Potter County signs agreement for Cross Bar Ranch phase 2

The Potter County Commissioners' Court and the Cross Bar Special Management Recreation area updated their agreement with the Bureau of Land Management and the Federal Highway Administration for the second phase of the Cross Bar Project.

In this phase of the project, an agreement is being reached to provide access to the Cross Bar Ranch area, which is currently hard to access due to the lack of a dedicated access road. Within this phase is an agreement with the Federal Highway Administration and Bureau of Land Management for a full environmental assessment, surveys of the land, and design of a public roadway for public access.

Potter County Commissioner John Coffee spoke about the second phase agreement.

“This is going to open up the area for camping, equestrian, biking and hiking for visitors to the area,” he said. “This contract will help pay for improvements so that citizens can access that area that is landlocked. The road will create an entrance at Park Circle off Highway 287 to the Crossroad Ranch. This can become another travel destination for the area like Palo Duro Canyon.”

Coffee stressed that this will not be funding the project, and all matching funds to government funding will come from the Friends of the Crossbar. He said to this point they had raised about $1 million in funding for the project. The original public access route to the Crossbar Ranch would have been more costly, and this new route will bring costs down for the project.

“The county has to apply for the grants for the project, and if the project were to fall through, the county would not incur any loss of funds,” Coffee said. “When this is complete, there will be more opportunities for camping and other outdoor activities for people who come to the area. This will give something else to do for our people and visitors to the area, which is greatly needed. It could have a significant monetary impact on our area with increased tourism.”