In win for Berlaimont developers, judge rules federal Alaskan conservation law section applies in Colorado

A federal judge has ruled that a section of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act that allows landowners “reasonable use” of private property surrounded by National Forests applies nationwide, including in Colorado.

The ruling is a win for the developers of Berlaimont Estates, a 19-home luxury development proposed on a 680-acre inholding surrounded by the White River National Forest in Eagle County near Edwards.

“That Congress was principally concerned about Alaska does not mean it did not take up other subjects in the Act,” U.S. District Court Judge Jia Cobb, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, wrote in the opinion and order handed down Tuesday. “Congress regularly includes provisions in laws that address topics ancillary to the laws’ principal objectives.”

The partial decision from the District Court in Washington, D.C., is the latest in a multi-year battle between the developer and a community that is deeply opposed to the project. At least for now, the ruling upholds the U.S. Forest Service’s decision to grant the landowner permission to build an approximately 2.5-mile-long paved road through the national forest to access the property year-round.

Two Colorado environmental groups, the Wilderness Workshop and the Rocky Mountain, filed the civil lawsuit against the Forest Service in 2023, contesting the approval of the road to the property. The environmental groups argued that the Forest Service’s approval was “unlawful for a slew of reasons,” according to court documents, including that the section of the federal act it relied on to approve the project, “only applies to land in Alaska.”

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The section of the Alaska National Interests Conservation Act of 1980 in question requires the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to “provide such access to nonfederally owned land within the boundaries of the National Forest System as the Secretary deems adequate to secure to the owner the reasonable use and enjoyment thereof.”

Although the federal law is focused on Alaska, Cobb wrote that this section applies nationwide, including in Colorado — and noted that “seemingly every other federal court to decide this question” has agreed with her.

In a statement, Kristin Williams, the president of Commfluent Inc., a communications firm representing the Berlaimont Estate developers, commended the judge for her ruling.

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“Judge Cobb correctly ruled that the Forest Service must provide Berlaimont with adequate access to its planned ultra-low density residential development,” Williams said. She added that the property will be accessed “by a safe road for both residents and emergency service providers.”

Wilderness Workshop and Rocky Mountain Wild, in a statement Wednesday, noted that the decision Cobb handed down was only a partial summary judgement on the single issue of whether the federal law applied only to Alaska.

The court still has to assess whether the Forest Service complied with various laws, including the Alaska National Interests Conservation Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, according to the environmental groups. 

“This decision does not resolve our lawsuit,” the statement said. “The substantive claims raised in the suit are still pending.”

The environmental groups noted that community members in the Eagle Valley have raised concerns about the impacts of Berlaimont Estates, including on wildlife, recreation and wildfire risk, since the project was first proposed in 2008.

Cobb noted in her decision that about 1,000 comment letters were submitted to the Forest Service during its approval process for the road to the 680-acre inholding where the project is proposed. “All but a few of the letters,” she said, “were in strong opposition” to the Berlaimont development.

“Public opposition to the proposal has never been higher,” the environmental groups’ statement said. “People don’t like the idea of paving sensitive wildlife habitat on National Forest lands to facilitate a billionaire’s speculative real estate development.”

Williams said that Berlaimont Estates has included measures, including open space easements, to mitigate wildlife impacts as part of the project.

U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, D-Colorado, has also voiced his opposition to the project. Last month, Bennet introduced an amendment into a federal funding bill that would have blocked the construction of the Berlaimont Estates road. He argued at the time that Forest Service staff shouldn’t be spending resources on private projects at a time when President Donald Trump has cut thousands of staff from the agency. The amendment failed to make it into the final version of the bill.

“Yesterday’s partial ruling does not change the fact that critical health and safety projects on the White River National Forest should be a higher priority than the development of 19 luxury homes for a single family,” Bennet said in a statement Wednesday. “I remain committed to ensuring that federal staff time — which is already severely limited due to Trump’s staff cuts — is used on projects squarely in the public good, rather than for the ultra-wealthy.”

Berlaimont Estates still requires additional Forest Service permits and approvals from local governments to move forward, Wilderness Workshop and Rocky Mountain Wild said in their statement.

The plans for Berlaimont Estates have continued forward despite the lawsuit. Williams, who has said that Berlaimont Estates plans to reimburse the federal government for all costs related to reviewing and issuing permits for the roadway, noted that the Forest Service issued access permits for the road in November.

She said, “After more than 15 years of thorough environmental analysis by the (Forest Service), Berlaimont remains committed to carrying out a family vision of just 19 homes.”