Central Idaho ranch owners want construction of a trail connecting the popular tourist destinations of Redfish Lake and Stanley stopped and additional work to make it a smooth path for hikers and bikers prohibited.
Sawtooth Mountain Ranch owners David Boren and Lynn Arnone have been fighting construction of the trail with a federal lawsuit against the U.S. government and Thursday filed new documents contending the proposed trail violates terms of an easement.
The U.S. Forest Service has a conservation easement deed dating to 2005 that allows a trail 30 feet wide to cross about 1.5 miles of private property. The lawsuit recognizes that an easement exists but contends it doesn’t allow the Forest Service to bring in machinery to create or maintain an improved trail for recreationists.
The lawsuit asks the court to rule that defendants “may not enter and construct, use, or maintain a developed commuter trail through the property.” The lawsuit says signs for the trail could be put up on the “unaltered landscape.”
The filing follows a federal judge’s order in June allowing work on the trail to begin after a ruling that Boren and Arnone failed to show they were likely to succeed on the merits of their arguments. That initial lawsuit filing contended the plan needed additional environmental reviews, and that the proposed path strayed from the easement...MORE
Saturday, August 10, 2019
Ranchers sue to block Forest Service construction of central Idaho trail
Central Idaho ranch owners want construction of a trail connecting the popular tourist destinations of Redfish Lake and Stanley stopped and additional work to make it a smooth path for hikers and bikers prohibited.
Sawtooth Mountain Ranch owners David Boren and Lynn Arnone have been fighting construction of the trail with a federal lawsuit against the U.S. government and Thursday filed new documents contending the proposed trail violates terms of an easement.
The U.S. Forest Service has a conservation easement deed dating to 2005 that allows a trail 30 feet wide to cross about 1.5 miles of private property. The lawsuit recognizes that an easement exists but contends it doesn’t allow the Forest Service to bring in machinery to create or maintain an improved trail for recreationists.
The lawsuit asks the court to rule that defendants “may not enter and construct, use, or maintain a developed commuter trail through the property.” The lawsuit says signs for the trail could be put up on the “unaltered landscape.”
The filing follows a federal judge’s order in June allowing work on the trail to begin after a ruling that Boren and Arnone failed to show they were likely to succeed on the merits of their arguments. That initial lawsuit filing contended the plan needed additional environmental reviews, and that the proposed path strayed from the easement...MORE
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