Two western Colorado sportsmen have notified the
state of Colorado that they will bring a lawsuit against it for
illegally building a prison in a state wildife
area.
Tom Huerkamp and Bob Morris say state
prison officials built a 300-bed facility in the Escalante Wildlife
Area, outside Delta, Colo., even though the land was purchased with
tax money paid by hunters and fishermen (HCN, 6/26/95). “Sportsmen
are getting ripped off,” Huerkamp says.
The
lawsuit will demand removal of the prison or replacing it with a
more compatible facility, such as a wildlife research center, and
compensation to hunters for 30 years of back
rent.
But Delta prison superintendent Bob Hickox
says the lockup stays. “Those were things that were done over 30
years ago, and we can’t control what happened back then,” he told
The Valley Chronicle, a local monthly paper. “I think we have a
good record here now, and we’re not going anywhere.”
*Paul Larmer
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Sportsmen sue to remove prison.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
