{"id":24553,"date":"2024-12-05T13:14:57","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T20:14:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/gathering-at-chicken-creek-will-celebrate-public-lands\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T04:55:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:55:20","slug":"gathering-at-chicken-creek-will-celebrate-public-lands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/gathering-at-chicken-creek-will-celebrate-public-lands\/","title":{"rendered":"Gathering at Chicken Creek will celebrate public lands"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Closure
Closure orders prohibiting hiking on the groomed surface at Chicken Creek ski area have been lifted until grooming operations resume next winter.<\/span>The Journal file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

In a celebratory spirit, community members will gather at the Chicken Creek Nordic Ski Trailhead off County Road 40 at 1 p.m. Dec. 15.<\/p>\n

\u201cPublic lands unite us,\u201d said Ryan Borchers, a Mancos resident who helped organize the event. \u201cWe\u2019re celebrating our connection to public land.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though it\u2019s no coincidence it\u2019s on Dec. 15, which is the day the Free Land Holder Committee said their \u201cclaim has been resolved forever\u201d on their most recent proclamation, the intention behind the event is celebration, not confrontation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith recent events that threaten our public lands, this is a celebration renewing our connection and appreciation for the amazing landscape that we share,\u201d the flyer and website, www.celebratepubliclands.com<\/a>, said.<\/p>\n

Like any proper celebration, there will be live music, which will be a three-piece band performing on a stage set up in the parking lot, Borchers said.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll start around 1:15 p.m., and three or four guest speakers will talk afterward.<\/p>\n

There will also be booths and representatives from organizations, as the groups and people who use public lands are numerous and diverse: From skiers to hikers to backcountry horsemen to cattlemen and more, people from all the groups who use these lands will be there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s easy to take public lands for granted because they\u2019re here and we always use them,\u201d Borchers said. \u201cWe don\u2019t realize how lucky we are until they\u2019re under threat, and that\u2019s why it was so easy to unite on.\u201d<\/p>\n