# Big News: Four Falls is OUR Land



## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

We are busting out the champagne here at Bailey Fest HQ. The Four Falls Liberation Project culminates over a year of work that has proved that Four Falls on Bailey is on public land, which means its OUR land! The project is the result of detailed research of the land title and survey documents of Four Falls, followed by work with the Forest Service and then the BLM Cadastral Survey Team to correctly mark the forest service / private property line near Four Falls. 

The old line was marked by a cable crossing the river at the end of the bottom pool below Four Falls. The updated, and legally binding survey conducted by the BLM, correctly marks the property line up on the hill on river right, which means that all of Four Falls is public. The property line crosses the north fork upstream of four falls around the big pool a couple hundred yards upstream of Four Falls. Paddlers are free to scout, set safety, lap, lunch, hang out, camp, take pics, and generally do whatever you want at Four Falls. 

So thats it in a nutshell. If you want to hear the full story, here's how it happened...

The first year of Bailey Fest, over 100 paddlers ran Bailey. The landowners (I'll call them the neighbors from now on) weren't there, we left no trace, and there were no issues. The second Bailey Fest, one of the landowners was out at the falls on the weekend of Bailey Fest. I had never run into the neighbors before, despite paddling Bailey for many years. The neighbors got really fired up with several paddlers. I paddled in Sunday hoping to resolve the unforeseen conflict. 

I got the neighbors card after talking to him on Sunday. I called him up that next week, had a good talk with him, and thought we were all good. I was wrong. The neighbors sent me a demanding email commanding me to control the flow of paddlers,so that there would never be more than 9 paddlers at a time at Four Falls. They threatened to call them Sheriff and press tresspassing charges if more than 9 people were at Four Falls at one time. They sent harassing emails to the sheriff and the park county planning department making false claims about Bailey Fest. I spoke with them a few more times and diplomatically tried to work some sort of amicable understanding. This was for naught, and it became clear that the neighbors were now playing hardball, and trying to intimidate me and subvert anything to do with Bailey Fest they could. I later learned that the neighbors had some ongoing disputes with the Bailey Fest Campround owner, and that I and Bailey Fest had unwittingly jumped into the crossfire of the local landowners dispute. 

When I first negotiated the Tunnel release for Bailey Fest I was ecstatic! When I realized that Bailey Fest might have unwittingly sparked a turf war that had the potential to shut Four Falls down I felt that brooding sense of dread when you know a huge beatdown is on the horizon. I gritted my teeth and resolved to continue on path despite the uncertainty of the unresolved neighbor issue. It was too late in the game. I was already committed. I resolved to do whatever I could to figure this out and make it work. If I didn't it would be the end of Bailey Fest and potentially portaging and scouting at Four Falls.

A few weeks later I was paddling Bailey. Floating through the paddle in my mind wandered to the weight of the issue of the landowners at Four Falls. At the bottom pool below Four Falls I looked downstream at the cable crossing the river with the private property sign. I looked back upstream at the awesome set of cascading waterfalls framed by cliff walls and a forest of trees. The skeptic in me thought it was almost too good to be true to have a property line set at the bottom of the beautiful set of rapids with roadless forest service on the other side. If you pushed your property line, there were no neighbors checking in to call you out. I decided then that I would research the land situation and try to figure out what was going on. 

I got the GPS coordinates at Four Falls to compare to private property records. After talking to lots of Park County government folks, and digging around in the online archives, I finally figured out who owned the property next to four falls. I got the Park county GIS folks to send me a map with the river and the property outline of the four falls landowners. I got back an ambiguous map from Park County.

The original land documents for the Four Falls landowners showed the north property line to be the township line between Townships 7 and 8. The park county map showed two separate township lines. One line was more north that would mean four falls was private. The other line was a little to the south and would mean four falls was public. I called Park County back to see which line was the legal line. They didn't know, but they told me they used BLM maps. I called BLM folks and after several confusing twists, it finally started making sense. One line was from a 1980's topo which showed four falls as private. The other line was from a 2000's topo. 

I finally figured it out when i found the detailed BLM Survey Records for township 7S range 72 W online. There was an original survey done around 1860-1870 to set the township line. There were errors in the original survey when laying the north line due to not being able to find the exact corner from the adjoining township. This survey was used for the property transactions around four falls in the late 1800s, and the landowners would have thought they owned all of four falls. The error of the township corner was fixed in a dependent resurvey in the 1990's and the result was that the north township line shifted south by a couple hundred feet. The new line had four falls on public property, but the line was never remarked and I doubt the landowners even knew this happened. It was a minor correction, but the fact that Four Falls was so close to the line would make all the difference. 

I was in the process of figuring all this out leading up to the third Bailey Fest. I wasn't too worried because I knew what the real survey was and felt like i had an ace up my sleeve. I spoke with the sheriff and park county planning and they were in full support of Bailey Fest. I would just go ahead with the fest and see what happened. What happened was that the neighbors hung out at four falls for hours yelling at paddlers, yelling at me, telling my friends that I needed to die, and harassing everyone within earshot. They put up cones and home depot buckets and flagging tape up in a futile attempt to over control the situation at four falls. 

I knew that the forest service was the landowner of the property north of the neighbors land. I called up the district ranger after Bailey Fest and told him the story. I told him that irate and antagonistic landowners were harassing national forest users on forest service land while claiming that it was private property. The ranger noted that they had done several cases like this, and that he was obligated by his position to maintain the legal boundary. He sent the BLM Cadastral survey group (they are responsible for the public land survey in the US) a request to research it. After speaking to the BLM intermittently waiting on prioritization and funding issues, i finally got the call that they would send a crew in in the next couple of weeks. The forest service ranger told me that as soon as he got a report from the BLM he would inform the neighbors that their property line had been officially reposted. I knew Four Falls was public, but i needed official BLM results proving it, and the survey was done this July 10. 

So thats my big surprise for this years Bailey Fest. Four Falls is public land. Bailey now has public access at the put in, all the major rapids and the main canyon, and the takeout, meaning that Bailey is safe from the threat of private landowners shutting down river access or hampering our access to this beautiful gem. It also means that the last major obstacle to ensuring that Bailey Fest can continue for years to come has been removed. The sense of relief and joy at bringing this issue to such a fortuitous conclusion has me on cloud nine. 

Whats ironic about it is that if the neighbors would have worked something out, they would still likely have "ownership" of four falls, the paddling community would have still been walking on egg shells at four falls trying to placate them. By being antagonistic and spiteful, they cost themselves their exclusice rights to the thing they were fuming about in the first place. 

Going forward, paddlers can do what they normally would at four falls with the understanding that it is our land and the neighbors have no rights to dictate anything now. I would urge the paddling community to treat all landowners as neighbors with respect though. The landowners at the put in that run the fly fishing place are good folks. They helped build the new put in that has been really good for us. The Bailey Fest Campground owner is super cool. There are multiple landowners in the "neighbors" at four falls. The guy that owns the dream house is cool. Its only the one set of landowners that were the issue (older couple with the red beater pickup).

See you at Bailey Fest, where we will celebrate the liberation of Four Falls!


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## tallboy (Apr 20, 2006)

Holy crap you killed it! Nice work, way to stay in there and push on...hope to make it this year! Thanks Ian


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## MCSkid (Feb 27, 2008)

thanks for all the hard work! amazing outcome


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## dawn (Sep 6, 2005)

*Thank you!*

Thank you for all your work! Great job
Dawn


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## huck it (Jul 23, 2011)

Ian,

After seeing how upset the "supposed land owners" were last year do you anticipate any type of backlash? I can't imagine that they are very happy with the Kayak community after finding this out. Although it was never their land in their beliefs it was theirs and now they have lost it due to a bunch of Kayakers. 

Nice work on researching this and getting the right parties involved. This is a big win for everyone in the whitewater community. Can't wait for Bailey Fest 2013. Turn on the tunnel!


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## MattC (Jun 13, 2004)

Well done, sir! That's a fantastic result to some hard work. If you've been paddling long you've gotten used to being harassed by private landowners who always seem to have the authorities on their side. This is a real departure, and a product of some dedicated effort. Awesome.


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## craven_morhead (Feb 20, 2007)

Congratulations Ian, this was a big win.


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## yetigonecrazy (May 23, 2005)

Ian, that is some damn fine work!! WELL DONE!!! Someone buy this man some beer at BaileyFest!


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## El Flaco (Nov 5, 2003)

This land is our land, this land ain't your land...

Great work Ian.


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## Id725 (Nov 22, 2003)

Amazing work, Ian.
You are a hero in this community.
HOWEVER, now it is UP TO US, the kayaking community, to prove that we are good stewards of the land and the river.
Let's all be respectful of the land, the river, each other, and our neighbors, during Baileyfest and every other time we pass through that place.
Leave no trace.
Thanks again, Ian.
-Mike G.


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## sfornst (Mar 31, 2009)

Good work Ian, thanks


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## spthomson (Oct 18, 2003)

Wow, nice work. I'm not good enough to paddle Bailey and possibly never will, but I still appreciate this.


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## yak1 (Jan 28, 2006)

Ian having dealt with the FS for years of access issues on the Big South I applaud your work and perseverance in the face of adversity. My days of running Bailey are over but I had more than my share of run ins along that run. Including one in the middle of a rescue of a boater from a tree below four falls. I'm delighted to see that you have this issue resolved.......


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## glcasson21 (Apr 16, 2009)

YEAAAAAH!!!! Nice work Ian! Congrats on a big win!


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## turtle (Aug 22, 2010)

We are all super lucky to have you in this community, Ian!


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## latenightjoneser (Feb 6, 2004)

You da man


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## pbell (Oct 23, 2008)

This is great news, Ian! Thanks for seeing it through. 

Part of me thinks we should get all that wood out of the put-in eddy below first falls. It's an eyesore and keeps folks from putting in on the downstream side during busy days.

On the other hand, I could see these landowners... er, neighbors replacing anything we remove resulting in a childish back and forth.


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## powdahound76 (Jul 20, 2006)

Ian,
Youda man. Very good example of cooler heads prevailing. See ya at the fest.


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## adgeiser (May 26, 2009)

A big thank you to all bailey booty beer drinkers!!!

It's your river karma that helped make this possible.... 

Oh yeah and Ian's hard work.


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## Anchorless (Aug 3, 2010)

That's awesome to hear.


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## KSC (Oct 22, 2003)

Great work! 

Regarding backlash, it doesn't really matter because there are no legal issues with passing through Four Falls. I believe in being bigger than the behavior that apparently went on last year (that I was fortunate enough to miss out on). 

I wouldn't bother with the wood in the pool. It actually seems like it's easier to put-in there now than it's ever been. I heard that one of the neighbor accusations was that kayakers had moved around the wood in that pool and ruined their swimming hole (which seems pretty unlikely). Ironically, after they moved all this wood around, the pool appears to be lower than I've ever seen it, but if this makes it a better swimming spot, then I say leave it be.

The only thing I'd like to see happen is that all the construction cones and tape dumped on public land, creating a huge eyesore, are cleaned up.

All in all this resolution ought to just make passing through Four Falls a more peaceful and pleasant experience for everybody involved.


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## erdvm1 (Oct 17, 2003)

Ian, we are lucky to have you as a paddler and a whitewater enthusiast. Motivated people with the commitment and knowledge that you have happen very infrequently. Honestly, there are no words that could describe how grateful we all our for this gift and the gift of Bailey fest.
But what I can say in honor of you and what your goals are is…
TURN ON THE TUNNEL!!!!!!!
Totally badass Ian.


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## RockyMt.Razorback (Apr 19, 2012)

That's awesome news. Good work Ian,
Last BaileyFest was awesome, but I did bump into to the "neighbors" at Four falls. They told me that there were to many boaters at the falls at that time and I had 15 minutes to scout, and run the falls and then even made fun of a guy I was paddling with for wearing a pink helmet which I actually thought was funny but I'm still glad to hear they wont be there anymore. 
Can't wait for BaileyFest!!!!!


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## Roy (Oct 30, 2003)

Looks like the neighbors picked the wrong shiftless kayaker to bully this time. Great news and nice job, Ian!

Speaking of eyesores, those signs on the bridges on the way in claiming that 4 Falls is private and violators will be prosecuted are still up as of yesterday...


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## blutzski (Mar 31, 2004)

Outstanding work Ian!! That's quite the story. Thanks for your perseverance. 

I agree with others. Let's keep this as civil as possible and if confronted by disagreeable "neighbors", take the high road. You can see what being confrontational got them. You never know what other surveying mistakes or government screw-up are out there. No sense stirring things up unnecessarily and possibly getting screwed in the end like these neighbors did to themselves. What sucks for the neighbors is that one of them screwed it for all of them, most of whom have been very cool.


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## blutzski (Mar 31, 2004)

Roy said:


> Speaking of eyesores, those signs on the bridges on the way in claiming that 4 Falls is private and violators will be prosecuted are still up as of yesterday...


Yeah, any word from the Forest Service on having them take these inaccurate signs down?


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Thanks for the props guys! I appreciate it. 

As Kevin noted, we are 100% legal at Four Falls with a legally binding federal land survey that is the law. I don't know if/what backlash might occur. I'm sure they will be royally pissed, but thats life. Its our land, and they are clearly in the wrong here. I wouldn't be surprised to have some continued run in with the landowners. We are totally legit, and we should behave as we would on any other day at any other rapid. If you do get an ear bending from the neighbors, I think it will be more bark than bite. 

Also, I should note that the Four Falls Landowners do read mountainbuzz for whatever that is worth. 

I agree that we should clean the place up. I'm content to leave the wood in the eddy as its not really a big deal to mess around with it. I'm sure the neighbors will still want to come down and enjoy the public land right out their backyard. We should all treat the place with care.


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## blutzski (Mar 31, 2004)

Ian, just for curiosity sake, why were there multiple landowners involved? Is the land to the south of Four Falls owned by an HOA or something?


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Yeah, the parcel of land originally purchased near four falls was split into I think 5 pieces with each or the 5 having a say so in the management of the property or something like that. If great grandpa owned the whole thing, its not uncommon for the property to be split up between sons, or family members etc.

Agree on taking the high road...

Regarding the signs... They are on private bridges and on private land, and I won't mess with them. I will put up my own big ole sign at Bailey Fest stating the truth though, and now we all know.


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## Kendrick (Jul 8, 2010)

Cool beans.


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## raftus (Jul 20, 2005)

Awesome work!


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## Spade Hackle (Jun 18, 2007)

Great work! Does anyone have an in with the tv dudes...this is a GREAT story of doing the right thing the right way!

Props!

SH


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## cmack (Oct 15, 2006)

Does this mean we can shit on the ground at 4Falls now? lol. On a serious note... awesome job, dude. Righteous work.


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## patrickt (Oct 10, 2003)

*Great Work Ian!*

Great work Ian!
Bruno is spot on that it's always best to take the high road with unreasonable landowners. At the end of the day, most landowners simply want boaters to respect their property rights and most boaters simply want to be able to enjoy the river. Let's hope the few landowners who were getting upset are reasonable and recognize that the clarity provided by the BLM survey eliminates an unnecessary and unproductive point of contention.


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## Ryanrugger (Jun 7, 2005)

I say the first fall be renamed Ian's Drop, after all your hard work. This is freaking awesome. This is huge considering the land/water issues in this state! Well done sir, well done. TURN ON THE TUNNEL!!!!!!


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## jonny water (Oct 28, 2003)

Amazing work Ian! Thank you for all your hard work!

So the neighbors property is actually upstream of four falls?...so that means that we need to get out on river right below their land and make sure as to not trespass.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

I'll post a map soon. The bottom of four falls is public as is the top. The boundary of private to public is a couple hundred yards above the eddy to scout first falls. Its right around where the small dilapidated bridge crosses the river as you go into a little rocky area, take a quick right hand bend that ends in a big pool and takes a quick 90 to the left. Its private land through all the class II from the put in to above the first falls scout eddy where you should not need to get out anyway. You can get out below 4 falls, walk back up for safety or to run it again or do whatever you want.


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## blutzski (Mar 31, 2004)

jonny water said:


> Amazing work Ian! Thank you for all your hard work!
> 
> So the neighbors property is actually upstream of four falls?...so that means that we need to get out on river right below their land and make sure as to not trespass.


The property line goes east/west parallel with the river. The first place the river dips south of this east/west property line is several hundred yards above four falls. The normal portage route is well within the Public Lands.


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## rivers2run (Jun 7, 2012)

As a retired FS person I say congratulations great job. Make sure you are squeaky clean with any Special Use Permits you might need to hold an event on FS. Those landowners can tie process in knots if everything isn't perfect. Been there..... seen that happen. Above all have fun.


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## blutzski (Mar 31, 2004)

Ryanrugger said:


> I say the first fall be renamed Ian's Drop, after all your hard work.


I agree. Or how about renaming Four Falls -> Ian's Falls and renaming First Fall -> Deep South?


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## H2Obug (Oct 20, 2006)

Thank you for all of your time and hard work, Ian. I really appreciate it!


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## SueCherry (Aug 21, 2006)

Ian, thanks for being curious and following through the correct channels to set the record straight! This is such good news that I too think a renaming of the falls is in order. I vote for Foley Falls or Foley Four Falls.

Turn on the tunnel!


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## caspermike (Mar 9, 2007)

Ahahahahah some times ignorant arrogant landowners don't know when to shut up! Sounds like the same neighbors hanging around box elder. Good on you Ian super strong work!! 


With the title of caspermike and the most posts on any whitewater forum i here proclaim Foley Falls as the rightful name to the perviously named four falls..here here.

All in favor say I and if you disagree well to [email protected]&$ing bad


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## jtnc (Aug 9, 2004)

Great work Ian. Wish I was a regular on Bailey, but will walk or swim first falls with a cleaner conscious now!


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## yourrealdad (May 25, 2004)

Nice work Ian. Glad to have you in the boating community. I am all good with Foley Falls.


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## Miller Time (Apr 3, 2009)

Foley Four Falls gets my vote! 


Regardless of the name you should feel great about the victory Ian. 

Nathan Fey should write up the article to AW. I know he's busy with the Gunny project but this is a huge win! 

We obviously should remain professional with respect to the new 'neighbors'. Ironically they put all that hard work into maintaining river right and now it belongs to the public (stairs, clean dirt road, erosion control).


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## CBrown (Oct 28, 2004)

Best news I've heard all day. That's fucking awesome. Good job Ian.


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## fullmer (Aug 23, 2006)

Thanks so much, Ian! 

Now if we can just get you to work on access to Baker's Box on the Animas.


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## Ricky NM (Jun 28, 2008)

Strong work Ian!


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## freexbiker (Jul 18, 2005)

Good work Ian! Cant wait to check that area out!


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## marko (Feb 25, 2004)

I nominate Ian for paddler/citizen of the year! Well done, sir!


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Hell yeah! Thanks for the props and support folks. I really apppreciate it. Definitely gives me a warm fuzzy to be connected to the paddling community and to be able to give something back to a group that has been an inspiration for me.

FYI... the Forest Service has been notified by the BLM surveyors that Four Falls is on public land, and the Forest Service is waiting for the final report from the BLM before notifying the neighbors of the property line change. Just a heads up that the neighbors might not hear about this news for a little while if you head up to Bailey.

I am so pumped about this! I've got that similar feeling to crushing an awesome boof, stomping a huge drop, or cleaning a big line... smile ear to ear, an extra spring in my step, and a peace of mind that brings out a zen like natural buzz. Love it!


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## DanOrion (Jun 8, 2004)

Awesome work Ian!


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## -k- (Jul 15, 2005)

*Thank you*

As a river enthusiast I owe you my gratitude. I may never develop the skills to paddle this reach of the river but this is a noteworthy accomplishment. My guess is that it was fueled by your passions and curiosity, but your effort is a benefit to generations to come. Likely a simple task from your perspective, but a generous gift you have given the public that may endure forever.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Here is a map to help visualize what we are talking about...



I spoke with the BLM surveyor today and he confirmed that the private property ends at the river level very near to old wooden bridge several hundred yards above Four Falls.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Here is a closeup from google earth with my notes on it...


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## peterholcombe (Mar 8, 2006)

Thanks so much for your hard work Ian. This sort of thing never seems to happen. Foley Falls is my new name for this feature!


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## Anchorless (Aug 3, 2010)

Are the landowners all realtors and lawyers in the county?


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## Id725 (Nov 22, 2003)

Foley Falls. That's what I'm calling it from now on.


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## benpetri (Jul 2, 2004)

Excellent work Ian! I was afraid of an unhappy ending the way things were trending there for awhile. Foley falls has a good ring to it


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## abron (Nov 19, 2004)

that is just so frickin cool. You rock, sir. Way to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat....!


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Hell yeah folks! So pumped to get it done and to see to community blow up in excitement over this. Unbelievable. I feel like we just won the river stewardship lottery!

Foley Falls sounds way better than Foley Swims, which I think is my other namesake. I hope this doesn't mean I have to start running (or swimming) First Falls now. I'm honored, and humbled. Awesome all around. 

Also, I expect we might see some angry landowners who don't like this one bit. Know that you are on public property at Four Falls, and take it in stride. I'll have a letter from the Forest Service and the BLM in my drybag, and I'll notify the Sheriff of the land status change as well to make sure everyone is on the same page.


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## Nathan (Aug 7, 2004)

Nice work Ian!

I would suspect the neighbors are going to be pissed losing a significant piece of land they thought was theirs for a long time. I would be surprised if there isn't confrontation in the future over this and I hope as a community we take the high road.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Yep, we will take the high road.

The landowners will be pissed.

I should note that the BLM survey is 100% legally binding, and there is pretty much no fighting it. End of story. Also, folks may wonder about adverse possession, whereby long time users of land can make a claim to it based on historical use. Adverse possession works for private to private, and private to state, but it does not work for private to federal. Federal land is federal land. End of story. The forest service told me stories of folks that had houses on federal land that didn't realize. Sorry. 

From a pracitcal perspective, the only thing that changes is the ability of the neighbors to bust our chops at Four Falls. The neighbors still have backyard access to forest service land that no one except paddlers can access. We will all still use the Falls area. So the neighbors don't have the ability to use the land take away from them, they just have the power to control how we use the land taken away from them.

I plan to reach out with an olive branch once the final letters are sent. Its the best I can do to start up the high road.


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## one legged wonder (Apr 19, 2011)

IAN!!!!! You kill it man. Thank you so much for all the work that you do for our community!!! Counting down the days till bailey fest!!!


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## TonyM (Apr 17, 2006)

Nice work Ian, way to get shit done. Can we get the USFS to post a sign that says something like "Warning: Foley Falls Ahead! Please get out and Scout


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## latenightjoneser (Feb 6, 2004)

Am I wrong, or don't those maps show the "neighbors" owning land adjacent to the river upstream? I suppose they could retaliate by trying to hinder downstream passage. Landowners own the land to the middle of the stream, unless they own both sides, in any event landowners own the air space above their land for a reasonable height (100 feet?). I don't think a barbed wire fence across the river is illegal. More than ever, we should be on our best behavior now that the hive has been kicked. 

Thanks again for you heroic efforts on this Ian!


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Yeah, the neighbors own the upstream land that is class II/III just before you drop in to four falls. My take is that we don't get out there, therefore we will not be tresspassing. 

There is the possibility of some sort of retaliation there, but I view that as low risk. The recent episodes on the Taylor give us a good example that powerful folks with money and lawyers couldn't stop the floaters after trying to erect impediments to floating, and I don't think that they will be able to do that here either. 

I have gotten a few calls and emails from folks who are concerned about retaliation. I'd like point out that the vast majority of players in and around this issue fully support kayakers and bailey fest. On the positive side: park county planning, park county sheriff, Town of Bailey, BLM, Forest Service, two major upstream landowners, and one of the neighbor landowners. On the against side: Its just two people. There will always be people who are against you, but as long as they can't stop you, its not a huge threat.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Email exchange with the neighbors today. Pretty positive on my mind. 


Hi Suzanne,

Thanks for the note. I'm happy to hear that you will respect the updated survey markings. This thankfully removes the complication of private ownership where we need to scout and or portage. 

I agree with your stewardship comments about bank erosion, and I think that continuing to manage this is a good idea. I'll continue to communicate this to the paddling community. 

I also agree that minimizing the old railway wall impact is a good thing, which we will try to do. I will communicate this to the paddling community as well. 

Safety is a major concern. I've got a trained medical team on board at bailey Fest and the vast majority of our paddlers are highly skilled paddlers with good judgement and good rescue skills. Due to the nature of our sport, similar to skiing, climbing, or other action sports, injuries will unfortunately occur, but paddlers assume that risk. 

I think you misunderstand our community to a degree but I won't belabor that. We don't egg each other on to do unsafe things, quite the opposite. We do cheer for each other though, which could be misconstrued by outsiders. We also don't drink or get intoxicated prior to paddling. We save the beer and the party for after paddling. Developing the skills to paddle the north fork typically requires years of practice combined with sound judgement and consistent safe behavior. 

I received multiple reports from good friends about disparaging remarks made about me personally, including the comment that I needed to die. Perhaps things got lost in translation in the heat of the exchanges. Regardless, it's water under the bridge and of little concern. 

Regarding hiking out upstream across your property I'll be happy to suggest that paddlers hike 7 miles downstream to avoid issues. Of course each individual makes their own decisions that I am not in the position to control. 

Finally, I know that paddlers and the neighboring landowners will both still use the area around four falls. I'd like to work to make sure that we can all enjoy this area responsibly for years to come. I'd like to have an amicable relationship with you and the other neighbors, and I have asked the paddling community to respect all landowners and treat them like neighbors. If there are things we can work on together to improve things I am willing to give it a shot. I would also be happy to relay any messages from local landowners to the paddling community when issues arise. 

Thanks,
Ian

On Jul 19, 2013, at 7:38 AM, "Suzanne van Hall" <[email protected]> wrote:

Dear Ian

Last weekend some owners noticed new Forest Service signage at Rivercliffe and increased kayak activity by Four Falls. I checked out Mountainbuzz,com (as you suggested several years ago) and saw your post on correcting the property boundary.

We understand the BLM Survey dropped our north property boundary from that shown on the maps and posted before, and we will of course respect the results of the posted survey.

Having said that: let's talk a bit about responsible stewardship.

1. Bank erosion: as you know, we have built stairs and marked them so kayakers get out at designated points. We did this because we had noticed erosion when kayakers were disembarking at multiple points. 

2. Road erosion: in the second year of the Bailey Fest, we lost part of the rock wall holding up portions of the old railroad bed because too many people were clambering on the edge. We addressed this by insisting people not hang out in large groups and by taping off the edge to discourage people from standing there.

3. Safety: as you know from our e-mails and conversations, our major point of contention has been safety. We insisted on crowd control so that groups of kayakers were not egging each other on to try feats of rapid running beyond their level of expertise. 

None of these efforts should be abandoned, regardless of who owns the property.

Let's also talk about correcting the record a bit. You claimed Michael or I said you should die. That is not true. What we have told you repeatedly and will say again is that you are creating unsafe conditions with the drinking and crowd encouragement to show off and that one of you will die. We dread the accidents. We see the kayakers with the dislocated shoulders, concussions, sprained ankles. Last year, there were more serious injuries than the ones you reported. We had groups of kayakers on our property (not by Four Falls), limping out with their broken boats and bruised faces and reeking of alcohol. We do not want the Flight for Life landing in our pasture to haul away a limp body. So, don't juice up your story by suggesting we threatened you with death; tell the truth that we fear the consequences of party kayaking.

And think about your advice to hike upriver if a kayaker loses equipment near Four Falls. You are telling the kayakers to trespass on our property. Do you really want to do that? You need a better plan than that.

We hope you enjoy Bailey Fest and that you and your fellow kayakers work on responsible stewardship and safety.

-- 
Suzanne F. van Hall


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## blutzski (Mar 31, 2004)

Thanks for your continued diplomacy, Ian.

To the Four Falls neighbors, you have this paddler's commitment to be a responsible steward of this public land.


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## erdvm1 (Oct 17, 2003)

Agreed

There has been quite a bit of built resentment by paddlers due to the way we were treated by the now neighbors. Ironically we were as a large group exceptionally respectful during the last festival but treated with extraordinary disrespect by the now neighbors. I feel that if you are reading this please know we all have the same goal of taking care of and enjoying our natural resources. What is clear to me is that your response to Ian did not clearly depict the manner in which you yelled and tormented adults as they used what you thought was your land. From how you and your husband spoke to me and the people around me there was no concern for our safety but rather a concern for the heavy 3 day use of what you thought was your land. If I see you at four falls trust that it will be a respectful interaction on my part on the land we share. Hopefully you will be able to say the same. Preserving this area and its beauty should be top of all our lists.


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## robanna (Apr 20, 2004)

deepsouthpaddler said:


> --
> Suzanne F. van Hall
> _____________
> Turn On The Tunnel!!!
> http://www.baileyfest.com/


I love how she signed her email!! :-D She's stoked for Bailey Fest!


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## Miller Time (Apr 3, 2009)

This is our best opportunity (bailey Fest) to display respect to all users of the land regardless of ownership. We can show the public that land primarily entrusted to a paddling community can and will be maintained. 

Lets stick to the plan of keeping the erosion controlled, trash removed, and avoiding using the grounds as a truck stop bathroom. The previous owners have put hard work into the property and we are lucky to have that already completed. 

Now turn on the tunnel!


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## Jay H (May 20, 2005)

Ian--you rock sir!! What an outstanding job--your dedication and enthusiasm are becoming the stuff of legend! 

This truly has to be an AW river access award worthy effort--thank you!

And of course I agree with the need to be respectful and good stewards of this amazing resource!

Jay


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## chrispy (Apr 6, 2004)

does this mean that the neighbors may show up, have a beer, dance and enjoy themselves at the party? 

turn on the tunnel.... turn up the music!


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Did my first run after the blm posted the line. Awesome! What a fantastic run. 

The signs on the bridges warning boaters not to trespass at four falls have been removed. There is still a lot of orange tape, cones, buckets. Those need to go.


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## Dave Frank (Oct 14, 2003)

We thought about pulling the orange tape today, but kinda wanted your blessing. knew you were in there yesterday and hadn't touched it. Wanted to be take it slow and not offend.


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## Dave Frank (Oct 14, 2003)

All the orange tape is gone but we didn't feel like hauling out the cone. I love KSC's idea to return it to just above the public private divider line. The wood in the relaunch eddy may be worth restacking, so more than two boats can launch at once.


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## KUpolo (May 24, 2005)

Thank you Ian! This is an amazing example of what tenacity can accomplish. I am in your debt and hope I can repay a little of it while helping out at the Fest this year.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

I got a nice note from another one of the multiple neighbors at Four Falls today that I have never met. He's not one of the neighbors that gave us trouble. He was very positive, and noted that the neighbors we had trouble with do not speak for all the other owners. Great to see some support from within the neighbors. 

Countdown to Bailey Fest for a big celebration!


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## cbrobin (Jan 21, 2004)

Ian, Many thanks. I'm not sure if I'll get on Bailey again. This is incredible. Kayaking on OUR land.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

One of the sweetest things about Bailey Fest this year was something that didn't happen. No landowners yelling at us at four falls. Do as many laps as you want. Have a great time. Tons of lines at first falls. Fishing boats out of the four falls fishin hole. So nice. Viva la liberation!


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## El Scotto (Jul 24, 2013)

Did you mean no more landowners yelling at us at Foley Falls? Awesome work, Ian!


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