Plans for Gate and Parking Area on BLM Land Near Summit Lake Hit a Roadblock

Plans for a gate and parking lot near a tract of BLM land south of Summit Lake are on hold. Montezuma County and the BLM had been working to provide access to the public tract and the county recently changed several formerly private roads in the vicinity to public ones. But on Monday, BLM Tres Rios Field Office Manager Connie Clementson told the Montezuma County commissioners that there is a strip of private land between the county road and the BLM parcel and the agency will not cross private property without appropriate rights-of-way. She said there can be no gate until the agency gains access. Clementson also said installing a parking lot will require a federally mandated review process.