Outrage as polyamory cult seizes huge swathe of public Colorado beauty spot without permission

A polyamory cult has fenced off a huge portion of land in southwestern Colorado and attempted to claim it for themselves under the Homestead Act of 1862. The Free Land Holders have fenced off about 1,400 acres of San Juan National Forest land. A polyamory cult has fenced off a huge portion of land in southwestern Colorado and attempted to claim it for themselves under the Homestead Act of 1862 The group contends that historic treaties and deeds give it ownership of about 1,400 acres inside the national forest. Member of the Free Land Holders Committee, Patrick Pipkin, above, says he represents thousands of members who claim 1,400 acres of the San Juan National Forest is theirs The Homestead Act was a landmark U.S. law that aimed to encourage westward expansion by offering free land to settlers, but it is no longer in use, with the act officially being repealed in 1976 by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. The Montezuma County Sheriff's Office said the group's actions have resulted in a property dispute between the Free Land Holders and the U.S. Forest Service in the Chicken Creek area.