Upon reporting this incident to the U.S. Forest Service, we learned the hiker had trekked considerably out of her way to Silverton to report it to law enforcement. The incident is currently under investigation. Unfortunately, many people who have hiked or biked in our beautiful backcountry know that aggressive herding-dog behavior and the attendant environmental damage associated with grazing is commonplace. As the Forest Service and BLM hopefully overhaul their grazing policies to bring them into the 21st century by dramatically limiting the number and location of grazing animals, charging market lease rates, etc., we hope they remember this is the public’s land. It should not be used for the benefit of a few agricultural leaseholders to the detriment of thousands of other users.

Dave and Michele Harris

Durango