

County attorney Nicolas Sarmiento said during the meeting that ongoing court proceedings limited what he could disclose, but he said there was no ongoing negotiation about the report\u2019s recommended mitigation measures.<\/p>\n

The report authors listed hundreds of changes that would make the fence sections more friendly to wildlife, such as lowering the fence in places so animals could jump over it, raising the bottom of the fence so that small animals could pass through, and removing barbed wire from the top and bottom of the fence.<\/p>\n

In some areas deemed highly important for wildlife, the authors recommended removing the fence entirely.<\/p>\n

The fence, as constructed, is more than 8 feet tall and is topped with a strand of barbed wire \u2014 too high for many animals to jump and dangerous for those that attempt to do so. The wire grid that makes up the fence reaches\u00a0to the ground, where it narrows to openings 3 inches tall. That\u2019s too tight for many animals like turkeys, coyotes and bobcats to crawl through.<\/p>\n

Fences that block wildlife movement keep animals from reaching water and food as the seasons change the landscape, according to the wildlife report. Animals must move as water sources dry out in the summer and snow blankets the forage they seek\u00a0at higher elevations. When animals\u2019 movement is blocked, it requires them to use more energy to meet their needs and keeps migratory species from their traditional routes.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnimals can also die along fence lines, becoming too weak to find alternative routes to suitable habitat, water, and shelter,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n

In the spring, when animals\u2019 energy stores are low,\u00a0navigating uncrossable fences can cause pregnant wildlife to miscarry and, over time, result in declining birthrates, the authors wrote. Fences can also obstruct animals\u2019 escape routes during a wildfire.<\/p>\n

And collisions with a fence that has small openings can cause injury or death for ground birds and low-flying birds like grouse and raptors.<\/p>\n

Even fences with \u201cwildlife jumps\u201d \u2014 sections where the top section is lower so animals can leap over \u2014 can cause problems if the jump isn\u2019t low enough for calves and fawns to clear. It might still separate them from their mothers and herds or entangle them in the fence.<\/p>\n

The ranch installed 29 wildlife jumps across the 26 miles of completed fence sections and planned to install more before a judge\u2019s order stopped all construction on the fence.<\/p>\n

The report\u2019s authors recommend modifying the fence sections so that there is a large animal jump at least every 1,000 feet, along with ground openings for small mammals every 500 feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWildlife-friendlier fences should allow wild animals to jump over and crawl under or through easily without injury,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n

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A controversial 8-foot-tall fence erected by the owner of Cielo Vista Ranch in southern Colorado’s Costilla County is harming wildlife and degrading habitat, a new report by wildlife experts says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nBillionaire ranch owner\u2019s fence is harming wildlife in a southern Colorado valley, experts find - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2099\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Billionaire ranch owner\u2019s fence is harming wildlife in a southern Colorado valley, experts find - 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