Polis orders talks over Cielo Vista Ranch access disputes
The governor’s order names Ken Salazar to lead the talks but leaves the facilitator and meeting schedule to be determined.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has ordered a facilitated effort to seek an agreement over longstanding access disputes at the approximately 80,000-acre La Sierra/Cielo Vista Ranch in Costilla County, appointing former U.S. Interior Secretary and Ambassador Ken Salazar as a special envoy.
The executive order, issued Sept. 2, directs Salazar to engage with the ranch’s owners, heirs and easement holders, Costilla County officials, local residents, conservation and land-trust organizations, and relevant state agencies. The goal is to identify the parties’ priorities and areas of flexibility and determine whether they can reach an agreement that provides more clarity than the current case-by-case process.
The governor’s staff must hire a facilitator to support Salazar, organize the engagement sessions, synthesize participants’ views and prepare a report. The order does not name the facilitator or provide meeting dates, locations, a number of sessions or a public meeting schedule.
Salazar and the facilitator must submit findings and recommendations by Oct. 7, 2026. The order does not say the report will resolve individual court disputes or replace the court-appointed Special Master.
The order describes the property’s history as part of the 1844 Sangre de Cristo Land Grant, whose historic rights included grazing, hunting, recreation, firewood and timber use by settlers and their successors. Costilla County residents and easement holders generally refer to the property as La Sierra, while its current owner calls it Cielo Vista Ranch.
According to the order, the latest litigation followed construction of a high fence around part of the property and efforts by successors to the original land-grant settlers to enforce access rights. Because the parties had not agreed on access regulations, the court assigned a Special Master to decide disputes individually.
The state order does not remove or modify the fence, establish new access rules or suspend pending cases. Instead, it seeks a negotiated alternative to what it calls the current status quo. A Rocky Mountain PBS report on the court process described the Special Master or mediator as a mechanism for handling individual disagreements and noted unresolved questions about access for firewood, grazing, camping and other uses.
The separate high-fence process also remains unresolved in the public records reviewed. Costilla County posted a notice for a June 2026 hearing on a wildlife-impact assessment and mitigation plan, but the notice does not establish a final approval, denial or current change in restrictions. The county hearing notice provides that limited public record.
The executive order remains in effect unless modified or rescinded by a later order.