GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) - Illegal squatting. It's a pervasive issue throughout Mesa County, in which long-term encampments form on privately owned or unauthorized land. According to a recently published essay by Mesa County Commissioner JJ Fletcher, the problematic practice has led to public health hazards, theft, littering, drug use, and other violations that have proven tough to mitigate since enforcement efforts ramped up in 2022.

Officials from the Mesa County Sheriff's Office and Bureau of Land Management have a few obstacles working against them. One of the biggest challenges, according to Fletcher? The land itself. Wide-open wilderness is one of the main attractions here on the Western Slope but also makes for a prime squatting location. For thousands of acres of land, there a

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