The recent article by Brad Ulrich is an interesting fairy tale.  It is obviously written by someone who has never been to the area and is unfamiliar with the history and geography of our property and its surroundings.  It is also clear that Mr. Ulrich's only source of information is Vernon Brandt, who has made an industry of raising money for his personal crusade to turn my family's property into a 4x4 play area and sacrifice zone.

 

The article is full of fiction.  The easiest claim to dispute is the one that Mr Brandt has used to raise money from individuals who seem to trust his word.   "Maps in the possession of officials of the Transportation Division of Boulder County...show the road as County Road 87, going back many years".  Attached is the official road map, available from Boulder County.  It shows the historic route of County Road 87, from near Jamestown to the center of section 12, which is adjacent to a homestead that my wife's family has owned for a generation.

                   

It is easy to see from the map that the road never went to the Balarat Site, and never provided access from the South St. Vrain to Jamestown.  Two years ago, the Boulder County Commissioners held a public hearing and closed the last .4 miles of County Road 87.  It now ends near the boundary between section 13 and section 12.  The claim that Boulder County simply removes roads from the map is untrue.  This map clearly shows the complete length of County Road 87, and clearly shows the part that has been closed by the county, with extensive public input.

 

In the 1950s, the road only went from Jamestown to the top of "Balarat Hill".  This is the sharp curve in the road near the center of section 18. Vernon Brandt has misled people by saying that County Road 87 used to go to "Balarat" (he intentionally omits the word "Hill").  He knows that most of the people who are sending him money are unfamiliar with the area, and do not know the difference between "Balarat" and "Balarat Hill".  This is a very dishonest way to fight a crusade.

 

We hope that Vernon Brandt will come clean to those who are sending him money for his personal crusade, and admit that County Road 87 never went from Jamestown to the South St. Vrain.  I hope that those who are sending him money for his crusade will ask to see evidence.  Perhaps Vernon would be willing to send a copy of his map to Dark Endeavors, as I have done.

 

Mark Boslough

 

EDITOR’S NOTE:

 

The map graphic above in .jpg but people with Mozilla and Netscape can’t, I guess, see it.