Wednesday, September 8, 2004

?Citizen trail? to be re-opened

Ketchum District seeks volunteers for trail relocation project


By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer

Where to volunteer:

Volunteers are needed next week to put finishing touches on a new trail in Adam?s Gulch. Trail work will consist of two evenings, Wednesday, Sept. 15 and Thursday, Sept. 16. Work will go from 5 p.m. to dark on both nights, with a party following the Thursday work night.

Volunteers are asked to RSVP to Steve Deffe at 726-4014, Chris Leman at 726-2948 or to Big Wood Backcountry Trails at goodtrails@yahoo.com.




Following a summer-long environmental review, the U.S. Forest Service is planning to reopen an approximately 1-mile-long trail that was illegally built by local citizens last fall or spring.

But the trail will not be reopened until some work is done to widen and reroute sections to Forest Service standards.

Trail work will entail relocating a 600-foot-long section and widening the entire route, which stems the western portion of Lane?s Trail with the western portion of the Adam?s Gulch Loop.

?Most of it was constructed fairly well, but there are a few spots we need to fix,? said Jeff Halligan, a trails specialist for the Ketchum Ranger District.

A local trails advocacy group is helping to orchestrate volunteer crews to help with trail work on Sept. 15 and 16. Work will commence at 5 p.m. and go to dark.

Steve Deffe, a Ketchum resident and member of Big Wood Backcountry Trails, said the new trail will mean another early-season option for trail users.

?Really it?s an early-season thing. That?s the biggest advantage,? he said.

Chris Leman, another member of the group, heralded the trail for its stunning views and mellow grade.

?We?re stoked that the Forest Service followed through on their commitment to fast track this environmental study and get it moving along,? Leman said.

Leman said the work would be ?typical trail work? using rakes, shovels and pulaskis.

?It?s going to open earlier in the spring, and it also avoids six creek crossings in Adam?s Gulch,? Leman said. ?It?s a really nice trail.?

Last spring, the Forest Service and Big Wood Backcountry Trails posted the trail closed, and local trail runners, hikers and mountain bikers have cooperated with the closure.

But the Adam?s Gulch trail is not an isolated example.

According to public land managers, citizen-built trails are popping up across the country. Bikers, hikers and ATV riders alike have built them. Locally, the trail ascending Sun Peak from Trail Creek Road is an example. The Bureau of Land Management closed it indefinitely last week to protect an Area of Critical Environmental Concern designation it made there nearly a decade ago.

The meandering trail ascending the south side of Carbonate Mountain in Hailey is another, though it was built on private property rather than public land.

Another trail has been pioneered by citizens on the north side of Croy Creek Road west of Hailey. It has created problems for the Animal Shelter of the Wood River Valley because trail users are disturbing animals there. It also crosses public and private property.

?The take-home message is, respect property,? said John Kurtz, an outdoor recreation planner with the Bureau of Land Management?s Shoshone Field Office.

When Forest Service or BLM crews contemplate a new trail, there is a process they follow to attempt avoiding resource damage and unnecessary environmental impacts.

?The National Environmental Policy Act requires that before government takes action it looks at the consequences to the resources, the whole range of natural resources,? said Joe Miczulski, recreation program manager for the Ketchum Ranger District.

As an example, Miczulski said a portion of the Adam?s Gulch trail traverses a steep gully without regard for potential erosion. As the banks of the gully erode, the sediment could fall into the gully. When snow melts, it could wash the sediment into the creek. It could ultimately find its way into the Big Wood River and affect water quality and fish habitat.

That is the section that will be relocated next week.

The Adam?s Gulch trail actually had legal origins. Two local residents asked Forest Service officials last summer to consider a new trail, and they were told to flag the route they proposed so forest managers could evaluate it. Some sections followed a game trail. Other sections crossed swaths of sagebrush.

Sometime between last fall and this spring, someone cut down a few trees and used some tools to dig out portions of the trail. As spring progressed, more people discovered the new path, and it quickly become well traveled.

?This trail started as part of a legitimate process,? Leman said. ?We want people to know that if they want to get new trails, there?s a process to follow.?

Halligan stressed that people looking for new trails should follow the process.

?We can?t have people going out and building trails on public land, whether they think it?s a good thing or not,? he said. ?There are guidelines to follow, no matter what we do. If someone sees a good location for a trail, they need to come to the agency and get the process going to do it right




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