Even
though locals lost their case, the effort to preserve access through
federal lands was greatly improved by this battle, and the outcome does
not change the fact that the road is open.
“The
decision in the Elko County case does not affect public access or limit
the U.S. Forest Service’s ability to manage the South Canyon Road,”
Forest Supervisor Bill Dunkelberger told The Associated Press.
Since
the Shovel Brigade removed “Liberty Rock” on July 4, 2000, the only
thing keeping vehicles out of that portion of the canyon is the fact
that much of it remains obliterated by the cataclysmic flood of 1995.
Gone are the nice campsites along the road and the federally installed
outhouse at the end of it, nor are they likely to ever return like the
bull trout did.
It was a fish
advocacy group that originally put a halt to the Forest Service’s plan
to rebuild the road, claiming bull trout would be harmed by dust
drifting from the road, but it was two wilderness groups that called
foul after the Forest Service agreed Elko County owned the right of way.
Earthjustice
attorneys put up a big fight on behalf of The Wilderness Society and
Great Old Broads for Wilderness. Despite their names, let’s remember
that South Canyon Road is NOT located in any federally designated
wilderness area. This conflict was centered around half of a mere
2.4-mile road leading from the tiny town of Jarbidge to the trailheads
of the Jarbidge Wilderness.
Even
in boasting about their victory, Wilderness Society attorney Alison
Flint conceded that the decision changed nothing on the ground.
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