In 1844, a Mexican land grant covered an 80,000-acre ranch; access fight continues centuries later

The Sangre de Cristo Land Grant was established in 1844 under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. A land dispute in Colorado dates back to an 1844 Mexican land grant and continues to involve questions over who can access the property and for what purposes. The land, now known as Cielo Vista Ranch and traditionally called La Sierra, covers about 80,000 acres in Costilla County.According to the Colorado Governor’s Office, the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant was established in 1844 in connection with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo between the United States and Mexico. The property has since become the centre of a long-running legal dispute involving heirs of the original land grant and the owners of the ranch.The dispute has focused on access rights held by land grant heirs and community members. These rights include access for activities such as collecting firewood and grazing livestock. Over the years, landowners have restricted access to parts of the property, leading to repeated legal battles over the extent of those rights.The latest attempt to address the dispute came as Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed an executive order on Wednesday, naming former US Interior Secretary and Ambas...