Forest Service Sues To Remove Tesuque Trail Barrier
The U.S. Forest Service has filed suit to remove a barricade blocking access to a popular hiking trail in Tesuque.
A nearby landowner first erected the 7-foot steel fence in March 2004 and has reinforced it with locks, barbed wire and chains in the years since. The barrier blocks a dirt road, at the terminus of County Road 72C on Griego Hill, that has for decades been used by residents to access a Big Tesuque trailhead.
The fence was the subject of a heated meeting last summer in which the landowner’s representatives accused neighbors of committing “terrorist” activities by trying to take down the barrier.
The suit names as defendants Phyllis Luchetti, her daughter Ursula Luchetti and son Paul Aguilar, who together own 21 acres of property through which the quarter-mile access road runs. Aguilar said last year that he closed the road to stop illegal dumping on the land, where he intended to build a house. The family could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
In its July 3 complaint, the Forest Service contends that it received a public easement over the road as a result of a 1969 land swap with the family as a means of securing access to the Santa Fe National Forest.
The Aguilar family counters that the road is actually north of their property. The dispute appears to be rooted in the original land exchange. The deed for the land swap, as amended in 1971, incorrectly described the location of the road, according to the suit.
“There is no road, nor has there ever been a road, situated in the location described by the erroneous course and distance,” the complaint states. “In fact, the erroneous course and distance does not even reach the National Forest boundary.”
The Forest Service maintains that in later deeds and plats involving the land, the Aguilar family has always acknowledged a 66-foot easement over the disputed road. The suit states that the defendants have refused numerous demands to remove the barrier.
Sandy Hurlocker, a ranger in the Forest Service’s Española district, called the suit a “step towards getting a resolution.”
Tesuque resident Catherine Macken said Thursday she has given up trying to use the trail in part out of fear her car might be damaged in retaliation. Still, she said, “I’m very pleased to see the Forest Service is investing its energy, time and money” in seeking a solution.
