The Blaine County Commission gave its blessing Tuesday to a plan to construct four new local trails spanning nearly 40 miles on federal land across the southern half of the Wood River Valley. Before the trails can be constructed, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management will have to conduct a yearlong environmental assessment, set to begin this spring.
Voting unanimously, Commissioners Angenie McCleary and Tom Bowman approved the trail plan as a supplement to a U.S. Bureau of Land Management travel plan developed by county officials over the past several years to manage motorized and non-motorized recreation on federal land in the south valley. Commissioner Larry Schoen wasn't present for the vote.
Approved by the commissioners last February, the travel plan was created as part of an assistance agreement the county signed several years ago with the BLM.
The new trails will be west of Hailey in Croy Canyon, west of Bellevue in the Lees Gulch and Townsend Gulch areas and northeast of Bellevue in Slaughterhouse Canyon.
Near the end of the meeting, Eric Rector, director of trails for the Blaine County Recreation District, summed up the excitement felt by many south valley trail users about the prospect of adding so many new single-track opportunities. The south valley has never enjoyed the same focus on trail building as has Sawtooth National Forest land to the north near Ketchum and Sun Valley.
"It's a big thing for people who live in the middle part of this valley," Rector said.
The travel plan envisions managing about 160,000 acres of BLM land on both sides of the valley as 14 recreation management zones, two related to winter use and 12 to summer use.
The updated trail plan was presented to the commissioners by Chris Leman of Big Wood Backcountry Trails and local BLM Outdoor Recreation Planner John Kurtz.
Kurtz said funds to construct the new trails would likely come from a state grant system funded by motor vehicle registrations and from BLM matching funds.
Though he couldn't say for certain how quickly the trails may be approved and built, Kurtz said the trails will help focus the BLM's analysis of the travel plan.
"The trails give life to the zones," he said. "We can analyze the trails themselves."
Jason Kauffman: jkauffman@mtexpress.com