The Daily Sentinel reports 72-year-old Earl Bennett had pleaded guilty in federal court to a misdemeanor charge of building a road, trail or other improvement on national forest land without authorization.
Authorities say Bennett used a bulldozer to construct nearly a mile of road on U.S. Forest Service land near Crawford in June 2014, causing soil and rock removal, erosion damage, hillside weakening, and the cutting of several oak trees.
He was also ordered to pay $30,000 in restitution to repair the damage.
Colorado U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer says Bennett’s actions destroyed public land, which is “selfish and steals from all of us.”