A bill that will attempt to rein in the building of a fence near Culebra Peak in the San Luis Valley won approval from its first committee Monday, but not without concern from ranchers.

House Bill 1023 is narrowly crafted to apply only to the Sangre de Cristo land grant, a million acres awarded in 1844 by the Mexican government to Mexican colonists moving to the area. The Colorado state government affirmed that grant in 1993.

The bill requires applicants who intend to “install or substantially repair a contiguous fence of a certain size in the Sangre de Cristo land grant lands” to apply to the local government for that authority. That comes with a $1,200 permit, although that can be waived under an amendment added Monday.

The fence, which is between 16 and 26 miles long and eight feet high, depends on who you ask. It is on the 77,000-acre ranch of Texas oilman William Harrison, who has been entrenched in a legal battle with descendants of the original settlers for decades. That legal fight goes back to the previous owner and some 70 years.

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled in favor of the descendants in 2002, but the fight continues.

Rep. Matthew Martinez, D-Monte Vista, and Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver, introduced HB 1023 to the House Agriculture, Water, and Natural Resources Committee on Monday.

Bacon told the committee that the land grant at the heart of the dispute is unique in Colorado and has raised the question of whether the state can honor a community-based land grant for the past 40 years. The courts recognized in 2002 that communal use was permitted as a “prescriptive easement,” a legal term that implies a certain right of use when that use occurs over a long period of time—in this case, more than 180 years.

Martinez said the fence has caused many problems, such as erosion from heavy equipment and flash flooding, and that it keeps wildlife herds separated because they can’t clear the fence. The community also has the right to use the land for hunting, fishing, gathering firewood, and cultural and religious ceremonies.

One of the big questions is how the legislation will impact the current fence.

Martinez said the owners never sought a permit for building it, so it is not complete. According to witnesses, the owner plans to extend it by 90 miles to fence in about 100 head of bison for his ranch. But witnesses said eight feet is excessive, even for fencing in bison.

On Monday, Attorney General Phil Weiser, who toured the area last summer, told the committee that the community is exasperated by the fence but has been told little can be done. He noted that he held a town hall in the county of about 3,000 residents on a workday, and 100 people showed up, an indication of the issue’s importance.

“It’s not fair to call it a fence,” Weiser said. “It’s a 20-mile wire grid,” so large that elk and deer can’t jump it. He likened it to a state prison fence.

This is not about limiting private property rights, Weiser said.

A retired family physician, Dr. Joseph Quintana said the fence had been a “nightmare” for his community. “It’s impenetrable” to anything over three inches, he said.

Quintana added that the fence has weaved through people’s backyards and changed wildlife migration. “The community is horrified and baffled,” and the county has been forced to spend too much money to fight it. “We are no match for a billionaire.”

He also noted that the fence may create risks for dealing with forest fires, noting that the Spring Creek Fire in 2018, which burned more than 100,000 acres, started near Fort Garland, which is just 17 miles away.

No one representing Harrison, the owner of the Cielo Vista Ranch, testified at Monday’s hearing.

Committee Republicans, however, raised concerns about the fence proposed in the bill and its impacts on private property rights.

Weiser said this was not a normal property rights situation, tying it to the land grant. “The ranch owner does not have unfettered rights to the property.”

Weiser pointed out that there’s also a nuisance exemption when something harms water and wildlife. He added that this situation is one of a kind.

The bill was amended at the request of Colorado Parks and Wildlife to address fencing height: One amendment dictated the total distance between the ground and the lowest wire or rail, at 16 inches, to allow small animals to get under the fence.

HB 1023 passed on an 11-2 vote and now heads to the full House.