Otero County GOP Central Committee Passed Resolution Opposing Wild & Scenic River Designation

By Norman Kincaide

Otero County Republican Party Central Committee held its regular monthly meeting in conjunction with a Town Hall held by Senator Rod Pelton, Senate District 35 and Rep. Ty Winter, House District 47 on July 6, 2026 at 5 P.M. Pelton and Winter provided an overview of bills they sponsored that were passed and those that were killed. They discussed SB26-121, Overtime Threshold for Agricultural Employees that raised the threshold for overtime to 56 hours per week. Strict overtime rules forced farmers to cut employee hours forcing workers to leave for other states.

Otero County Commissioners, Rob Oquist and Tim Knabenshue and Senator Rod Pelton and Rep. Ty Winter, Otero County Annex, Rocky Ford, CO, July 6, 2026

Pelton and Winter worked closely with Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District (LAVWCD) for 18 months to craft HB26-1340, Revegetate or Dry Farm Formerly Irrigated Agricultural Land to ensure that when a municipality purchases water rights from farm operation that a certain percentage of water remains with that property until a durable revegetation of that land has been achieved.

Determination of Town Abandonment, SB26-157, came about as a result of the abandonment of the town of Hartman in Prowers County when the town council and administration resigned. This bill created an expedited process for determining a town is abandoned if the town owns or operates infrastructure critical for the treatment or delivery of water to residents and allows the Department of Public Safety to contract for the routine operation and maintenance of the water system while application for determination of abandonment is being considered. Senator Pelton said there are several towns across Colorado in the same circumstances as the town of Hartman. Individuals are reluctant to serve in small towns because of extreme internet critics.

A question was raised about Blue Lake, why was it no longer available to the public. Blue Lake is owned by the Fort Lyon Canal Company and the lease with Colorado Parks and Wildlife was not renewed, bringing about the end of public access unless both parties come to an agreement on a new lease.

Pelton and Winter emphasized their work with Democrats to get their bills through or to trim very bad aspects from Democrat sponsored legislation. As the minority party for several years, Republicans in the state capitol have to find creative ways to meet the needs of their constituents to get legislation passed. They continued the Rural Ag Legislative Tour, originated by the late Rep. Kimmi Clark Lewis to introduce legislators from both parties to the issues in rural Colorado, with a trip to Kim, Colorado and the Harold Unwin Ranch last fall.

Attendees of the Town Hall and Otero County GOP Central Committee Meeting, July 6, 2026, Sharon Ghilarducci on the left and Jeremiah Mason right in the foreground

Pelton and Winter stayed for the Otero County GOP Central Committee meeting, which was run by Vice Chair, Jeremiah Mason of Fowler and Sharon Ghilarducci, Secretary, of Manzanola. A long list of items for the Otero County Republican Freedom dinner on July 25, to be held at the Valley Trading Post, were discussed and approved.

Norman Kincaide, Chair Precinct 13, handed out copies of a resolution opposing the Wild & Scenic River designation for the Purgatoire River and Pickett Wire Canyon to voting members of the Central Committee. He explained that opposing a federal land designation is a political process in that legislation must be introduced in Congress and the Forest Service cannot designate Wild and Scenic Rivers without legislation. Therefore, resolutions and letters of opposition must be forwarded to Rep. Jeff Hurd, US House District 3 and Rep. Lauren Boebert, US House District 4, so they can be apprised that the residents of Otero County do not want this Wild and Scenic Designation. Kincaide then read the resolution aloud. Vice Chair Jeremiah Mason entertained a motion of approve. Walt Garbo moved and there was a second. With no further discussion, the resolution passed.

The essence of the resolution is: Whereas; the Forest Service Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands Wild and Scenic Rivers Eligibility Study Report, 2025 found: the Purgatoire River “to be both free-flowing and have at least one Outstandingly Remarkable Value.”

Whereas; the conclusion of this 2025 Report that the Purgatoire River is “free-flowing” within the twenty-mile study area is flawed, in that the river is not free-flowing and is dry for weeks if not months at a time, indicating an ephemeral or intermittent steam.

Whereas, there appears to be no appreciable benefit to be derived from the Purgatoire River Wild & Scenic River designation by Comanche Grassland permit holders or the public.

Now therefore be it resolved that the Otero County GOP Central Committee opposes the Designation of the Purgatoire River and Pickett Wire Canyon as a Wild & Scenic River in that the river is not free-flowing within the definition of the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act and should not be included within the Wild & Scenic River System.

Pelton and Winter said they would work with the Rural Caucus to draft a letter of opposition to the Wild and Scenic River designation. Commissioner Tim Knabenshue stated the Otero Count Commissioners were working on a resolution opposing the designation as well. The Southern Colorado Livestock Association (SCLA) passed a resolution opposing the Wild and Scenic River designation on June 27, 2026 during their summer meeting, and as an affiliate of Colorado Independent Cattle Growers Association (CICA), SCLA forwarded the resolution to CICA to consider at their annual convention in Cortez on July 17-18, 2026.

The resolution

Other resolutions opposing the Wild and Scenic River designation are in the works in other jurisdictions and organizations. In the June 2026 newsletter on the revised management plan for the Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands, the Forest Service declared the Purgatoire River was free flowing. Perhaps it is free flowing in the minds of those who covet this designation. Who covets this designation? The 2012 Planning Rule? The Forest Service? The Nature Conservancy? Or AECOM, the Forest Service Contractor? Perhaps these actions may deter Forest Service enthusiasm for a designation that does not match the reality that the Purgatoire River is not wild nor that scenic nor is it a fishery and was once called by Spanish traders as the River of Souls Lost in Purgatory. Could this Wild and Scenic River designation end up residing in Purgatory in perpetuity?