Property owner says coal may be motive for blocking road

PALMER — Legal wrangling over a Mat-Su Borough landowner’s attempt to make East Chickaloon Road a road less traveled continues following a lengthy, and sometimes rambling, Alaska Superior Court hearing this week.

Chickaloon-area resident Charles Lone Wolf is defending himself in a lawsuit brought by the state of Alaska asking for a court injunction prohibiting Lone Wolf from curtailing access to East Chickaloon Road, which the state says is a historic trail that crosses his property.

Monday’s hearing with Superior Court Judge Kari Kristiansen included a few fireworks between the judge and Lone Wolf. The judge repeatedly chastised the defendant for deviating from court procedure.

“Mr. Lone Wolf, I’m sorry, I need you to get to the questions,” she interrupted at one point during Lone Wolf’s cross examination of a state witness. “We have limited time this afternoon. I’ll allow you some closing remarks about how you feel about different parts of this case.”

“If your intent is to cut my rights off before I even exercise them, I’ll leave now,” Lone Wolf responded.

Lone Wolf is accused of placing downed trees across East Chickaloon Road earlier this year and detouring traffic through his driveway. After state Division of Natural Resources crews removed the impediment July 12, the blockage was back the next day, along with nails placed in the roadway between the entrances of Lone Wolf’s driveway.

Lone Wolf admits to blocking the road the first time, but denies returning the trees or placing nails on East Chickaloon Road after being ordered by state officials not to.

“At no point in time did I ever do anything after I was told by the state that they felt that they had a valid claim to that road,” he said. “At no point after that did I interfere. I did not put any wood back in the road, nor did I put any kind of nails in the road.”

Lone Wolf has argued the state doesn’t have a right of way to use East Chickaloon Road because it’s not part of his land title. That doesn’t necessarily mean there isn’t a right of way, said Kevin Sorensen, a former developer and a natural resources specialist for the state Division of Natural Resources.

Sorensen testified about a litany of documents that show the road and/or trail on the property in about the same location dating back to an 1898 U.S. military reconnaissance survey. He also testified that a title may not show the road because titles usually show “most things that are recorded.”

Asked what he would do if he were looking to purchase property and noticed a road on it that wasn’t in the title description, Sorensen was succinct.

“The implications (in that situation) would be that you need … to research it to see how it impacts your property,” he said.

While Lone Wolf alleges he didn’t return the blockages or put nails in the road on his property, he seemed to have a theory as to who may have had a motive to block the road. That theory includes a pair of neighbors and current controversies over potential coal development in the Chickaloon area and the importance of this road to those efforts.

In cross examination of state natural resource specialist Eric Moore, who testified about his dealings with Lone Wolf, the defendant asked several pointed questions about coal. He also queried Moore about a letter he recently sent to area residents.

That letter, Moore said, informs residents that the state Department of Natural Resources has granted a land use permit to Riversdale Alaska to use East Chickaloon Road to explore potential for coal mining on land the company has leased north of the road.

“Is this the kind of thing the public would be opposed to?” Lone Wolf asked. “Are there people in Chickaloon opposed to it?”

At this point, Sullivan objected, asking whether Lone Wolf’s line of questioning had anything to do with the state’s action to get an order to keep the right of way clear.

“I’ve been characterized as the bad guy here,” Lone Wolf responded. “My involvement with Riversdale has always been positive. … Someone put that wood back in the road and someone put nails back in the road. If I didn’t, who did?”

In the end, Judge Kristiansen upheld the objection.

“How does that have anything relating to the state’s request for a preliminary injunction?” she asked. “Does that really matter?”

The final witness on Monday was Alaska State Trooper Alfredo Borrago, who responded to Lone Wolf’s property and almost drove his cruiser onto the nails scattered across the road. The nails were between the two driveway access points, meaning people could drive up to Lone Wolf’s residence and around through the driveway without going over the nails.

“Based on what I saw, is it would’ve come from the property owner,” Borrago testified. “That’s my opinion.”

When talking to Lone Wolf, the defendant “told me he didn’t know who put the nails there and he didn’t care.”

Asked how many nails there were, Borrago said he didn’t know for sure. He estimated about 40 to 50 pounds, and “I just know there were a lot of nails.”

Monday’s hearing ended before Lone Wolf could present his defense and was rescheduled to resume at 9 a.m., Nov. 9 at the Palmer courthouse. Judge Kristiansen also confirmed an earlier order to keep the roadway clear until the legal proceedings can be completed remains in place.

Lone Wolf said he has numerous witnesses to call and surmised that because he’s representing himself, “I’m going to have to call myself (as a witness) because there’s no one else to call me.”

Contact reporter Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.