For Immediate Release: April 20, 2002

Plea agreement stemming from intentional fire, bulldozer work reached in Rio Blanco County incident

The Bureau of Land Management has reached a plea agreement in a case involving unauthorized bulldozing and an intentional fire set April 22, 2002 near the intersection of County Road 5 and Highway 64 in Rio Blanco County.

Bridget Reike plead guilty to one misdemeanor count of willfully disturbing or destroying a natural object or area. Reike will pay $100 in fines, additional restitution and has agreed to restore the area to BLM specifications by Nov. 3, 2003. In addition, Reike agreed to remove locked gates barring access to public land, prevent unauthorized livestock grazing and to not set any unauthorized fires on public land. Charges of interfering with the lawful use of public lands and intentionally causing a fire are pending until the successful rehabilitation of the site.

BLM officials learned of an intentionally set fire after it was extinguished in April. During the investigation the BLM discovered that Reike had used a bulldozer to create trails on BLM land, along with posting "No Trespassing-Private Property" signs on public land. The fire had reportedly been set to clear brush in the area where roads and other improvements had been made.

Several cases like this are investigated every year in Western Colorado. Property owners should be sure they know their property boundaries to protect their own property rights while ensuring that public land remains open to the public.

-BLM-