I was on my way to hike with my dogs when I heard the gunshots.
Guns are not uncommon in my isolated corner of rural northwest Colorado. The public lands around my house are a hub for deer and elk hunting. Neighboring ranchers sometimes shoot at coyotes and mountain lions to protect their stock. I didn’t give the gunshots much thought.
I drove out my gate and was about to turn east onto Highway 40 toward the trailhead when I saw cars parked off the road to the west. I wondered whether one of them could belong to the new manager of K-Ranch, which bordered my property on three sides. I wanted to meet him. So I turned west, telling my dogs they’d have to wait for their walk.
Drawing closer to the cars, I recognized one of them—the pickup truck of Colorado Parks and Wildlife officer Nathan Martinez. I knew Nate. Local wildlife officers sometimes stopped by my place to ask whether I had seen any suspicious activity. Poaching could be a problem around here.
I pulled off the highway and parked. The vehicle next to Nate’s appeared to belong to a sheriff’s deputy. About a dozen yards away, I saw Nate standing near a fence and pointing his gun toward something on
