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Federal judge rules against “Free Land Holders’” land grab attempt

Four Corners Public Radio | By Clark Adomaitis

Published October 14, 2026 at 9:33 PM MDT

Brad Finch, a volunteer with Chicken Creek Cross Country Ski, removes fence posts in the San Juan National Forest.

A federal judge has ruled against a group that claimed ownership of nearly 1,500 acres of public land in the San Juan National Forest near Mancos in southwest Colorado.

U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Domenico issued an injunction last week barring the Free Land Holder Committee and its representatives from building another fence or blocking public access to 1,460 acres of public land in the San Juan National Forest near Mancos in southwest Colorado.

In October 2024, the group fenced off the acreage, prompting local residents to tear down the barriers. The area in the San Juan National Forest is a shared space used by members of the public, including landowners, Native Americans, cattle ranchers, skiers, snowmobile riders, snowshoers, hikers, campers, and more.

The federal government sued the group two months later, arguing the fence was unlawful.

A man is walking away, carrying two large coils up barbed wire. He's in a forest on a dirt trail. He's wearing boots, blue jeans, a gray shirt, and a baseball cap. — Mancos residents removed barbed wire fencing north of Mancos, Colorado in the San Juan National Forest. The fencing was posted around a 1400-acre area of land that the Free Land Holders are claiming.

The committee, led by Patrick Pipkin and Bryan Hammon, based its claim on historical documents, including the Articles of Confederation. Pipkin has argued that a distinction in the capitalization of the phrase “The United States of America” in federal treaties created a separate entity with different property rights.

The judge rejected that argument, ruling the federal government owns the land and that the group’s notices and proclamations established no legal claim to it.

Brad Finch is a Mancos resident and head of the Chicken Creek Coalition, which formed in response to the Free Land Holders fencing off public land in 2024. He welcomed the federal judge’s injunction.

“My reaction was relief,” Finch said, “and also that the institutions that are in place to protect the rule of law and to protect public lands in the United States, you know, held up and did their job in reaching this conclusion. Our slogan for the coalition was "Public land unites us.” We all feel grateful that it does, and there's a renewed sort of appreciation for the role that public land plays in our community. It's one of those things that we can all come together around and enjoy, celebrate, appreciate, and have in common.”

According to the Denver Post, Patrick Pipkin says the committee does not accept the ruling, but does not plan to erect another fence while the dispute remains unresolved.