Eminent Domain: Colorado Couple Finds Out That Their Land Is Only Their Own Until the Government Wants It

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Imagine this:

You do your research and you choose a retreat property far off the beaten path.  You spend time and money developing it, making it your own.  Maybe it is a vacation home, or maybe you’re a prepper and this is your bug-out location. Regardless of the reason you chose it, it’s yours, so maybe you plant some perennial vegetables and some fruit trees.  You dig a well or locate a spring.   You make it your own.

Then the government comes along and says, “Nope, we want this land – you’re out.”

And they just take it, evicting you like they are the landlord and you are merely a tenant, despite your name on the deed.

That’s exactly what happened to a couple in Colorado. Andy and Ceil Barrie fought the government and the government won.

The Barries had purchased and idyllic 10 acre parcel of land in the midst of the White River National Forest. The private land had on it a rustic cabin, an outhouse, and an old boarded-up gold mine. It was a day use cabin, and therefore totally off the grid. No electricity, no plumbing – just peace and solitude, accessible only by an ATV via a road that Summit County didn’t even know existed. The cabin is 1.2 miles off the main road. From a preparedness standpoint, the place is what most of us dream of – a sweet little piece of paradise far off the beaten path, without a powerline in sight.

The government used many different bizarre strategies to get the Barries off of their land.  Pay close attention, because precedents are being set that could affect hunters or those creating bug-out retreats.

#1 ATV access threatened an endangered species

The government’s first line of attack against the Barries was forbidding them to use a motorized vehicle to reach the property.  This will sound familiar to anyone who has been following the Cliven Bundy case in Nevada: Summit “county officials issued a report that stated “public motorized access” to the property threatened the alpine tundra and the habitat for the lynx, an endangered species.” (source)  County officials took a vote in October of 2013, and in order to save the lynx threatened by the Barries’ occasional access, agreed that their property should be seized. (In the case of the Bundy ranch, his cattle were massacred by the government while they claimed to be concerned about the fate of the desert tortoise.)

#2 The county demanded that “various commercial activities” be halted

And exactly what nefarious money-making schemes were the Barries up to?  Why, Andy Barry had the audacity to gather up fallen pine cones and take them home for his Christmas wreath making business. He used a cart attached to the afore-mentioned ATV to take them back to his home, where the wreaths were created.

#3 The county condemned the cabin because of electrical and plumbing issues

Umm…it’s an off-grid cabin, so there was no electricity and no plumbing to start with.  In their haste to protect the environment, one would think that bringing in electricity or plumbing would be far more of an issue than a low-carbon-footprint place that used no public utilities.This was strictly a day-use cabin, thus requiring no plumbing or power. How many off-grid homes that adjoin national land exist across the country right now? How many hunting and trapping cabins are snugly sitting out there in the wilderness? Are all of those properties next on the government’s list of properties to steal?

#4 The cabin was in violation of zoning laws

A previous owner had expanded the cabin without a permit.  Because we have to ask the government’s permission for everything, you see.

In the end, the government won.

On Thursday, the Barries had no option but to cede the land.  They did not have the money to fight against the bottomless coffers of the government. They were paid $115,000 for the land.  The couple had spent $75,000 waging a legal defense.  Ceil Barrie said in a statement:

“The cabin was condemned on the grounds of plumbing and electricity, when it doesn’t even have plumbing or electricity. All those things added up in my mind. This is ridiculous, we can never win and our money is not unlimited. I have two kids in college this year. To me, what just came out of it is, you can’t fight the government.” (source)

The moral to this story is, the government does not support the lifestyle to which many of us aspire. Self sufficiency and freedom from the grid are not celebrated, but demonized.  The government, through various agencies masquerading as do-gooders, have waged war on woodstoves, off-grid lifestyles, front yard vegetable gardens, and anything that might allow you to live without their daily input or without being subject to their many taxes and fees.

Private property rights are ignored and according to the government, we must all submit to their “eminent domain”.  What it boils down to: You might think you own something, but it’s clear that it is only yours until the government decides that they want it.

 

Daisy Luther

Daisy Luther

Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging, globe-trotting blogger. She is the founder and publisher of three websites.  1) The Organic Prepper, which is about current events, preparedness, self-reliance, and the pursuit of liberty on her website, 2)  The Frugalite, a website with thrifty tips and solutions to help people get a handle on their personal finances without feeling deprived, and 3) PreppersDailyNews.com, an aggregate site where you can find links to all the most important news for those who wish to be prepared. She is widely republished across alternative media and  Daisy is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses. You can find her on FacebookPinterest, Gab, MeWe, Parler, Instagram, and Twitter.

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  • Our great nation is and has been under peril. Private property, is the basic necessity of freedom, the Bundy case, now the Texas case, has given wind to the sails of freedom. Faith has been renewed in the hearts of free men everywhere. The incidents have also made BLM think about their actions, many LEO see better re-pore and respect is needed when dealing with our one true Law,the Constitution. It is horrible to see the sons and daughters of America face off, but it had come to that. In fact, the people are capable of policing themselves. Life, has no meaning, if the fruits of ones labor are taken. There is hope, we see it, we want it, as long as hope lives, America lives.
    Hope lives in the reporters, who write truth, alternative news has surpassed nbc, abc, all media takes a back seat to alternative news, and that brings me to “thank you Daisy” For your selfless reporting of matters that count, alternative media, the only way to go.

    • Wake up,
      your “great nation” got turned into a dump, a dictatorship and a country and people despised all over the globe for being a bully.

      Maintaining several THOUSAND army bases all over the globe is not exactly a sign of peace loving civil mannered people. Nor are drones (really brave indeed) and “missions” like Lybia, Irak, Afghanistan, Syria, etc etc etc.

      You better lift your backside from the chair and throw the crooks, thieves and murderers out of all public offices in order to save your hide and your country quick.

      Not to talk about saving the countless lives taken by the army of the “free and brave” unnecessarily.

      There is only alternative media left to find some proper infos and even that one is mostly controlled opposition! Don t take my word for it, check out Mark Passios work.

      And as the internet itself will be shut down or completely controlled soon, you d better start building proper networks which do not depend on electronic communication like over here in Europe.

      My best wishes

      • Would that be the europe currently being ground under bootheel of the EU closet communists. No place is perfect but, and I live in a EU member state, I would rather live under the US constitution than in the EUs creeping manifesto to control every aspect of our lives.

  • Yah- like your children. You may think that your children belong to you but if the government wants to take them away they do- for any reason and with little recourse.

  • How can any soveregn land of america especially of this size be sold to an american advisary. This is open treason and aiding people who wish to destroy us.

  • Not just any government: The UNITED STATES CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC!

    “…’Moreover the prince shall not take of the people’s inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their possession … that my people be not scattered every man from his possession.’ (Ezekiel 46:18)

    “Governments tend to be more ingenious than the average citizen in the diverse ways they steal….

    “The Fifth Amendment’s provision for property confiscation is applied in eminent domain, which is nothing more than a form of organized theft:

    ‘Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance….’ (Deuteronomy 19:14)

    “Eminent domain – the Constitutional Republic’s alleged right to seize property for the “betterment” of the people – is one way the government moves boundary markers and steals from its citizens….

    “The creation of public lands is another method employed by the Constitutional Republic to move boundary markers. Identifying these lands as “public” is part of the ruse to conceal the theft. Except that the public is permitted limited access, they are not public at all. These lands, which are often stolen by legislation (such as the Wilderness Act of 1964, the Clean Air Act of 1970, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and the Clean Water Act of 1977) from private property owners, are owned by the government, not the public. Even public use is changing due to the government’s increasing restriction of access. The fact that the government can and does restrict access further proves its ownership. Moreover, the public is perpetually paying taxes toward upkeep and paying fees to gain admittance to National Parks and other lands that are supposedly already theirs….”

    For more, see online Chapter 14 “Amendment 5: Constitutional vs. Biblical Judicial Protection” of “Bible Law vs. the Unite States Constitution: The Christian Perspective” at http://www.bibleversusconstitution.org/BlvcOnline/biblelaw-constitutionalism-pt14.html.

  • I am truly sorry for the Barries. That said, we are at the point where if we are not willing to lay down our lives for liberty, we don’t deserve liberty. Our Founders made that individual responsibility crystal clear with their 2nd Amendment.

    April 12 at the Bundy Ranch was an historic day. It won’t be the last battle, but neither was Lexington. You can’t battle Domestic Enemy #1 alone. PLEASE join Oath Keepers (YES, civilians can join; not just for military and LE) TODAY! Molon Labe!

  • Agenda 21. It’s not about America it’s about the elite cabal that want the land for themselves, resources for the corporations and one world government with a microchipped population easy to control.
    So sorry they gave up and didn’t open it up to crowdsourcing as we are supporting others having a similar fight with their governments.
    Love

  • I would like to know why the government wanted that land so badly,what is the real reason ? Someone in power was pushing this .

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