Ranch owner: Fight over disputed trail could derail plans

A dispute with a neighbor threatens to throw a wrench in the plan. Waldeck and Cerise require use of about 300 yards of a trail and rough road through the neighboring Happy Day Ranch to get Cerise's cows and calves up to a summer grazing allotment on The Crown, public land administered by the Bureau of Land Management. Ginny Parker, whose family owns the Happy Day Ranch, dedicated the trail to the Pitkin County Trails and Open Space program with the provision that no motorized uses be allowed. The trail, dedicated to the memory of Parker's daughter, is open to the public for hiking and horseback riding. In May 2010, Parker had her attorney send Waldeck a letter demanding he stop using motorized vehicles to take his cattle up to The Crown and to care for the herd during the summer. Parker also told Waldeck he couldn't unilaterally close the trail while he was moving cattle. “Failure to agree to the conditions stated herein will result in the revocation of the permissive use of the trail and vigorous enforcement of trespass laws,” the letter said. Waldeck believes the Cerise family, and its predecessors, established the legal right over several decades to use the trail without Parker's permission. When discussions between the neighbors failed, Waldeck felt he had to respond to the Parker letter with litigation to maintain use of the trail. “The issue is very simple: The trail has been used by one family — that we can document — since 1917,” Waldeck said. Cerise, 53, said he has been personally moving cattle up the disputed route for about 45 years. ..more