Wednesday, July 29, 2009

China Gardens residents call for cleanup of canal

Wetlands designation calls for manual labor


By TONY EVANS
Express Staff Writer

China Gardens resident and Wood River High School teacher Darlene Dyer has organized residents of Aspen drive to urge Mark Caplow to clean up debris in the Tail Race Canal. Photo by

Residents who live beside a fire-prone area west of Hailey are calling for a cleanup of debris in the Tail Race Canal.

The canal, which runs adjacent to properties on Aspen Drive, is a designated wetland, a fact that could complicate cleanup efforts by property owner Mark Caplow.

Darlene Dyer and six other Aspen Drive residents signed a letter to Wood River Fire and Rescue Chief Bart Lassman on June 25 calling for removal of the debris.

"We look at this and see it as fuel for another fire," Dyer said in an interview. "This is the ugliest place in the valley. Beyond that it is a hazard."

The residents of Aspen Drive have reason to be nervous. Each summer since 2007, they have seen smoke rising just to the west of their neighborhood in a heavily wooded area belonging in part to Mark Caplow and in part to Wood River Land Trust.

Last summer, much of Caplow's property was cleared by a blaze that threatened 12 homes on Aspen Drive. Following the fire, which left many dead and downed cottonwood trees and slash piles on Caplow's property, Aspen Drive residents called for the removal of trees along the canal, which they feared could fall on their houses.

Caplow responded by hiring workers to top off numerous cottonwoods. During the pruning, debris fell into the canal. When Caplow's heavy equipment crews tried to remove it, they were stopped by an Aspen Drive resident who stepped in to protect the canal, which was designated by the Army Corps of Engineers as a wetland years ago.

Heavy equipment is not allowed in wetland areas, but manual labor is.

Lassman sent a letter to Caplow on July 16 asking that he cut up and remove the debris to provide a 30-foot "defensible space" between any remaining debris and slash piles and the homes on Aspen Drive.

"I am recommending that Caplow finish the work he started," Lassman said. "Just as a good neighbor."

Caplow was unavailable for comment.

Tony Evans: tevans@mtexpress.com




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