The Grand Valley Citizen’s Alliance meeting June 23 was most helpful and was well attended by homeowners who never imagined the developer of Battlement Mesa would sell his surface rights in the “open areas” comprising some 1,600 acres to allow drilling in the American Dream.

Yes, mineral rights are the dominant estate, but surface rights, when sold,consolidate the deal. We can only guess what the drillers paid Mr. Gitlitz of Aspen for the surface rights.

All of this would not have happened had the Garfield County commissioners enforced the transfer of the open areas to the homeowners as promised in 1989. Unfortunately the Battlement Mesa “Service Association” has also been complicit in not pressuring the Battlement Mesa Company for 20 years to live up to the original agreement.

Larry Soderberg
Battlement Mesa

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